We all have to start somewhere, right?

 

Even though I’ve been an occasional lurker (and infrequent poster) on this forum since the days of “cincinnatiuprise” I’m a little embarrassed to just now

finally make my first legitimate photo thread on UrbanOhio.

 

I’ll admit that I’ve felt a little insecure about my ability to add much to the discussion with so many aggressively well-informed individuals

knocking their heads together in these threads. I don’t carry around as many statistics and data points in my head as some others,

so that leaves me feeling a little intimidated about adding my two cents at times.

 

Also, I tend to be a self-flagellating perfectionist. Especially when it comes to the photos I post.

 

I like to take pictures as much I can…or at least as much as I feel like doing so. And I’ve taken tens of thousands of images of places both near and far

from home over the past ten + years, with the vast majority of them just collecting dust on my external hard drive.

 

So, because I realize life is too short, I’ve decided to finally make a concerted effort to start posting my photos online to share them with others.

I wanted to start off my first UrbanOhio photo thread by featuring my humble hometown of Cincinnati. Even though there are aspects of the area that

aggravate me to no end, I do take a lot of pride in the place, and I feel like it is often underrated.

 

The photos that make up this Cincinnati (area) thread are *not* meant to be a “best of” representative collection of my photos from the last decade--

Just a random sampling of photos –mostly taken within the past ten months or so-unless otherwise noted.

 

There are well over 100 images here, be warned.

You may have to reload a couple of times to get all the pictures to show up.

 

Hopefully you enjoy them.

 

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

25.

26.

27.

28.

29.

 

This picture was taken just days after Smitty’s, an 84-year-old retail institution on the corner of Vine and 15th St burned to the ground.

Fortunately for the neigborhood, the owners decided to rebuild and relocate into a larger space just a few steps north at 1501 Vine. They reopened in March 2011.

 

30.

31.

32.

33.

34.

35.

36.

37.

38.

39.

40.

41.

42.

43.

44.

45.

46.

47.

48.

49.

50.

51.

52.

53.

54.

Linn St. mixed use buildings under construction in October 2006. This is the primary north-south commercial street in the West End neighborhood,

The part you see under construction is part of the “City West” development. This $200 million project, which began in 2000, (and is still currently unfinished over 10 years later)

replaced two of the city’s oldest public housing projects – Lincoln Court & Laurel Homes with mixed income housing and a smattering of amenities.

The reviews on the project are very mixed.

Fun fact – Laurel Homes was the second largest PWA housing project in the country.

 

55.

Linn St. streetwall in 2011.

 

56.

57.

58.

The magnificent tiled mural designed by the late local artist Charley Harper in the John W. Peck Federal Building

(I wasn’t happy with how the colors came out in my original image so I freaked around with this picture in Photoshop until I was happy with it.)

 

59.

60.

61.

 

Even though spring has officially sprung, I thought I would shove these next few pictures in here anyway - if nothing else, but to serve as  a reminder of what we recently managed to endure…

Well, maybe not quite so recently. The following series of pictures were actually taken following an ice storm on Valentine’s Day 2007….BETTER LATER THAN NEVER DAMMIT!

 

62.

(BTW, all the night photos in this series were taken in the hours between midnight and 3:00am)

 

63.

64.

65.

66.

67.

68.

69.

70.

71.

SMITTY’S! (The closest thing Over-the-Rhine had to Times Square) (The two smallest buildings towards the right of the image were completely destroyed by fire in April 2010).

Because I occasionally like eyesores, I hope that the owner will install those gaudy fluorescent lights at his new location after he settles in this spring.

 

72.

73.

74.

75.

76.

77.

78.

79.

80.

81.

82.

83.

84.

85.

86.

87.

88.

My father worked in this building for many years.

 

89.

Look above the awning. For a sign that looked kinda old to begin with (check out the late 1950’s-era NBC peacock rip-off, BTW) this sign has taken a terrible beating

over just the past few years…Check out the same sign in Spring 2010:

 

90.

Weird.

 

Now you can resume your ’07 flashback:

 

91.

92.

93.

94.

95.

96.

97.

98.

99.

100.

My doctor used to be in this building. Yep. Thought you all needed to know that. Let me shut up now.

 

101.

102.

103.

104.

 

Now, you can set your time-traveling coordinates back to the present:

 

105.

106.

107.

Bonus points if you can guess where this sprawl is located. (Hint: Not Cincinnati)

 

108.

109.

110.

111.

112.

113.

114.

115.

116.

117.

118.

119.

120.

121.

122.

123.

124.

125.

126.

127.

128.

129.

130.

131.

132.

133.

134.

Yes, you read that correctly.

 

135.

136.

137.

138.

139.

140.

141.

142.

143.

144.

For some reason, I enjoy taking pictures of people taking pictures.

 

145.

146.

147.

Corryville houses, undergoing demolition, February 2011.

 

148.

The promise of spring.

 

149.

I’ll leave you with all with a panoramic postcard from an uncommonly seen angle, shamelessly emblazoned with my flickr calling card:

150.

Flickrfriend me or something. Eventually I’ll figure that crap out.

 

 

Anyway, thanks for viewing the thread!

 

-Aaron

 

Jesus.  F#cking.  Christ.

 

This is THE best thread EVER posted on this forum.  This is past one of those "oh, great pics and welcome."  This is one of those "I can retire."

Definitely expletive worthy.

 

Fucking awesome work....

I think you have flagellated yourself to perfection. These are stunning!

 

You have just raised the bar.

Magnificent debut!! Please post more!

Great stuff.  The dog in #56....that was the Newport Yard Sale.  I think I have a phone pic.

Just incredible.  Have to agree with ColDay...one of the best threads ever posted.

Speechless. These pictures capture the very essence of what is great about Cincinnati. LOVE THIS!

These are incredible and one of the best Cincy threads ever! I love how you captured the city with your interesting vantage points and unique scenes. Looking at these photos made me feel like I was actually there to experience what you saw. I hope that you continue to contribute and I look forward to what other scenes and perspectives of Cincinnati and other Ohio cities that you have to offer.

Outstanding work. You made Cincinnati gorgeous in every season.

absolutely awesome.

Holy shit! My new favorite post, and poster. Absolutely phenomenal.

Best thread ever.

What is your flickr account address?

 

http://www.flickr.com/aaron.davidson turns up nothing for me.

These are stunning. I'm glad you finally decided to share them with us. You've got a little bit of everything in here, and it adds up to pure gold. #61 made my jaw hit the ground it was so stunning.

Amazing work. 

 

  Well done. Thanks for posting.

This is awesome.  Thanks so much for sharing these here!

Yeah better keep practicing before you post again  :wink:  Seriously though that is the best Cincinnati photo thread I've seen on here.  Those were amazing!

Shut the front door.

 

You captured the good, the bad and the wonderful about Cincy in one long, glorious thread.  Mad Respect.

 

PS #21, thanks for coming to Beautiful Bellevue.

Absolutely beautiful photography.  Amazing photographs all.  I'm in awe of your talent.

Absolutely the best thread ever!  There is no turning back now!

If all the citizens of the Cincinnati region could see the city the way you do, the latest census results would have been quite different.

 

Awesome.

That camera being used is superb.  Excellent equipment to supplement spectacular photography.

Truly spectacular! I don't know much about photography, cameras, composition or any of that .All I know is I've already viewed this thread 3x in its entirety, and I needs me another fix.    More please. Can't wait for chapter 2.

thanks, these are extraordinary photos!

(re: #89 & 90--I miss the NBC peacock :-() -- NBC Peacock (Laramie Style)

I'm throwing out my camera. I can't top that  :x

 

Stunning photo thread. The colors, the angles, the people, the buildings...I love it all.

AMAZING!!!

 

Cincy is looking great like usual.

Ho-ly shit with a capital H! If you ever get the urge to do a whirlwind tour of Columbus just hit me up. Cincinnati definitely has the old-school, river city charm/aesthetic that is unique to that city. Glad to know there's a part two coming up.

Fantastic!

Thank you so much for *all* the kind responses! I didn't expect such a response so soon, so I'm kind of overwhelmed. I am definitely motivated to start working on a  Part 2 sometime soon.

 

Caseyc:Wow. You must be right! I did take that picture in Newport back in mid-February. I saw a bunch of stuff on the porch, but I didn't think it was a yard sale. I'm not sure whether you recognized the dog or the balcony, but that's almost a scary-good level of recognition.

 

OTR:I'm a moron.

Apparently my flickr  ADDRESS is www.flickr.com/aarondavidson, but my flickr SCREENNAME is aaron.davidson. Although I'm afraid to change either now because I fear I might break all the links. So in short, my *real* flickr name is aarondavidson. I'll change addy on the photo above to reflect that in a few minutes...

 

UncleRando: I appreciate that...I was lucky to catch that picture since tripod broke as I was getting it out of the car to run up Carew Tower with it. I had to balance it between my chest and the wall to get a steady shot...I know I know...coolstorybro. lol

 

REK: Ha ha...My pleasure! I believe #14, #40, #121 were taken in Beautiful Belly View, as well. I do have some more shots of course, but I'm saving those for a future thread.

 

City Blights:Thanks, FYI I used a Canon Rebel T1i (with a variety of lenses) for nearly every shot with the exception of the winter "series" from 2007...I used the earlier Rebel model XT for those.

 

eastvillagedon:Me too! The animation and flute flourish in the video you posted was pretty classy too. Ah, the days of network TV that will (unfortunately) never return. I could go on and on...

 

Keith M.: I definitely need to hit up Columbus sometime this spring and give it my proper respect...I'll be sure to shoot you a PM before I do.

Nice photographs Paradox! Good to see some fresh photos o

Not new words needed out of me but great job!  I was wondering which neighborhood is photo 33 in?  The architecture there is really unique.  That's something I love about Cincinnati you always find something new and interesting in the city no matter how many times you visit.

This thread is amazing. And in photo 110, you managed to catch one of my friends with his roommates on his porch deck. They live across the street from me and hang out up there all the time.

 

As for the rest of the photos, they show the character of all the different neighborhoods of Cincinnati amazingly well. Keep up the good work.

Incredible Job!

these are the highest quality pics i've seen in a long time.  period.  great job!

 

i'm really familiar with cleveland and columbus, but not cincy.  what bar is pictured in #42?  i'm hopefully gonna take a weekend trip down there with some friends at some point this spring and am looking forward to checking out some of the cool bars and neighborhoods you've documented.

Wow!  Incredible!

i'm really familiar with cleveland and columbus, but not cincy.  what bar is pictured in #42?  i'm hopefully gonna take a weekend trip down there with some friends at some point this spring and am looking forward to checking out some of the cool bars and neighborhoods you've documented.

 

#42 is "The Famous Neons Unplugged" aka Neons http://www.facebook.com/Neonsunplugged. It's in Over-the-Rhine (OTR) http://www.facebook.com/OverTheRhine which is a big historic neighborhood that's in the midst of a massive revitalization. I could recommend a lot of places and neighborhoods, but will only mention a few in OTR:

 

The Lackman - http://www.facebook.com/thelackman

MOTR - http://www.facebook.com/pages/MOTR/121361524549409

Iris Book Cafe http://www.facebook.com/pages/Iris-Book-Cafe/169729995076

and Joe's Diner on Sycamore next to Neons http://www.yelp.com/biz/joes-diner-on-sycamore-cincinnati

 

I also highly recommend downtown and Mt. Adams as areas to check out.

thanks for the suggestions!  i heard a really interesting piece on NPR a few months back about its history and am eager to check it out.

Fantastic collection! You put into your pictures far more than I could ever say about Cincinnati. You could probably take this amazing collection, walk into a publisher, and without much effort walk back out with a coffee table book deal, it's THAT good! Good as it is, there were many some picturesque areas of Cincinnati not included and I'm sure you could have doubled the size of the collection. During our first visit to Cincinnati, we were unprepared for the architectural diversity represented in the City; we soon realized we only had time to see but a fraction of the total.  Cincinnati's historic architecture is on a par with Charleston, SC, New Orelans, or even San Francisco...yet it barely registers on the national or international tourist "radar screen" in that regard. Thanks for capturing the gritty side of the Queen City as well...all-in-all these photos add up to a very balanced collection representative of everything that is Cincinnati. Nice work!

I happily tip my hat to one of the best photo threads I've ever seen.

Damn Paradox, you were right and came back strong on this.  I mean damn.  Not get with the Detroit and Ann Arbor photos Nao!

Oh hell, Paradox. I had no idea who you were until Chris had to tell me last night. Get down here to Northside and photograph my house!

in.cred.i.ble.!!!!

Mannnn oh man...this is only maybe my second post here since joining, but I'm honored to post on this thread... :-D

 

Cincinnati takes, or has taken, all kinds of s**t in both its' local and the national media, but it is DEFINITELY on the upswing, and your pictures, man, are absolute living, breathing proof...

 

There is a vibe in this area (I liver to the north in Middletown, but commute to work in Cincinnati every day) that is both gritty-urban and city-modern, that exists no place else I can think of---short of my hometown of Cleveland (gotta plug the Cleve, y'all 8-) )

 

I've been dickering about with the thought of relocating South (probably North Carolina) for some time now, and this ongoing battle between winter and spring has kinda made me walk the fence just a little...

 

But when I see pics like these, and with weather like I had this morning on the way in, and the Reds going gangbusters, I am looking forward to summer and fall here---and maybe, just maybe, your pictures and the people hereabouts may keep my wandering-nomad a** here afterall...bravo, sir, bravo  :clap:

Sh*t! Your talent is fuck**g ridiculous (in a good way of course). Your thread gave me a "kick in the a**" to step my photography game up. These are some of the best urban photographs I have ever seen, and the best I have seen of Cincinnati. Great work. Absolutely stunning.  :clap:

 

Oh, and shout-out to natininja for advertising this guy. He's the reason I came across this thread.

Mannnn oh man...this is only maybe my second post here since joining, but I'm honored to post on this thread... :-D

 

Cincinnati takes, or has taken, all kinds of s**t in both its' local and the national media, but it is DEFINITELY on the upswing, and your pictures, man, are absolute living, breathing proof...

 

There is a vibe in this area (I liver to the north in Middletown, but commute to work in Cincinnati every day) that is both gritty-urban and city-modern, that exists no place else I can think of---short of my hometown of Cleveland (gotta plug the Cleve, y'all 8-) )

 

I've been dickering about with the thought of relocating South (probably North Carolina) for some time now, and this ongoing battle between winter and spring has kinda made me walk the fence just a little...

 

But when I see pics like these, and with weather like I had this morning on the way in, and the Reds going gangbusters, I am looking forward to summer and fall here---and maybe, just maybe, your pictures and the people hereabouts may keep my wandering-nomad a** here afterall...bravo, sir, bravo  :clap:

 

I feel the same way and I've heard many people say the same thing. This city has it's quirks, but at the end of the day, it's a hard city to leave. I think it's because of the fact that this is truly a unique city. I know if I do leave, there will certainly be things I will miss about this city. If I were a person viewing this thread who relocated to somehwere else from Cincinnati, I can almost assure it would have created some strong nostalgic feelings.

Does anyone know why the original spire on the Central Trust building was chopped in half?

108 - factory in St. Louis??

Here is an artist on a mission.  Amazing work!