A day and a night in Cincinnati.  Not all spent in Northside, but more on that later.  This was supposed to be a neighborhood gay pride event.  I have to say I see very little “GLBT” about this neighborhood.  There are two gay bars and that is it (apparently the third one turned straight earlier in the summer).  But there was a lot going on, so lets start at the beginning:

 

Lost in Mount Airy Again

 

This time I tried to hike Diehl Ridge.  Yes there is a trail, but its not used much and poorly marked.  The side trails or loops on the map must be faint because I didn’t see them while hiking.  Finally got out of the woods in a parking area at Shepard Creek Road, and then walked back to the car along West Fork Road, enjoying this wooded creek valley.  So, not really lost, but didn’t do the hike I wanted to do.

 

 

Walking Northside:  Towards Prairie and the Bakery

 

Got lost yet again.  Ended up taking Virginia Avenue north (thinking that this street was paralleling Mount Airy Forest.  Turns out those wooded slopes are not part of the park, then made a sharp turn on to Kirby to drive down to Chase.  This is a part of the neighborhood I hadn’t seen before…the suprises and variety of urban Cincinnati.  Finally made it to Chase.

 

Parked at my usual spot on Chase and went over to Sidewinder, which was pretty crowded.  Rather than wait I walk down Hamilton to Take the Cake and the Prairie Gallery.  I go up and look at the Arthole show (they had a performance the night before) and talk to the gallery owner, who apparently also teaches photography.  We talked about a photo shoot he and some high school kids did over at the Metropole.  Interesting stuff. He had some of their work up in a back room. 

 

Then, more walking.  This time I walk west of Hamilton, along Vandalia toward that landmark (for me) line of mini-storage garages.  Decide to try to find that bakery I saw.  Walk up apple and down Blue Rock.  I notice what looks like a set of large loft factories to the west (towards Colerain?).

 

Walk past that Catholic church (St Pius or St Patrick?) with the funny tower and find the bakery. Just a little place, but quite busy!  Buy an apple strudel slice, devour it, and keep walking.  I think I cross the street, pass the church again, and head north on Apple.  Looking at the local residential vernacular architecture (line of houses on w. side of Apple), just fascinated by this stuff and how it sets Cincy apart a bit.  How different it is from Dayton and Louisville in style.   

 

And I notice a little supermarket at Knowlton & Apple.  Excellent…one can be carless here since groceries are in walking distance (and I think theres a farmers market, too).

 

Finally return to Sidewinder and have some latte and a vegan pastry.  I can't speak highly enough of Sidewinder, the postive, good energy and atmosphere in the place.  Just something about it.

 

Tangled up in Parkers Woods

 

So, after Sidewinder.  What to do.  Waiting for that pride event.  Didn’t see much going on in that park at Blue Rock and Hamilton.  So lets walk north on Hamilton.  I notice that this is not only (supposedly) a gay pride thing but also the day of the neighborhood flea market.  People have tables and stuff for sale everywhere.  Including this big church rummage sale just north of Chase on Hamilton.

 

I notice the houses here are huge.  Small mansions.  Actually some are not small at all!  And some have been torn down and replaced by apartments, taking advantage of the deep lots.  As I walk north I peak down  a side street and notice what looks like a park.  Could this be Parkers Woods?  I walk over and yes it is!  With a paved sidewalk heading into the forest!  I look at this little street map I’m carrying and I see I Parkers Woods connects across to that road or street paralleling Spring Grove, so I can return that way after walking through the woods.

 

Boy was I ever wrong.

 

I follow the sidewalk, and then take a detour to the left following what appears to be trail that looks like it goes to a school building.  I take another detour into a trail that goes deeper into the forest.  But no markings, no signs, and this trail forks and forks again,  deeper into the woods, and gets more and more overgrown.  Clearly these trails are not used much nor are they maintained.  So I never get through the woods.

 

Instead the trail leads to the dead end of this street that is inserted into this hilly forest country.  I figure this is Parkers Glen from the map.  I follow the street out and lo and behold, there’s that sidewalk again!  It didn’t pass through the woods towards Spring Grove but instead it ended here on Parkers Glen. 

 

It would be nice if those Northside open space people do some volunteer trail clearing and marking for Parkers Woods.  This could be a better walking/hiking experience.

 

So, that sidewalk.  I take it back out to where I entered it, on Haight.

 

Downhill via Northside Side Streets.

 

Haight was fabulous.  This street reminded me a lot of Louisville, the Highlands or Crescent Hill areas.  Houses in excellent condition, great landscaping,  good architecture.  I see fours-quares, but with turrets, that Cincinnati panache again.  Then I come to Pullan, turn down it and then down Brookside.  More great houses, but older.  Some of these seem like Cincy versions of Dayton’s urban I-houses, but they are like Dayton on acid.  Porportions are larger and there’s more detail.  Cincy urban vernacular has a certain “umph” to it, a certain exuberance. 

 

Finally reach Chase.  But this time I head east on Chase towards Spring Grove cemetery.  Now the decision is what side street to take south towards Spring Grove Avenue.  I notice the buildings here seem a bit smaller, but there is one big (tall) brick apartment building visible on a side street.

 

Finally Mad Anthony street catches my eye.  Mainly because of that great street name.  Wouldn’ t it be great to say “I live on Mad Anthony Street”?  Head down it.  Again more interesting vernacular architecture, like this row of one and half story houses to the left, like short versions of OTR housing; big cornices, monopitch roof, rectangular attic windows.  All this architectural hoo-hah for what are just little row houses.  I love it!

 

They do a lot with small houses here.  Another version has mansard roofs (in slate!) tacked in front on the second story.  And on this and other streets, since the land is dropping toward Mill Creek, the houses are set up on these big retaining walls at times, making them seem even more imposing.

 

So I walk some more down Mad Anthony, reach Knowlton, and head west on Knowlton.  Here I see something I wasn’t expecting.  A bik co-op and a community garden.  This is the Mobo Bicycle Co-Op, which is a workshop and place to build bikes.  It also looks like they are part of an urban agriculture thing, too (including re-using an old greenhouse).  This is so cool!  ’ve been getting interested in these two things (bike shops and urban ag) since my revelation/conversion experience in Detroit in June, so am thrilled to find something like this so close.  This looks like a great space they have, the vibes coming from this place were very positive.

 

So, I walk around the block and head back to Hamilton Avenue to try to find that pride event.

 

More about that later.

 

Did you go past the new housing development on Virginia?

Farmers Market Wednesdays from 4-7:30. There's usually some sort of entertainment.

http://www.northside.net/GetInvolved/farmersmarket.shtml

Jacob Hoffner Park

CAIN is affiliated with North Presbyterian Church & was the organizer for the neighborhood wide yard sale.

Churches Active In Northside was formed because the individual churches with their dwindling congregations couldn't afford their individual cimmunity missions so they banded together under CAIN.

Northside Greenspace does some clearing in Parkers Woods & The Buttercup Valley Nature Perserve.

http://www.northsidegreenspace.org/

The Village Green Foundation. A bunch of neo-hippies growing edible stuff.

http://www.northsidevillagegreen.org/

Funke's Greenhouse is probably better, tho.

http://www.funkes.com/

If you are interested in seeing some of the Northside homes there is going to be a House Tour on October 3 featuring about a dozen homes.

http://www.northside.net/housetour/

I might just go on that house tour.  But thanks for those links.  I think Northside Greenspace was linked here before...

 

 

 

  I have a recommendation for the next trip. Go to Ohio Tile and Marble at West Fork and Colerain during business hours.

 

    If you are into urban exploration and don't mind really gritty stuff, check out the graffiti gallery in the West Fork Channel.