Nice.  I will be returning to Cincy on Labor Day, for the first time in 3 months, and can't wait to see the progress.  It's been amazing how much has been done since I last saw it.

 

I'd love to see some photos from the tower crane.  Hell, I'd love to take some photos :) I wonder how they feel about blogger tours?

I'd love to see some photos from the tower crane.  Hell, I'd love to take some photos :) I wonder how they feel about blogger tours?

 

I can ask Eagle Realty VP Tom Stapleton about that if you're interested.  My guess is no, but you never know.

That would be awesome to have a blogger tour.  But yeah the safety hazzards would make this unlikely.

Yeah, a few bloggers splattered 300 feet down would probably be unappealing to them.

 

I was just encouraged by an Extreme Engineering (I think) episode where they took the host to the top of the crane during the construction of the Shanghai World Financial Center.  It was a very interesting perspective!

Any news yet on QCS? Anyway I wonder if QCSII is tall enought to be seen from the cut-in-the hill yet? Anydody tried to take a picture of this shot:

 

 

This is my favorite view of Cincinnati! Just look at how tall Carew Tower is and imagine something bigger on the right. Sweet, Cincinnati will look like a devil. :evil:

...of?

It looks to me like it would be tall enough but your field of view would need to be a little wider. Anyways, I saw the tower for the first time in a month and am impressed. It is going to be a behemoth on the skyline.

Count me in for a blogger tour if you can get one, that would be incredible wouldn't it?

Any news yet on QCS? Anyway I wonder if QCSII is tall enought to be seen from the cut-in-the hill yet? Anydody tried to take a picture of this shot:

 

 

This is my favorite view of Cincinnati! Just look at how tall Carew Tower is and imagine something bigger on the right. Sweet, Cincinnati will look like a devil. :evil:

 

I could see the core from the Cork and Bottle

IMHO...one of the more unique views of the Cincy skyline is from the AC Poweleit Memorial Bridge in NoKY.  You are far enough away to see the entire skyline in context with the surroundings of the basin and it is directly in line with the N/S street grid.  I know of no place further away that you can view the CIncy skyline from "head to toe" like C-Bus or Indy.  CoviNew's skyline is is backdropped by Cincy's and you can see really well the relative height of all the buildings (DT's buildings look WAY taller than the stadia from here...it doesn't seem so when you are right DT).  Carew looks anorexic.

 

Anyway, QCSII is now clearly visible eclipsing GABP from this angle and since you have the perspective mentioned it is easy to envision 2/3 more height on what is there and WOW!  Height and prominence are the words. 

IMHO...one of the more unique views of the Cincy skyline is from the AC Poweleit Memorial Bridge in NoKY.

 

Is that the 275 bridge between Taylor Mill and Cold Spring?

IMHO...one of the more unique views of the Cincy skyline is from the AC Poweleit Memorial Bridge in NoKY.

 

Is that the 275 bridge between Taylor Mill and Cold Spring?

 

TM and Wilder - Yes.

the core is at 21 stories.  They definitely need to raise the crane soon. 

the core is at 21 stories. They definitely need to raise the crane soon.

 

LOL...I know but from the last time I talked to the Crane guys they have to tie the crane down before they can raise it. So until that steel gets higher that crane is staying put. I think by the end of the week the steel should be high enough to raise the crane another 80-100ft. We shall see, it is definately about time though. If you look at the QCS website's webcam you can see they have a ways to go with the steel. Wow this tower is at half it's height in about 6 months.  Splendid!!!

8/26/09:

 

Awesome pics, and nice angle.  I like the twlight photos!

the core is at 21 stories. They definitely need to raise the crane soon.

 

LOL...I know but from the last time I talked to the Crane guys they have to tie the crane down before they can raise it. So until that steel gets higher that crane is staying put. I think by the end of the week the steel should be high enough to raise the crane another 80-100ft. We shall see, it is definately about time though. If you look at the QCS website's webcam you can see they have a ways to go with the steel. Wow this tower is at half it's height in about 6 months. Splendid!!!

 

Tie it down indeed....you should see how that crane sways. It's crazy.  Righ now steel framing is two floors above QCSI rooftop.

Anyone know how tall Atrium II is? I wonder how far before GATower eclipses it in height? Isn't it more like 2.5-3.0 floors taller than QCSI rooftop? LOL...if you're looking at jmecklenborg's photo. I bet 100 bucks they raise that crane this weekend. If they don't I'll be really surpised. I think the steel is caught up now that it can be tied to the crane now. At least on the backside.

Going by memory, Atrium II is 29 floors, Atrium I is 20 or 21. 

Well I figure this, and correct me if I'm wrong.  Atrium II is 107 meters tall and 28 stories.  Which means each floor is about 3.82 meters tall or about 12.5 ft tall (I'm sure it's not but for argument sakes lets agree it is).  That would make this building's height 351 ft tall.  If we are correct in assuming the core is at least 21 stories and they are about the same floor height than that would make QCSII 263 ft tall and that it's 88ft shy of Atrium II.  What do you think?  Either way you look at it we still got about 397 more feet to go!  :laugh:

The crown will add some height as well, so the top floor will be less than 660, right?

 

Tie it down indeed....you should see how that crane sways. It's crazy. Righ now steel framing is two floors above QCSI rooftop.

 

I see it daily and never noticed it swaying...

The crown will add some height as well, so the top floor will be less than 660, right?

 

Yeah a measly 513 feet. It will actually be shorter than Carew Tower.

I guess it has been said before but I am just now realizing how monstrous that crown will be at 147 feet tall!

So by my calculations, if they are on the 21st floor, that is 41% of the building's total height

I guess it has been said before but I am just now realizing how monstrous that crown will be at 147 feet tall!

 

I doubt the crown will be this tall.  That would be monstrous at roughly the size of 15 floors.

I guess it has been said before but I am just now realizing how monstrous that crown will be at 147 feet tall!

 

I doubt the crown will be this tall.  That would be monstrous at roughly the size of 15 floors.

 

Look it up rich...I'm sure that's right...

"The tower's signature feature would be a tiara that would cost $3 million to $5 million alone.(13) The design of the tiara was inspired by the ABN AMRO Plaza in Chicago, Illinois. It would span 130 feet by 130 feet and weigh 250 tons, and would be shipped from its manufacturer in Columbia, Missouri."

 

From:

http://www.urbanup.net/index.php?catid=569

 

Maybe that would shed some light on the true prospective size of the tiara.

I guess 130' could be right.  It would be roughly 20% of the total height.  That seems like a lot though. 

Wait, the tiara is inspired by this!?!

 

 

 

I love this building, but how exactly does any of that translate into a tiara?

 

130' seems right.  Take a look at the rendering again and compare the height of the tiara with the building directly below and count the number of floors.  I count about 12-14.

Concerning the design of the Tiara on top, got this from Wikapedia....

  The building's architect, Gyo Obata, designed the building to include a top inspired by Diana, Princess of Wales's tiara. Gyo was flipping through books when he came upon a picture of Diana wearing a crown. "That's perfect. Here we have the crown of the building, and the nickname for the city is Queen City," said Joe Robertson of Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum remarking to Gyo when he first saw the picture.

My personal belief is that this is a complete lie, fabricated for marketing purposes.

^Yeah...sounds spurious...she was a Princess not a Queen.  Either way...it makes for good ink.

 

For a while I pouted and thought, "Hey, dispense with the hood ornamnet that adds 'artificial height' and just add floors on it and build it taller."  But the more time passes I am actually really liking the tiara.  It will be lighted internally, correct? (similar to Aon in L'ville)

I guess 130' could be right. It would be roughly 20% of the total height. That seems like a lot though.

 

That's because it is a lot. Why they're wasting 130 feet on this thing I don't know...they should have went up 130 more feet and then had a 130 foot tiara now that would have been nice...

I'm just happy they are building a tower lol. There are probably so many things they could've done differently but I think everyones opinion will change once its built.

I guess 130' could be right. It would be roughly 20% of the total height. That seems like a lot though.

 

That's because it is a lot. Why they're wasting 130 feet on this thing I don't know

 

Because John Barrett wanted to build the tallest building in the city

I'm trying to withhold judgement on QCSII until it's actually complete, but given its location, I think it's plenty big enough as it is. I'm not opposed to tall buildings in Cincinnati, but I'd rather see more good buildings rather than just more buildings that are big for the sake of being big. And if somebody really wants to build something big, I'd prefer to see it done along 5th or 6th Street, rather than along 3rd Street where it blocks views to and from the existing skyline, which is quite beautiful in its own right. The focus should be on quality, rather than merely quantity.

 

My worst fear for QCSII is that the tiara will make the building look like a morbidly obese prom queen blocking a group photo of otherwise attractive people. I hope I turn out to be wrong.

My worst fear for QCSII is that the tiara will make the building look like a morbidly obese prom queen blocking a group photo of otherwise attractive people. I hope I turn out to be wrong.

 

That is funny! LMAO :laugh:

I guess we won't see curtain wall until what december? Darn thing is suppose to reach full height in mid march next year which is like 7 months away? I will admit these guys are hauling ass building this thing. I guess they're trying to get as much done before the winter hits you know.

>I hope I turn out to be wrong.

 

I agree.  This wouldn't have been the case to the same extent if they had built this tower on the north part of the block and/or had angled it slightly, or had just chosen an entirely different design. I think the effect will be a "naked" one until the Banks midrises are built, which should diffuse QCS's largesse.

 

 

I'm all for tallness, but not on 3rd, put the tallest closer towards Central Pkwy.

I agree, and they really could have used a building of this caliber on the far north end of the CBD.  But..if it was 3rd st or nothing at all, I'd take 3rd st.

It'll look fine over time.  The Banks will mature as a neighborhood, buildings will be replaced, and it will mesh with the CBD.  FWW helps as a buffer so that QCSII isn't so overwhelming.

 

I'm not excited at all about the parking structure on 4th Street though.  That street is our midtown Manhattan.  Sickens me.

If Cincinnati ever gets a decent streetcar / light rail / subway system, it would be nice to see some of those parking structures get replaced with real buildings.

 

The worst offender is the old Pogue's garage at Fourth and Race:

 

 

Nobody will shed any tears when that thing eventually meets the wrecking ball. That site would be big enough for a good-sized skyscraper.

I completely agree.  That garage takes up half the block and it reminds me of a Soviet relic.  Sure sucks when you're trying to take photos of the beautiful buildings across the street too...

 

Transit creates a more walkable environment by reducing the demand for parking structures and rapid private vehicle infrastructure.

 

*sigh*  Oh, Fourth Street...

 

Imagine what Third Street looked like before FWW (not to get off topic).

I like parking garages... :-D JK, but yeah wouldn't it be nice to get a big one like QCS but more modern and normal than that obese beauty queen they're building.  Don't get me wrong I like QCS and happy they're building it but I don't like the design at all.  I want a building modern like 2 WTC.  That sucker is sick!  That would look hot downtown?  I'm sure some would disagree because it doesn't quite match the older look of the "queen city" but if they are to "modernize" at some point they need to have more buildings like the scripps center.

 

They are raising the crane today, I'm going tomorrow to take pics.  Looks like only 4 sections or another 80 FT.  Are there any particular spot you guys want me to take a shot from.  The tower is too big to really take close up shots.  I think we need to expand the angle a bit.  Maybe take shots from distances greater than 1000ft.  Let me know some places to go. 

Just checked the QCSII webcam - looks like the crane has been raised. Starting to peek above the skyline very nicely.  8-)

It looked pretty sweet from the cut in the hill about an hour ago.  That precious crane is standing out from a distance nowadays!!

It looked pretty sweet from the cut in the hill about an hour ago.  That precious crane is standing out from a distance nowadays!!

 

That's because that baby is over 350 ft now woot!