11 years ago, I was living in Cincinnati up until the end of my 2 year stint at UC (by way of Columbus where I grew up) and I just became really fascinated with Cincinnati's rich history during that time and how it was so different from Columbus where I was originally from and ultimately moved back to, before relocating to Cleveland a year ago.

 

I didn't know it at the time but I was the type of person into 'urban exploring.' Looking back, I would deliberately drive to different neighborhoods just to check them out and understand them. This was when I was still a teenager. I just thought it was fun. I once walked alone into the woods on Cincinnati's urban East side near the river, near Columbia-Tusculum off of (I think) Eastern Ave. and out of nowhere found these forgotten, abandoned remnants of a VERY abandoned major train station secluded along the hill. There was a retaining wall at this train station with this glorious and still mostly in-tact bronze sculpture of Cincinnatus at this station. At the time I had no clue what any of this was. I just knew that I discovered something spectacular and historic that was long forgotten. I posted pictures of what I found, on this forum hoping that forumers could shed light on the subject. For the most part, people were intrigued and interested by it but didn't have an answer. Then, someone came through and provided info and old pictures from this abandoned train station (courtesy of the Cincinnati Public Library) and provided all this historical information on the site. I think that was the pivotal point. That's when I decided to stick around.

 

I thought the stuff discussed on this forum was so cool and fascinating (and still do, obviously.) I also always loved the fact that for some reason this forum tends to attract so many smart people.

 

I fell in love with Cincy while living there and became interested in the local politics (at the age of 18  :-o) and just really wanted to know what all was happening around me (around 2005-2006), which at the time I didn't really know much about but was just so eager to learn. I thought it was so interesting how different Ohio cities have their own unique culture and personality - which gets discussed, and yet we can come together on so many issues when it's important.

 

I'm pretty sure I came across this site from a Google search but it was so long ago that I couldn't tell you what I was searching that led me here.  I just know that I found a forum full of people who, even though they might not always express the same views, ultimately had the same passions and enthusiasm about city life in Ohio that I do, in the areas where it truly matters.

 

I'm really grateful that this forum exists and I consider you all to be my friends, even if I have never met you or if we happen to disagree and argue on certain things. Fact is, over the years, this forum has helped shape my identity - who I am, what I think and what I stand for. I certainly appreciate that and I appreciate all of  you.

 

So I ask you: What brought YOU here?

I enjoyed looking at photos of cities and urban landscapes and learning about new projects coming to the area.

I'm fascinated with American city developments in general and enjoy perusing sites like urbanohio.com, forum.skyscraperpage.com, and skyrisecities.com, in particular the photos sections. Google Earth/Google Maps Satellite are also enjoyable time-wasters.

 

I think I found MayDay's sets somewhere in 06 or 07, and have been a fan of the site since.

 

 

I consider myself to be an urbanist and my life goal is to be a flaneur.  I enjoy urban development and design and being a part of the urban experience. 

I think I saw a misc.transport.road post that had a link to this site in in in 2006. A lot of people from Columbus have an interest in Ohio as a whole and Ohio history that we all had to take in 7th grade. If you're from Columbus, most of the sites listed in the books such as Franklinton, Chillicothe and Zanesville seem a lot more accessible than they are to someone living in the corners of the state.

I think I saw a misc.transport.road post that had a link to this site in in in 2006. A lot of people from Columbus have an interest in Ohio as a whole and Ohio history that we all had to take in 7th grade. If you're from Columbus, most of the sites listed in the books such as Franklinton, Chillicothe and Zanesville seem a lot more accessible than they are to someone living in the corners of the state.

 

Very interesting that Franklinton was settled before Columbus.

I was on skyscraperpage way back in 2002-03~ and I was recruited here by Chris Cousins when he started the site.  I think I was one of the first 30 or 40 people. 

I think I saw a misc.transport.road post that had a link to this site in in in 2006. A lot of people from Columbus have an interest in Ohio as a whole and Ohio history that we all had to take in 7th grade. If you're from Columbus, most of the sites listed in the books such as Franklinton, Chillicothe and Zanesville seem a lot more accessible than they are to someone living in the corners of the state.

 

Very interesting that Franklinton was settled before Columbus.

 

It doesn't look like it because most of the original housing stock has been replaced several times due to several waves of massive flood damage that left the neighborhood in shambles. Growing up there in the early 90s, I remember our basement flooding as high as 3 feet pretty regularly. Due to flooding, the neighborhood just never had any hope of being anything other than a sh!t hole, until the flood wall was built. When it was first settled, I guess they just had no idea what they were getting into. After the flood wall was built (I think in the mid 90s - 1994?) there immediately was rumors about a huge spurt in redevelopment - condo projects and folks with money moving in that would help revitalize the area. That didn't actually come to fruition until SEVERAL decades later. Interest wasn't due to the flood wall but tax incentives, hipsters and artists moving in and a general openness to redevelopment as race relations have always been a non-issue in that area.

 

I was on skyscraperpage way back in 2002-03~ and I was recruited here by Chris Cousins when he started the site.  I think I was one of the first 30 or 40 people. 

 

Lol.

 

Ahh... Chris stole people from SSP?  :-P I didn't know he was such a cut-throat business man. Ha.

I don't think the floodwall was finished until 2000. Honestly, pioneering hipsters will move into about any poor neighborhood EXCEPT ones full of hillbillies. Those are the exact people they have been trying to avoid all of their lives and The Bottoms was full of them.

The interest in urban living started in my early 20's from partying in various downtowns, like Canton, Akron, Willoughby, and Cleveland. I liked the vibe and wanted to live near the atmosphere (still do). As for how I found urbanohio, I first stumbled upon that huge Cleveland development page on SSP updated by MayDay. I then found urbanohio from googling for more information on the projects.

I don't think the floodwall was finished until 2000. Honestly, pioneering hipsters will move into about any poor neighborhood EXCEPT ones full of hillbillies. Those are the exact people they have been trying to avoid all of their lives and The Bottoms was full of them.

 

Well, if that's true, the irony is that hipsters basically are hillbillies.

Mayday had some page, I think on Skyscraper.com, which had continuing updates of projects in the Cleveland area.  I would check in on it every now and then.  One day, someone made a comment about UO and I checked it out.  The rest is history...

Mayday had some page, I think on Skyscraper.com, which had continuing updates of projects in the Cleveland area.  I would check in on it every now and then.  One day, someone made a comment about UO and I checked it out.  The rest is history...

 

Same here, I think. Hard to remember though, it was over 12 years ago.

I'm here because ColDayMan (or whatever his screen name is this week) forced me at gunpoint.  :shoot: 

 

Oh alright, he asked me to help with setting this forum up as a spinoff from other sites like skyscraperpage.com. Speaking of, glad people enjoyed the Cleveland projects thread; it's in desperate need of an update.

 

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=97396

Great thread idea ;) I moved here from California in 2007 and was fascinated by the architecture and history in Cleveland as well as the wave of new development that was just beginning to take off.  This lead to a couple years of googling everything about each building etc. which eventually led me to UrbanOhio in 2010 where I found all of you great like-minded people!  I don't know what I would do without it!

Jane Ware.  Without her, no UrbanOhio.com and Rich & I would still be doing Cincinnatiuprise and you all would be discussing whatever on Cleveland.com/Cincinnati.com/CU/Reddit.

 

Oh, and MayDay, please.  I would kill you with kindness.

I'm a lifelong Columbus resident - I came over here when CU closed it's forum. I've always explored my City and I'm interested in it's history and how it grows. My profession involves me in many of the projects discussed on the Forum. I am amazed at the transformation occurring on High St. from Downtown to campus. I think the increased density is a good thing for our city (even though there's a ton of suburban construction).

I think it was ColDayMan? Gosh, I forget at this point!

What brought me here?

I was seeing redirects from my website's (www.roadfan.com) stats leading back to this website back in 2003. I showed up ask what for, and was asked to stay for four or five years (2003-2007/8). Then I lost interest and occasionally visited over the last decade.

 

Roadfan.com was way ahead of its time for 2003.

 

Mayday had some page, I think on Skyscraper.com, which had continuing updates of projects in the Cleveland area.  I would check in on it every now and then.  One day, someone made a comment about UO and I checked it out.  The rest is history...

 

I'm about 99% sure that's how I started too.  I stuck around because it was busy but not too busy, a topic I was interested in, and my views were quite different from the mainstream but I wasn't the only one and there was (is) no PC type "agree or else" nonsense.

 

It's been kind of amusing how many people whose views are much closer to the mainstream have acted all shocked and left when they didn't find cheerleaders.  But that's the 'net these days.

Roadfan.com was way ahead of its time for 2003.

 

Meh.  Marc & I were following other road related sites (Pahighways, gribblenation, aaroads, Steve Anderson's New York City, Philly, and Boston sites)

I don't think we had any more or less imagination than those other sites I mentioned above.

Wow, I never knew you were a roadgeek let alone a serious one.

Well I just got suspended from City-Data today.  So I'm done with that place for the second time.  That place is infested with stupid old Fox News fuddy-duddys who can't handle facts. 

Lol. I'm curious what happened?

 

I remember hearing about City-Data being like that from UO posts 10-11 years ago when I first joined this forum. I've been there a couple times over the years and saw quite a bit of city bashing and ignorant comments and thought it was so weird because the site is essentially based on hard-core city statistics which you'd think would require a city-loving nerd to appreciate but apparently it doesn't at all. So I've never really been a part of it.

 

Back then, UO and urban planning enthusiasts in general actually seemed more gung-ho in terms of being pro-urban, progressive, idealistic and optimistic about cities, sustainability, smart growth and what-not. I guess it makes sense that it's gotten worse over there.

The problem with city-date is twofold:

1. It's so big that it can't be properly moderated

2. Lots of dumb people stumble onto the site while looking for crime statistics.  People who worry too much about crime tend to be exceptionally dumb and incapable of interpreting statistics. 

That makes sense. I've looked up crime statistics before out of curiosity and ended up over there...simply because they really do have a lot of good statistics. The problem I think with most people and the type of people who post there is that they judge an entire city based on crime statistics. I've lived in and been to a lot of cities and explored many parts of said cities. A city can look really bad with crime rates but people don't experience cities as a whole, within it's actual limits. They don't dig deep enough to understand things like annexation effecting the city's size or how areas in the metro all relate to each other. I live in Cleveland where I'm sure the crime rate is technically high but most of it is concentrated in neighborhoods I never have anything to do with. I also live near some of the richest communities and most vibrant areas in the U.S. but people still ask me, "Why did you move to Cleveland?" Lol... when I lived in Columbus someone actually said to me, "Why are you moving to Cleveland? It's just a bunch of Black people..." and a lot of people tried to tell me it was just a crime-ridden sh!t hole. Straight up ignorance. It's funny how people will have such strong opinions about cities that they've never been to, know nothing about and absolutely are not qualified to judge. That seems to happen a lot on City-data.

If you are interested in landlord issues and financial advice I can recommend the Mr. Money Mustache forum.  They don't have any trolling problems there because it's pretty tough to get on the forum to begin with.  You have to answer two pretty difficult questions that require a fair amount of research to find.  People who are impulsive and suck at facts won't follow-through. 

 

City-Data and so many others are money-making schemes for their owners.  I wouldn't doubt that whoever owns city-data is pulling in $50k while bots and moderators do all the work for free.  Mr. Money Mustache apparently earns $400k annually off his website. 

 

 

Wow, I never knew you were a roadgeek let alone a serious one.

Never realized you were a regular on MTR either. :-)

Back in the pre-Cambrian era, I was an urban geography minor at Kent State, and I loved cities going back to childhood.

 

So one day in 2004 I was googling Ohio passenger rail keywords and saw some forum posts and questions about the 3-C Corridor rail project by The Pope and others. So I decided to register and answer the questions. I've been here ever since.

Honestly, I can't remember at all. I'm lucky I can remember what happened this weekend, let alone whenever it was that I joined the site.

Back in 2007 I was browsing Cincyimages.com and saw renderings for Queen City Square. In the comments section there was a link to this site. I clicked it and went down the rabbit hole.

If you are interested in landlord issues and financial advice I can recommend the Mr. Money Mustache forum.  They don't have any trolling problems there because it's pretty tough to get on the forum to begin with.  You have to answer two pretty difficult questions that require a fair amount of research to find.  People who are impulsive and suck at facts won't follow-through. 

 

City-Data and so many others are money-making schemes for their owners.  I wouldn't doubt that whoever owns city-data is pulling in $50k while bots and moderators do all the work for free.  Mr. Money Mustache apparently earns $400k annually off his website.

 

I love Mr. Money Mustache. I had always had an interest in cities and walk-ability and transit and so on but really his financial philosophy put my interest in urbanism into overdrive. His stuff is all about how modern life is wasteful in many ways and how you can benefit your pocketbook by cutting down on those bizarre and wasteful modern lifestyle practices. Urbanism is simply another perspective on the same problem, talking about how society as a whole could benefit from cutting down on waste. Two sides of the same coin.

 

The type of people that get attracted to MMM are both progressive and capitalist in their mentality, which I find to be a breath of fresh air.

^ I love MMM.  He helps me understand the choices that I make are sound even though I'm not doing what everyone else does.  I think his take an automobile ownership is spot on.  I also like his refreshing take on gratitude.

Wow, I never knew you were a roadgeek let alone a serious one.

Never realized you were a regular on MTR either. :-)

 

I was one of those people who changed names a lot like that Laura Bush user