These are photos I took in Cincinnati twenty years ago, almost: November 1987. They were scanned from color negatives. My scanning and reworking-color-negative-in-Photoshop skills are a work in progress, I admit, but you all might find them somewhat interesting anyway. 

 

Descriptions are underneath. Feel free to help me out here. I last lived in Cincinnati in 1998 and my last visit was in 2004, so I might be off a little on streets and such. I can't place everything anymore.

 

 

Vine St., looking south at Fifth.

 

 

Vine St., looking north at Sixth. No doubt, I turned around.

 

 

 

 

See, now where is this? Is this McMicken, or is it Vine? The memory is no help. (Diver down!)

 

 

This is the Mill Creek Valley, of course, stupidly facing into the sun. I never claimed to be a great photographer.

 

 

Then, as now, the beautiful Carew Tower.

 

 

Tyler Davidson Fountain.

 

 

Vine Street looking north again. There's the former L.S. Ayres on the left.

 

 

Horses!

 

 

Looking west down Fifth Street.

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile, on the Suspension Bridge.

 

 

This is from Devou Park.

 

 

And so is this. Covington.

 

 

Motorcycle cop.

 

 

Western Hills Viaduct.

 

 

Central Parkway, and then I turned around and shot...

 

 

The Imperial. Still there?

 

 

Edit: Forgot one. This is from 1988's Tall Stacks, I'm pretty sure, standing on a bridge that quite possibly isn't there anymore. L&N Bridge? I have a lot of Tall Stacks photos I should probably post.

 

Oh, to have rolled around town and taken more photos. But it was film, and film cost money, and I didn't have a lot of it twenty years ago.

 

Oddly, I have enough pictures of ballparks (Tiger Stadium, Cleveland's old ballpark, which I ought to post) to beat the band, but did I ever take pictures of where I was living? Not very often. Cincinnati, as you know, just lends itself to photography.

Couple street and directions I think are off a bit but great stroll down memory lane!  Thanks and welcome!

 

Imperial Theatre is still there.  Maybe a church in there or empty . . I can't remember.

 

  The "Diver down" series is Sycamore hill. The L&N is still there, closed to cars and known as the "purple people bridge."

 

  Oh the memories of the Central Trust tower!

Aside from the amount of sunlight in the shots...it looks to be a much colder area.  I was only 2 at the time, so I never really experienced the 80's disgustingness.  But I do like Central Trust on top more than PNC that now exists.

 

Oh and thank goodness that building has come down where Macy's currently sits.  That is one of those hideous structures that Hamilton and Middletown are still chuck full of.

LS Aryes.  Now there is a blast from the past.  Thanks for sharing.

Oh and thank goodness that building has come down where Macy's currently sits.  That is one of those hideous structures that Hamilton and Middletown are still chuck full of.

 

Yeah, forget that the next two buildings are irreplaceable beauties and that Cincinnati still has its fare share of hideous crap.

Amazing pictures umbriago, and I'm from Cleveland.. haha.

 

PLEASE post any and all Cleveland Stadium pictures you have, it's VERY hard to find them.  I'd love to see them all.

LS Aryes.  Now there is a blast from the past.  Thanks for sharing.

 

Man, I know, right?  I remember when the Carew was decked out in all that radio/television dish glory!  Thank you so much for these!

Oh, just wonderful to see...definitely, anytime you run across any Cincinnati loving, please share it!  These are just delightful!

 

These are fantastic! Somewhere packed away in a box I have Cincy photos taken around the same time.

These are fantastic! Somewhere packed away in a box I have Cincy photos taken around the same time.

 

Dig!  Dig!!  Dig-Dig!!!

 

Here are two from the set:

 

 

 

Shots from Ohio Cities during the same period:

 

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=13311.0

 

 

"Diver Down" shots -- I really had to scour the pix to understand what was going on. Then I thought of the Van Halen album and it made sense.

Cincinnati wasn't such a bad place in the 80s. I am originally from Toledo, and I started going down there when my brother took a job with GE Evendale in the mid-80s.

 

Toledo's downtown was dead and gone by the late 70s. There was literally nothing left except a few lunch restaurants and Brenda's Body Shop. And hookers.

 

Once I set foot in downtown Cincinnati, though, it was I that was hooked. A great library, restaurants and stores everywhere, the odd little strip of Main Street that had seedy places like the Bay Horse Cafe and cool places like Cianciolo's and more cool old buildings everywhere than you could shake a stick at - could Toledo have EVER been like that?

 

I moved down there in 1986, just in time for the Reds and the Bengals to be good, and stayed twelve years (about equally split between Cheviot/Westwood and Lockland). My only marriage lived and died there, I got my life's footing there, I was one of those surly Reds ushers for four years, I killed a bunch of time at River Downs - I hold the whole area in very high regard, owe it a visit, and miss it quite often.

 

I felt like I was really living there, because Kansas City, the town I currently live in, has all the charm of a dirty dishrag. And every so often something reminds me of it (for example, I bought a house whose former owner was named Jim Shelton, so I always refer to the former owner as "Peanut Jim") or I slip up and call something by a Cincinnati name.

 

Jeez, that reads like a damn love letter. Pardon me.

The 80's!!      (shaking head)

 

You do need to visit soon!  Many things different, many the same.

Just some things I noticed:

 

 

I remember also the hideous sat dishes on top of Carew...when did those come down?  Thanks Heavens!

The Countdown '87 light pole flags.

LS Ayres and Woolworths, sem like they've been gone for 50 years doesn't it?

Vine looking north looks the same!!!

Pic #3 - what was the tower crane for?

No 5/3 branding on the Dubois Tower

All cars were ugly!

The Fifth and Race Tower standing "proudly".  What was the building right next to Woolworths?

Old silver caps on Roebling.

Carew parking garage is still standing.

Tower Cranes for 312 Elm

Amazing pictures umbriago, and I'm from Cleveland.. haha.

 

PLEASE post any and all Cleveland Stadium pictures you have, it's VERY hard to find them.  I'd love to see them all.

 

I will do this and make a separate thread when I do.

 

Also, RiverViewer, I just stopped by cincinnatiroads.com and drove up Elm Street and I'll be back. For someone like me, that is very cool. Drive up I-75 sometime!

Also, RiverViewer, I just stopped by cincinnatiroads.com and drove up Elm Street and I'll be back. For someone like me, that is very cool. Drive up I-75 sometime!

 

Hey, thanks...Andy (PigBoy) did the map part - he's the man.  It's a fun little project, with a whole lot to cover, and it's difficult to get around to, but we'll definitely keep adding stuff, and will post on it when we do!

 

I was only 2 at the time, so I never really experienced the 80's disgustingness.

 

What was so bad about the 80's??  I counted 8 new DT office buildings built in Cincy during the 80's from SSP including P&G world HQ, plus a few more built 90-91 that were in the planning stages.  Most of the skyline as it is today was built then.  And weren't there like 5 department stores open, plus that Tower Place mall in it's heyday?  Seems like it would have been an exciting place, with more going on than today??

 

Now if it is the architecture of the period, I agree that a some of it was less than inspiring.

 

I was only 2 at the time, so I never really experienced the 80's disgustingness.

 

What was so bad about the 80's??  I counted 8 new DT office buildings built in Cincy during the 80's from SSP including P&G world HQ, plus a few more built 90-91 that were in the planning stages.  Most of the skyline as it is today was built then.  And weren't there like 5 department stores open, plus that Tower Place mall in it's heyday?  Seems like it would have been an exciting place, with more going on than today??

 

Now if it is the architecture of the period, I agree that a some of it was less than inspiring.

 

 

I have to ask the same thing.  I came downtown quite a bit when as a kid in the 80s.  The old Shillitos, which later became Lazarus, was the best department store.  It was much better than the current Macy's we have now at Fountain Square, and it included a bookstore, a beauty salon, a candy counter, and an old-fashioned coffee shop/cafe.  The only McAlpin's store I liked was the one downtown.  Stores and restaurants were open later hours, and there were more of them. 

^I remember the 80s downtown fondly. Especially shopping and going to movies, and going to a brand new Sawyer Point -- exciting stuff.

Not to get all Columbus in a Cincinnati thread, but the downtown Columbus Lazarus was still mindblowing in the '80s.

I think someone should re take all the pictures in the year 2007.

I've been remiss! What visit to 1980s Cincinnati would be complete without a stop at King News for some brown-paper-bag goodness?

 

 

Many, many more photos on Wednesday. 1988 Tall Stacks, and more random downtown shots. Here's a preview.

 

 

I'll be darned. According to Google Maps satellite view, those tracks are gone!

 

What was the building right next to Woolworths?

 

Wasn't it the J.C. Newberry Co. - kinda of a five and dime store also - right on the corner of Fifth and Race? Or was that at Sixth and Race, across the street from Dodd Jewelers (605 Race Street and yes I can still hear that damn jingle).

Super Shots!! My fave is Sycamore Hill with several buildings that are no longer there :-( Thanks for sharing these!

I was only 2 at the time, so I never really experienced the 80's disgustingness.

 

What was so bad about the 80's??  I counted 8 new DT office buildings built in Cincy during the 80's from SSP including P&G world HQ, plus a few more built 90-91 that were in the planning stages.  Most of the skyline as it is today was built then.  And weren't there like 5 department stores open, plus that Tower Place mall in it's heyday?  Seems like it would have been an exciting place, with more going on than today??

 

Now if it is the architecture of the period, I agree that a some of it was less than inspiring.

 

Sorry, but yes it was the architecture of the period that I was referring to.

If you want some great '70s shots of the 'Nati, find the Johnny Cash movie "The Pride of Jesse Hallam" http://imdb.com/title/tt0082939/.

All righty then, here's round two.

 

These are from the first Tall Stacks. And these negatives have suffered from the ravages of time more than some of the others, I do believe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Note the Kahn's painters caps, which were everywhere.

 

 

From the top deck of Riverfront Stadium. Let's get a little closer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now here we have some '80s hair. But let's leave for the streets. I think these were taken for a ball game I went to in 1989, because there are telltale signs of someone protesting the Dowd Commission.

 

 

Main Street, I believe. Sorry about the quality.

 

 

Old Fountain Square.

 

 

Fourth and Race...right?

 

 

Fort Washington Way from the stadium walkway overpass, I think. And finally...

 

 

I hear the wrong paper is closing down at the end of 2007. Well that's all I have for now! But I will keep digging. Glad everyone liked them more or less.

The post is closing at the end of 2007, that building above is undergoing a renovation into apartments by middle earth developers.

wow the "dry look" and the Marlboro man mustache were popular, weren't they?!

I've been remiss! What visit to 1980s Cincinnati would be complete without a stop at King News for some brown-paper-bag goodness?

 

I remember walking by this place as a kid, but I can't quite remember where it was.  Where was this?

^Wasn't it over near where Provident Camera is ?

I believe Kings News was where the CAC is now.

I've been remiss! What visit to 1980s Cincinnati would be complete without a stop at King News for some brown-paper-bag goodness?

 

I remember walking by this place as a kid, but I can't quite remember where it was.  Where was this?

 

On the north side of Sixth Street between Vine and Walnut, right next to McDonald's.

Wow.

Keep 'em coming!

Oh, wow, wow, fantastic wow!  Just killer to see...I called my wife over, excited - "honey, look!  It's the old Central Bridge!"  She looked dutifully because she loves me, but I was thrilled enough for the two of us...

 

Any chance you ever took pictures of any parks?  I'd swoon for some vintage 80's Eden Park shots...

 

I'm going crazy over here waiting for the Cleveland Municipal Stadium pictures, it's so hard to find good ones of it.  Any and all will be exciting to see.

This is an amazing shot...I have to echo the other comments and say that these are a treat!  Thanks so much for sharing.

 

wow the "dry look" and the Marlboro man mustache were popular, weren't they?!

 

It's Cincinnati, MTS.  That's still a popular look in 2007.

 

Very cool photos Umbriago.

Oh, wow, wow, fantastic wow!  Just killer to see...I called my wife over, excited - "honey, look!  It's the old Central Bridge!"  She looked dutifully because she loves me, but I was thrilled enough for the two of us...

 

Any chance you ever took pictures of any parks?  I'd swoon for some vintage 80's Eden Park shots...

 

 

THE CENTRAL BRIDGE. I'd been trying to think of the name of that bridge. It was the one that was torn down, right? The L&N bridge is the Purple People Eater or whatever.

 

I can't say what happened to many of the photos I took; I think my ex-wife has many of them. A lot of them were taken with an old Argus camera from the 50s; hers was something decidedly more modern like a Canon.

 

ks5214, I am looking for those photos. Watch for a separate thread, perhaps this weekend.

 

I found some very old Toledo negatives last night that might date from about anywhere from 1977 to 1980, believe it or not. I'll be curious to see how those scan.

THE CENTRAL BRIDGE. I'd been trying to think of the name of that bridge. It was the one that was torn down, right? The L&N bridge is the Purple People Eater or whatever.

 

Indeed - in case you haven't seen it, you should visit http://www.cincinnati-transit.net/ - it's Jake Mecklenborg's absolutely indispensible site on Cincinnati roads and bridges and viaducts and inclines airports and everything transportation.  And he's a forumer!

 

^When you scan these things - don't let the highlights go white. Lighten the files up on Photoshop later.

Think - scan flat, add contrast later.

That main street shot is incredible!  Although I prefer 2007 Cincinnati, it's interesting to know what Cincinnati looked like when I was really little. LOL 80s hair.. That picture going down Vine St. (Is that Vine street?) is awesome as well. I love shots that show how dense Cincinnati is.

Still no Cleveland Municipal Stadium photos thread  :? :x :cry: :| :wtf:

These are awesome. What I find interesting:

 

The people:  short shorts,  dry, long hair, it's also interesting that some people are wearing sweat shirts and others are wearing shorts.  It must have been one of those cold to hot October days.

 

Sawyer Point and Yeatmans:  The immaturity of the trees.  If you go for a walk there now the tress literally have created a canopy over most of those walkways

Good Point on the trees!

There's been some changes but not as many as I expected. As mentioned, thank God that nasty building at 5th and Vine is gone and Fountain Place in there now! What were they thinking?

How in the hell did this car get out there?

 

That's hilarious...totally missed that when I first viewed the picture.