I've lived in Oxford for more than a year and a half, and yet never done an uptown thread. Then I choose the gloomiest day possible. So here you go...

 

 

 

St. Mary's Roman Truncated Catholic Church

 

 

Oxford Methodist

 

MU was historically Presbyterian

 

Oxford's tiny Lazarus closed with the Macy's takeover

 

High St. Grille

 

Dubois

 

Brick Street, converted theater

 

COC

 

Bagel and Deli, Skippers, etc

 

Copy Shop, Bill's Art

 

The Elms Holiday Inn, new construction

 

Necessity

 

New municipal garage chooses form over function

 

I'm too chocked up to comment on this one (burnt Wendy's)

 

Bank One

 

Don't ask

 

 

You're Fired

 

 

 

When the Post Office moved to the edge of town, Oxford turned it into a courthouse

 

Uptown Cafe

 

Brick Streets

 

First Financial, 1963 infill

 

 

Best building in Oxford?

 

 

 

 

Historic building lost for ice cream and burritos

 

MLK Park

 

You'll notice its the Masonic Building (certainly not the Masonic Temple)

 

Stage/Pavilion thingie

 

Decent recent infill

 

"historically authentic drive-thru"

 

Church St. Lofts,Hungry Howie's

 

Oxford Presbyterian, my cousin will be married here in June

 

Smockin' Ox, site to left could be new municipal complex

 

My barber shop, Varsity

 

 

Another weird infill

 

Something on Starbucks building, attempt to close in window?

 

 

To be honest, I never cared for Uptown Oxford.  The street was too wide, it didn't seem as pedestrian friendly as, say, High Street/OSU, Athens, or even Bowling Green's main street.  The square is a nice public space and I really dig the campus of Miami University, but the actual commercial district...is missing...something.  I dunno.

 

Nice shots anyway!

I like it

^A courthouse? Too many gas stations or too much bad infill?

 

I'm not sure what it is, but I agree, something is missing.

 

I think it's the openess of the place that makes it feel more "suburban" than other college districts.  The sidewalk widths are fine but the streets seem a bit too wide in regards to scale + the openess of the sh!t west of the Uptown area.  I dunno, I wish it were "more."

^Probably. The fact that the parks create a gabbing hole in the south streetscape for more than a block makes it even worse.

 

It seems like I once heard a reason why High was so wide, but I can't remember what that was now.

 

Were you ever in Oxford when the water tower still stood ColDay, it gave Oxford a totally different fell. Of course, I was younger then...

It looks great but it's just too "perfect" for me. I like being able to go to a nice franchise like Coldstone but then other times I might want to go to a complete hole-in-the-wall that happens to be next door.

 

Its like Mayberry was taken over by yuppies.

Cute little town, though!

 

I can see pulling the horse and buggy through there

Thanks for the tour ink.  When I went to school there the water tower was still there.  I think I prefer it with the tower even though it was a little rusty, needed a paint job and the park was less formal. 

 

I can't picture where Church Street Lofts are.  And the building with Cold Stone looked even worse when it was Burger King . . . That Wendy's is sad.

I think Oxford is a pretty good college town and I'm happy there. I haven't been to Athens though, but I don't know if you could really compare it with Oxford, because OU has more students than Miami. Considering Miami's size, I'd say that Oxford is a better college town than other schools Miami's size. It has a nice mix of chains and local establishments, and upscale and casual establishments. The public spaces are designed really well and when its warm out people use them all the time. I like the brick streets and the width that accomodates angled parking instead of parallel parking. You can walk across the street and cars will stop for you.

 

Here are some pictures that show Oxford at the beginning of summer last year:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can't picture where Church Street Lofts are. 

 

They were built right behind the Park Place buildings. If you know where Oxford Presby is, it is on the opposite side of Church 1/2 block west. The building is really out of context with the houses along Church and essentially creates a corner parking lot at Main and Church. Robert Treadon of Hamilton designed it.

Anyway, i think its a shame that Oxford lost Lazurus, Snyder's, and the Wendy's uptown. There's some pretty decent real estate available uptown right now. My wish list for uptown Oxford would include a Trader Joe's or similar concept, a 24 hour restaurant (with breakfast), a sushi bar, Aladdin's, a cafe and book store like kahldi's in Cincinnati.

Oxford just doesn't look "college town" enough.

 

well it is a college town, so... I don't know what you mean. 15,000 students live within a mile radius of uptown. Bookstores, bars, tatoo parlors, sorority gift shops, coffee shops, sandwhich shops, restaurants, pizza, etc. And everyone you see uptown is in college. You may prefer some other college towns, but how is Oxford not a college town?

 

Go to Oxford at midnight on a Friday, and I think you'll see its obviously a college town.

I think Miami's problem is that they study during the week - because thats what you do in real colleges.

If C-Dawg is this interested in the conversation, it must be a college town. (Because it certainly isn't in Toledo)

Note to self:  stay out of Athens........ 8-)

 

 

I have never been to Oxford, thanks for sharing.  Hopefully I will make it there this summer.

 

  This is the real deal: 100% load-bearing brick masonry.

<img src="http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a50/robinsonnate/UpOx/100_8076.jpg">

 

What's wrong with this picture?

<img src="http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a50/robinsonnate/UpOx/100_8069.jpg>

 

It's brick, but the architect got the details wrong. The columns are too skinny, and the bays are too wide. Also, the windows are positioned over the columns. There's got to be steel in there, or the upper floor would collapse. Now I have nothing against steel as a building material, but if you're going to use brick, why not make it load-bearing? Furthermore, I can't locate the front door in that deep, dark space, and the lettering does not stand out well. Too bad. Is Oxford trying too hard to look historic?

 

Photo request: the "Nightmare on Elm Street," aka the Swiss Cheese house. Take Elm north from High.

 

I also miss the water tower.

 

 

^Does it strike you as weird the way the entablature/cornice rises above the bay window like that?

 

Do you know the address of the house you are talking about?

Also, while Athens may be the most urban for the MAC schools, I'd argue that Granville and perhaps Yellow Springs are as complete as Athens, regarding an "urban, walkable" experience.  Athens does not have a downtown full-service grocer, unlike Granville and Yellow Springs.  That is a BIG plus for any college town/neighborhood.

Colleges vary in the amount of students living on campus using meal plans. UC has a kroger and IGA right off of campus but unless you're an honors student or athlete, you try to live somewhere around Clifton asap. Maybe a higher percentage of student stay in dorms and use a meal plan at MU so a grocery store isn't necessarily warranted. You'd think they'd have at least one though, jeez. It seems like an organic grocery store would do pretty well there.

Well the meal plans are big shams.  It ends up being like $7/meal for a lot of them and it's only going to get higher as tomorrow's princes and princesses demand Panarabuck's-looking dining environs, cups with patterns on them and those snug little napkins, and organic this and that.  Or really I don't think students care so much about their daily food plans as administrators, parents, high schoolers, etc., are suckers for the emotional swell they get from walking through fancy-looking dining halls on their college visit.  The college campus today dually acts as a venue for a "college education" and as a marketing device pandering to the self-esteem of high schoolers, their parents, and the careers of administrators.       

^Completely irrelevant, but thanks for the tirade.

 

David, you bring up a valid point for probably the reason behind Oxford not having a full-service grocery store.  Students are not the big 'grocery store type'...but yes from time to time they'll go to pick up some milk, bread, romen noodles, etc.....but all of this is available at the campus operated retail outlets, as well as, a Walgreens or CVS.

Oxford does have a Kroger. It is not uptown, but it is a mile from campus and a couple of the Miami Metro bus routes stop there. Off campus students use it a lot, and many people get more than basic food items. I still think there is a need for some kind of food store closer to all college campus'. I could see Trader Joe's or something similar doing very well uptown or near any campus. Its not a full service grocery store, but it has a lot of cheap organic or international food and beer and wine. Its also just the right size that it could fit in a lot of historic commercial districts. 

I walk from my dorm (on-campus) to Oxford's Kroger, it is only 4 blocks or so. A new CVS is only 3 blocks away. I did the same when I lived on the opposite side of campus, and it was about a 25 minute walk then. Most do take the Miami Metro however, which stops at Kroger three times an hour.

 

Miami's meal plans vary. The greater quantity of meals that you eat/dollars you spend reduces your overall meal costs.

^Bowling Green has full-service grocery downtown too.:wink: I wouldn't really put too much stock into that since it's just one facet of the urban experience. Granville and Yellow Springs are nowhere near as "complete" as Athens (or Bowling Green, or even Oxford). They are miniscule towns that are barely a blip on the radar...Antioch and Denison are the size of high schools (actually, Antioch College is much smaller). Athens is six times the size of Yellow Springs, and Athens is still a small town by all means (though Athens is somewhat a regional hub). Size isn't everything, but when you're dealing with a village smaller than some high schools, it certainly matters.

 

How so?  I didn't say that having a downtown grocer was the be-all-end-all of urbanity, but it IS a big thing for college students.  And I think it's telling that havin a "village smaller than some high schools" has as much "urbanity" and amenities as the "larger" Athens and Bowling Green.

 

An argument could certainly be made for a downtown grocery store in Athens, but CVS is good enough. They sell the basic food needs, and who in Athens needs full-service grocery? The diet of people living downtown generally consists of beer, wine, liquor, milk, cereal, and late-night instant food items.

 

That's a shame.  You're making Athens look real bad.

 

All can be bought at CVS. The only things they don't sell are fresh meats, fruits, and vegetables. Still, most people living downtown will attest that they rarely cook. Eating out at the myriad of cafes, sandwich, and bagel shops is the norm. There's probably over 20 of them just within walking distance of Court and Washington...

 

Still.  For those that COOK and go to school, it'd be NICE to have the option of having a full-service grocer across the street.

 

And I must ask the standard Ohio question: how many full-service grocery stores are in Ohio's major downtowns?

 

College town/village vs. downtown is quite irrelevant.  Population demographics and purposes are different.

^Completely irrelevant, but thanks for the tirade.

 

David, you bring up a valid point for probably the reason behind Oxford not having a full-service grocery store.  Students are not the big 'grocery store type'...but yes from time to time they'll go to pick up some milk, bread, romen noodles, etc.....but all of this is available at the campus operated retail outlets, as well as, a Walgreens or CVS.

 

Perhaps Ohio State is different in the fact that it is a larger campus/population, but MANY Ohio State students use Kroger, Giant Eagle, (strangely) Target, and the near-on-campus Sunflower Market to their needs.  I'm not talking about the naive, dumb freshmen who use meal plans and gain 15lbs but 2nd years and up who live off-campus.

They use those here. I think the cheaper it is (bigger stores like kroger) the more likely they are to use it. Students that live off campus tend to work and you don't necessarily have time to cook, shop, and clean up after your mess so it makes eating out tempting. I don't see a small store working as well for students but I could be wrong, that's just my own perception.

While I agree student populations are "faster" than getting a real job, etc, I still see many college kids fixing up meals or atleast quick meals (ala tacos, omlettes, and hamburgers) all the time.  Again, perhaps it's different from other colleges in the state but OSU heavily uses the markets around it.

 

As far as a small store, it just depends what is in the store.  Sunflower Market, across from campus, has a wonderful organic selection for students not really into the whole "binge, beer, and bread" thing.  What it comes down to is variety.  A better college campus is going to have more variety around it.  Options of going to bars, restaurants, full-service grocers, and perhaps planting chocolate Ashlee Simpson rabbits outside of a library is just common sense to have.

Ink - Sorry, I don't have the address, but if you walk north on Elm from High it's about 3 blocks down on the right. There is no mistaking it.

 

Yes, I do think the bay window is wierd. It looks as if the architect copied some elements from various old buildings with no regard for how they fit together.

 

What OU has that the others don't is that elusive sense of place and a truly distinct local culture, something you certainly can't buy, can't design, and so on.  Pretty much nothing was by design, it just happened that way.  Some of the programs are just plain bad and in my opinion the administrators, from what I've seen, are a bunch of clowns.  My experience at OU was 90% of the students being great people and about 50% of the faculty/administrators being pissed off, bitter, defeated people.  You've got a lot of people teaching that wasted their youths pissed off and are even more pissed off being around so many happy young people.   

The professors are probably just pissed that they have to live and work at a school in a small town surrounded by nothingness. It would make me pretty bitter too. Seriously though, why would anyone in their 40s and 50s want to live in a small college town? People naturally want to be in an environment catering to their demographic. Does Athens offer a whole lot for scholars and other professionals? It is good for students I'm sure but most professionals would like to leave their small college town for good after they get their degrees. Id feel like I was stuck in a rut, personally.

The funny thing is, some of those Columbus stores you listed are the same distance as Athens grocery stores are from its downtown. In Athens, there are grocery stores that are within walking distance of student neighborhoods (Seaman's for example), but again, the downtown CVS is good enough for basic needs. When kids cook, they drive to Kroger.

 

Now ask yourself why would Kroger and Target have stores near OSU student neighborhoods? Because they have dozens of locations all over the city. That would be expected in any place with 700,000 people. The dynamics of a college town and college in a major city are quite different. Market demand would yield a couple grocery stores in the OSU area whether the students were there or not (of course having 50,000 students brings in even more). And hell, UT has grocery stores within walking distance of campus too (again, the big city thing)...

 

No.  Kroger and Giant Eagle (former Big Bear) target the student population of a 51,000 person university.  It has nothing to do with the 740,000 population, as OSU is a "city within a city."  But I'm sure from an outsider perspective, I can see your point.

 

And how many art galleries, theaters, restaurants, bars, nightclubs, delis, live music venues, coffee shops, hooka bars, clothing stores, banks, law offices, and beer/wine shops do Yellow Springs and Granville have downtown? Again, they're not even comparable to BG/Athens/Oxford. And, how many total grogery stores do they have in the city?

 

Yellow Springs has all of the things you mentioned in its downtown.  Granville is more conservative, thus, I dunno.  I just mentioned the latter as it's urban and has a full-service grocer.  And I again reiterate that when a village the size of Yellow Springs has ALL of the things you mentioned compared to the MAC towns, that's saying something.

 

Athens and Bowling Green (Oxford too) kill them on the "variety/selection" front, and kill them at basically everything. There are nowhere near the ameneties in Granville and Yellow Springs that are present in Athens or Bowling Green. Any normal person can plainly see that.

 

Also, any person would see that Yellow Springs is 10 miles from a freakin' mega-mall area and Granville is a satellite city of Newark.  Thus, variety/selection is irrelevant, as proximity is close.  I was merely discussing self-containment, which is quite impressive that VILLAGES can have the same amenities as the "larger college towns."  THAT is my point.  I'm not here to start a "Athens has this!  Well, Granville has that!  But Bowling Green has hot Lebanese bitches!!!" 

 

That would be moronic and has nothing to do with my point.

 

And damn, I have to give bonus points to Bowling Green for its amenities. Athens is the cultural hub (nightlife, arts, music, theater, etc.) of Southeast Ohio, but Bowling Green is nearly as good, and actually has more variety in the arts, music, and club scene than Athens. Bowling Green has to compete with downtown Toledo (clearly the cultural hub of Northwest Ohio), which has a hell of a lot more variety/selection (major nightclubs, outstanding restaurants, classy bars, great art galleries, more live music, nationally-acclaimed jazz lounges, etc.). Still, Bowling Green is damn respectable despite the fact it is 20 miles from a big city. I'd argue the death of rail transit between BG and Toledo may have actually helped BG build such a good culture/nightlife of its own. BG has one of the largest arts festivals in the Midwest, has a shitload of good bars and music venues, and it does all this while competing with Toledo.

 

Competing...with...Toledo?  Toledo doesn't even have music venus and good bars ;).  Thus, Bowling Green IS the "hub" of Northwest Ohio.  Tsk tsk.

 

Athens, Bowling Green, and Oxford have a hell of a lot more variety, and each shines in its own way. Want to get shitfaced and punch a horse?- Athens. Want to see a live music show and hook-up with a hot slut?- Bowling Green. Want a good grilled hamburger and frat parties?- Oxford. Really, they're all very good college towns. I just wish Oxford had more bars and more grit.  It's a little too clean/conservative for me, but the downtown is attractive and the campus of Miami is very good.

 

What on earth does that have to do with my point?  Is this a brochure for the MAC schools?

 

How can I make Athens look any worse than it already does?- mass plagiarism, constant water main breaks and boil warnings, highest per capita alcohol consumption in Ohio, serious erosion, crumbling houses, the nation's top illegal downloader, etc.

 

*Some bullshit here*

 

*Some bullshit there*

 

*Some bullshit here*

 

...time to go back to boiling my drinking water for the next couple days...

 

Uhh...(thank God for the Big 10...)

We have good grilled hamburgers?

Your Wendy's burned down, right?  Well, there ya go!  They are THAT good.

That's a shame.  You're making Athens look real bad.

 

How can I make Athens look any worse than it already does?- mass plagiarism, constant water main breaks and boil warnings, highest per capita alcohol consumption in Ohio, serious erosion, crumbling houses, the nation's top illegal downloader, etc.

 

The town's a shithole, and everyone knows it, but it's the BEST DAMN SHITHOLE THAT EVER EXISTED. We may have a wretched off-campus housing situation, and the town smells like ass whenever it gets warm, but you get used to it- it's all part of the "college experience." Despite its crumbling infrastructure, major budget problems, and grossly overpriced housing (twice as bad as BG or Oxford), it is one of America's best party/college towns, plain and simple. The sun never sets on Athens. It only sets on the bars since the state of Ohio is conservative and decides to stop serving alcohol after 2am....clowns....

 

Athens does have a lot of negatives, and you don't really learn about them until you move off-campus (the downtown/campus area is in good shape, so it blinds you from reality). Just today, another water main broke on Congress and the whole city has a boil warning. It happens all the damn time, and there is no money to fix any of it, since the town can barely afford the overtime police officers it hires for our block parties. I'm getting really sick of boiling my water just to avoid getting the runs...

 

I always laugh when people complain about budget problems and "poorly maintained" infrastructure back home in Toledo. At least the city is flat with little erosion, and the only time your basement floods is during a biblical storm that comes once a century...and shit, the houses actually stand up straight and have intact foundations. Plus the WATER system is amongst the best in America, and there are virtually no boil warnings. Athens can't claim any of that.

 

...time to go back to boiling my drinking water for the next couple days...

 

 

 

Where does Athens get its money?  It's a tiny municipality dominated by a large tax-exempt university and largely populated by college students who generate little to no income.  It's no suprise that Athens cannot pay for its infrastructure.

>The professors are probably just pissed that they have to live and work at a school in a small town surrounded by nothingness. It would make me pretty bitter too.

 

That's the whole thing, there is actually a ton of stuff going on in the town and in the surrounding area if you're open to it.  That's the problem -- the urban hipster and certain types of supposedly open-minded people who come to town aren't open to what exists in the area.  If you were to transplant certain things and experiences to a so-called hip area, then those people would think they're hip.  The exact same thing in Athens, well so many of these people didn't even go out so they thought they hated the town when they didn't even begin to know it. It's just like how most people (including the urban hipsters/academics/etc.) can be easily fooled by product packaging or say the lemon scent of a supposed cleaning product.  I can't tell you how many people in the arts in Athens were unwilling to entertain the idea that anything worthwhile was going on there.  Then periodically someone would "discover" something that I'd known about for years (like a band) and then get upset when I said I'd seen this or that band 12 times already and jammed with their bassist a year ago.  And let me add that on two occasions I remember seeing particularly pretentious grad students who swore off Court St. walking out of of Paw-Purr's with a member of the opposite sex...so these people were hypocritical as hell.  Sure, there is a mindless aspect to a lot of those bars and their clientele and the music is hit-and-miss but the fact is a lot of those people really know how to have fun and don't sit around complaining about how much life sucks like people who hang out at coffee shops.       

 

 

>Seriously though, why would anyone in their 40s and 50s want to live in a small college town? People naturally want to be in an environment catering to their demographic. Does Athens offer a whole lot for scholars and other professionals? It is good for students I'm sure but most professionals would like to leave their small college town for good after they get their degrees. Id feel like I was stuck in a rut, personally.

 

Cornell, Dartmouth, and plenty of other schools are out in the middle of nowhere.  Increasingly they have trouble recruiting certain types of faculty, and I definitely think OU makes huge mistakes by bringing people in who are never going to be happy in the place.  I suppose there's a certain point where a tenure-track professor is unable to escape to a more prestigious program and there's a moment where the reality of 30 years in Athens hits them.  That said there are a lot of people who love it there but they have to put up with the scorn of many faculty members who hate it.   

 

 

 

I would suspect Athens has an earnings tax which they collect from all the well-compensated faculty?

Who cares if they have to pay over time police? Look at how much outside money comes into Athens every Halloween.

Whats that say about the quality of your establishments in Athens?

Bullshit, and I'm calling you out on that. Where are the law offices in downtown Yellow Springs? And a nightclub?? I don't think so...last time I was in Yellow Springs, I didn't remember seeing law offices or nightclubs downtown, and there were maybe two bars with a laughable number of cafes, restaurants, and deli's. Quite frankly, it didn't offer much more than most towns its size. All it had going for it was an upper class liberal counterculture to the overwhelmingly conservative culture of Greene County. Perhaps that's why people are so quick to defend it and why it has such a good reputation. Don't get me wrong, Yellow Springs is a great stop for hippies, but as a college town, it's just too damn small. If you want big-time liberal culture with actual power, just go to Cleveland, Toledo, Athens, Bowling Green, etc....

 

Okay, now THAT is laughable.  I don't go to Toledo or Bowling Green for "big time liberal culture with actual power."  There are law offices in their downtown (EVERY DOWNTOWN HAS A LAW OFFICE) and there is a nightclub (Roxy's) in their downtown as well.  Though I'm sure they are called something else now.  Didn't offer much for a town the size of like 4,000 people?  Okay, I'm done with this.  It's getting moronic.  Then again, apparently Athens doesn't want scholarly answers.  I forgot.

 

And I think you're merely fooling yourself. There's little variety/options in those villages, and anyone who's been there knows that. There are relatively few choices and they DON'T have all the amenities you see in Athens and Bowling Green. How can you expect a small village with 3,000 people to have all the amenities of a county seat with over 20,000??

 

Christ.  You still don't get it.  Alas.

 

The funny thing is, Bowling Green is the same distance from Levis Commons/Perrysburg, but it DOES hae more options directly in its downtown than Yellow Springs. And why does Bowling Green have more options?- Because it's 30,000 people and the county seat.

 

Uh...

The funny thing is, some of those Columbus stores you listed are the same distance as Athens grocery stores are from its downtown. In Athens, there are grocery stores that are within walking distance of student neighborhoods (Seaman's for example), but again, the downtown CVS is good enough for basic needs. When kids cook, they drive to Kroger.

 

Now ask yourself why would Kroger and Target have stores near OSU student neighborhoods? Because they have dozens of locations all over the city. That would be expected in any place with 700,000 people. The dynamics of a college town and college in a major city are quite different. Market demand would yield a couple grocery stores in the OSU area whether the students were there or not (of course having 50,000 students brings in even more). And hell, UT has grocery stores within walking distance of campus too (again, the big city thing)...

 

No.  Kroger and Giant Eagle (former Big Bear) target the student population of a 51,000 person university.  It has nothing to do with the 740,000 population, as OSU is a "city within a city."  But I'm sure from an outsider perspective, I can see your point.

 

I'm not sure. I mean its clear that OSU exerts its influence on the surrounding area and commercial services, but in many situations schools in urban settings don't offer the convenience or neighborhood amenities that you would expect. Schools in big cities get kind of lost in the city, and the city doesn't cater to them. As a result they don't have as much to offer in terms of a neighborhood.

 

Surprisingly schools in smaller towns do offer more convenience and a higher concentration of neighborhood amenities to serve the student population. A fifteen minute walk anywhere in the Mile Square of Oxford can get you to class, a CVS, boutique shops and other services, liquor stores, bookstores, salons, a variety of restaurants, off-campus parties, bars, the hospital, the municipal building, law offices, etc.  I have many friends at Case Western, University of Dayton, and Cleveland State, and my sister goes to UK in Lexington. In many situations the neighborhood surrounding these campus' don't offer the variety of restaurants and bars as Oxford. They say they often have to walk longer than 15 minutes to get things they need or they need to drive.

 

* Now, obviously these cities have public transit that could help students get where they could go, but very few actually do this. I was surprised for instance that my friends at UD had never been to the Oregon District. I asked why not, and they're response was that they didn't know how they would get there. My sister didn't want to go to school in a small college town, because she wanted to be in a place where there was "more to do". But she is telling my parents that she needs a car on campus "to get what she needs". I on the other hand in Oxford don't need a car neither to to what I want or get what I need. 

 

It's kind of strange when you think about college towns being more "urban" than bigger cities, but I think if you consider what most people here consider "urban" its actually true. College towns are more walkable, vibrant, convenient, and entertaining.   

The professors are probably just pissed that they have to live and work at a school in a small town surrounded by nothingness. It would make me pretty bitter too. Seriously though, why would anyone in their 40s and 50s want to live in a small college town? People naturally want to be in an environment catering to their demographic. Does Athens offer a whole lot for scholars and other professionals? It is good for students I'm sure but most professionals would like to leave their small college town for good after they get their degrees. Id feel like I was stuck in a rut, personally.

 

So the fact that there is a steady stream of high-profile guest speakers, sporting events, performances, concerts, film screenings, festivals,  and other intellectual and entertainment opportunities wouldn't appeal to people in their 40s and 50s? I actually know some people who want to retire in college towns for these reasons.

 

 

This thread started as photo thread, but should we move the majority of this discussion to a new thread under city discussion? There seems to be a lot of people who want to discuss college towns and not photos of Oxford. 

Bullshit, and I'm calling you out on that. Where are the law offices in downtown Yellow Springs? And a nightclub?? I don't think so...last time I was in Yellow Springs, I didn't remember seeing law offices or nightclubs downtown, and there were maybe two bars with a laughable number of cafes, restaurants, and deli's.

 

There is a law office in Yellow Springs, and a nightclub/bar, Peaches, which adverstises in the Dayton media.  Its not the kind you would find in Bowling Green as the student body at Antioch is different, as are the townies.

 

Quite frankly, it didn't offer much more than most towns its size.

 

You are probably not famliar enough with this part of Ohio to make this comparison, or you would not have made that statement.

 

 

 

 

Oxford is pretty sedate.  It is sort of what a college town would have been like before the "1960s".  I dont find it that gloomy, to be honest.  The town is in excellent condition.

^I was referring to the day the photos were taken.

The funny thing is, some of those Columbus stores you listed are the same distance as Athens grocery stores are from its downtown. In Athens, there are grocery stores that are within walking distance of student neighborhoods (Seaman's for example), but again, the downtown CVS is good enough for basic needs. When kids cook, they drive to Kroger.

 

Now ask yourself why would Kroger and Target have stores near OSU student neighborhoods? Because they have dozens of locations all over the city. That would be expected in any place with 700,000 people. The dynamics of a college town and college in a major city are quite different. Market demand would yield a couple grocery stores in the OSU area whether the students were there or not (of course having 50,000 students brings in even more). And hell, UT has grocery stores within walking distance of campus too (again, the big city thing)...

 

No.  Kroger and Giant Eagle (former Big Bear) target the student population of a 51,000 person university.  It has nothing to do with the 740,000 population, as OSU is a "city within a city."  But I'm sure from an outsider perspective, I can see your point.

 

I'm not sure. I mean its clear that OSU exerts its influence on the surrounding area and commercial services, but in many situations schools in urban settings don't offer the convenience or neighborhood amenities that you would expect. Schools in big cities get kind of lost in the city, and the city doesn't cater to them. As a result they don't have as much to offer in terms of a neighborhood.

 

Surprisingly schools in smaller towns do offer more convenience and a higher concentration of neighborhood amenities to serve the student population. A fifteen minute walk anywhere in the Mile Square of Oxford can get you to class, a CVS, boutique shops and other services, liquor stores, bookstores, salons, a variety of restaurants, off-campus parties, bars, the hospital, the municipal building, law offices, etc.  I have many friends at Case Western, University of Dayton, and Cleveland State, and my sister goes to UK in Lexington. In many situations the neighborhood surrounding these campus' don't offer the variety of restaurants and bars as Oxford. They say they often have to walk longer than 15 minutes to get things they need or they need to drive.

 

* Now, obviously these cities have public transit that could help students get where they could go, but very few actually do this. I was surprised for instance that my friends at UD had never been to the Oregon District. I asked why not, and they're response was that they didn't know how they would get there. My sister didn't want to go to school in a small college town, because she wanted to be in a place where there was "more to do". But she is telling my parents that she needs a car on campus "to get what she needs". I on the other hand in Oxford don't need a car neither to to what I want or get what I need.  

 

It's kind of strange when you think about college towns being more "urban" than bigger cities, but I think if you consider what most people here consider "urban" its actually true. College towns are more walkable, vibrant, convenient, and entertaining.   

 

And while I can see the argument from that perspective (discussing UD, Toledo, Akron, Cleveland State, perhaps Case Western) but generally, with Ohio State and UC, they seem to be insular within their own city, thus self-sustaining.  I don't know if that is simply due to size or university control of the surrounding neighborhoods.  Clearly, OSU and UC have "more" stuff to do in their immediate surroundings than, say, Miami, Ohio, and Bowling Green.  Perhaps due to the latters isolation that makes it "seem" more impressive that they have, well, a music venue or a hookah bar.  And along with that, atleast in Ohio State's case and prominance, it is without a shadow of a doubt that the big name grocers I named are strictly supported by Ohio State students (particularly, Giant Eagle).

Bullshit, and I'm calling you out on that. Where are the law offices in downtown Yellow Springs? And a nightclub?? I don't think so...last time I was in Yellow Springs, I didn't remember seeing law offices or nightclubs downtown, and there were maybe two bars with a laughable number of cafes, restaurants, and deli's.

 

There is a law office in Yellow Springs, and a nightclub/bar, Peaches, which adverstises in the Dayton media.  Its not the kind you would find in Bowling Green as the student body at Antioch is different, as are the townies.

 

Quite frankly, it didn't offer much more than most towns its size.

 

You are probably not famliar enough with this part of Ohio to make this comparison, or you would not have made that statement.

 

Gracias.  And for the latter one, I'd wouldn't just say "this part of Ohio" but ALL parts of Ohio.  Yellow Springs is quite unique in the state that such a small village has such a variety of amenities.  I cannot think of another small village (excluding suburbs) in the state that can compare in amenities vs. size, except Pomeroy.  I mean, Yellow Springs has a population of 3,761.  That's my high school alma mater for Christ sakes.

Even though UC and OSU are part of much larger cities, there's a noticable boundary of where the college scene begins and ends. Both have very college-centric business districts. You basically get the college atmosphere of a small town college but with the amenities of the larger city around it.

 

Its hard to believe a grocery store like Giant Eagle could be sustained just by students. I don't know, I guess just because small percentages of students use grocery stores around this campus (maybe 8 percent at the corryville kroger and 40-50 percent at the IGA). Then again, UC has more people from the local area and many go to Hyde Park (they have a built in starbucks).

Even though UC and OSU are part of much larger cities, there's a noticable boundary of where the college scene begins and ends. Both have very college-centric business districts. You basically get the college atmosphere of a small town college but with the amenities of the larger city around it.

 

Bingo.

 

Its hard to believe a grocery store like Giant Eagle could be sustained just by students. I don't know, I guess just because small percentages of students use grocery stores around this campus (maybe 8 percent at the corryville kroger and 40-50 percent at the IGA). Then again, UC has more people from the local area and many go to Hyde Park (they have a built in starbucks).

 

I should re-state this in saying that the majority of Giant Eagle's (and Kroger's) patrons are students from Ohio State (as truly no one knows if a store is totally supported by a certain demographic, unless the pointless study was done).