Posted October 2, 200618 yr From the 9/25/06 Enquirer: PHOTO: Patricia Wiers holds up a 1970 photo of Forest Park students Friday at the Forest Park Restaurant, along with Mayor Jim Lawler (left) and former Mayor Brandon Wiers. THE ENQUIRER/CARRIE COCHRAN PHOTO: The opening of Hillcrest Acres, one of the subdivisions in Forest Park. Houses ranged in price from $16,990 to $17,990. Distinctly diverse A successful city grew on farm land no one seemed to want BY JANE PRENDERGAST | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER FOREST PARK - Not so long ago, relatively, there was no Forest Park. The city that's now home to more than 18,000 people was nothing, just a big chunk of land the federal government didn't want. It was supposed to be part of Greenhills, the planned community of President Roosevelt's New Deal to spark Depression recovery. But World War II came along, and the government had new priorities. Statistics Size: 6.337 square miles Households: 7,505 Businesses: 629 Housing units: 7,748 - 62.5% owner-occupied Race: Black, 10,979, 58.2%; White, 7,142, 37.9%; Asian, 715, 3.8% Median age: 33.9 Average family size: 3.12 Gender: Female, 10,119, 52%; male, 9,344, 48% Median family income: $55,618 Median value of single-family, owner-occupied homes: $98,100 Residents below poverty level: 1,143, 6% Education of residents 25 and older: 88% graduates of at least high school; 26% bachelor's degree or higher Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, City of Forest Park http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20060925/NEWS01/609250362/
October 2, 200618 yr There's a whole book written about the development of Forest Park. It's called "Suburb - neighborhood and community in Forest Park, Ohio, 1935-1976." by Zane L. Miller.
October 2, 200618 yr That enquirer article talked about how diverse Forest Park was, but in the pictures accompanying the print version they showed 13 people all of whom were white.
October 2, 200618 yr Also Forest Park is a meaningless jurisdiction that should be annexed by the city. It really serves no purpose being an independent jurisdiction. Be the 54th neighborhood.
October 2, 200618 yr What is with you and trying to say everyplace shouldn't be its own jurisdiction? Forest Park has its own schools, its own businesses, its own community center, and its own library. How does it "serve no purpose"?
October 3, 200618 yr In the article, Forest Park sounds a lot like Park Forest....yet from what I recall it seemed to be pretty nondescript suburbia...nothing as generous as Greenhills with the open space, or planned as well. Speaking of Greenhills....ironic that here at Urban Ohio, with this surfeit of planning and architecture students, no photo threads on one of only three New Deal greenbelt communities....yet its right next door.
October 3, 200618 yr I believe there was a Greenhills thread a couple of years ago. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
October 3, 200618 yr I always mean to do a Greenhills thread. Just like all the other threads I mean to do... Somehow Hamilton always prevails.
October 3, 200618 yr Also Forest Park is a meaningless jurisdiction that should be annexed by the city. It really serves no purpose being an independent jurisdiction. Be the 54th neighborhood. They aren't exactly adjacent
October 4, 200618 yr What is with you and trying to say everyplace shouldn't be its own jurisdiction? Forest Park has its own schools, its own businesses, its own community center, and its own library. How does it "serve no purpose"? No where has its own library, we have the public library of cincinnati and hamilton county, which is ranked among the top ten in the nation. See what we can all achieve together. The serves no purpose does not refer to the neighborhood, it serves the purpose of being a neighborhood, but as an independent jurisidiction it really is lacking. There are (no my knowledge) no theatres, art galleries, or any cultural institutions in Forest Park and not many others the rest of the suburbs (Blue Ash/Montgomery Symphony, Wyoming and Mairemont players are exceptions.). Cincinnati is losing population, as is Hamilton County. We need to follow the lead of Lex, Lou, Indy, and Columbus and adopt city-county government. We would be in the top 15 cities in the nation. Great cities need more than 300,000 people.
October 4, 200618 yr ^ I'm pro Cincinnati annexation, but the reasons you give for these places not having any reason to exist would wipe 99.9% of Ohio's cities and towns off of the map.
October 4, 200618 yr yes, but only if they are within the same county as a major city. rural towns in rural counties are okay. Suburban towns in urban counties are so linked with the major cities they should be counted as one in the same.
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