May 1, 200718 yr Thanks for the photos; looks like things are coming along. I just wish Fountain Square wasn't surrounded by so many nondescript buildings. Cincinnati has fantastic architecture, but you don't get to experience much in the square or as the context to the historic fountain. Thank goodness for the Carew. I guess we can't have everything...
May 1, 200718 yr Are they still playing the audio from the TV everywhere? I was about to climb the poles and rip those damn speakers off a few months ago. In retrospect the TV was a stupid idea and having its mindless audio infiltrating every inch of the square is a disaster. I'm just waiting until some Girls Gone Wild commercials air in the middle of the night, someone complains, and the thing gets disassembled. There's no reason for that TV to be playing all the time. It should only play when there's an away game or when there's a national news event.
May 1, 200718 yr or a sold out home game, or the olympics, or the derby. It would be pretty cool to watch a stop in your tracks news event on the square.
May 1, 200718 yr The speakers are on, but if you are near either of the fountains, you cannot hear them. I don't like them, but the sun is so bright, and the volume has been such that I don't even notice the screen or the speakers most of the time I am there.
May 1, 200718 yr I am disappointed that they don't show Reds games on it during the day. Most of the time I just see cincinnati.com commercials.
May 1, 200718 yr i havent been to the square since last week but it looks like they are doing work or removing the clock on the corner of 5th and vine on the carew? anybody know?
May 1, 200718 yr Someone please post updates of progress on FS. Specifically Via Vite, Julian Stanczek art along 6th, Boi Na Braza. Thanks Boi Na Braza will be open by the end of may. The final areas of flooring are going in, and the paint and woodwork will be complete mid month. They will have a few days of training, but after that they will be ready to go. The interior finishes in this restaraunt are some of the finest I have ever seen. Endless custom woodwork, granite countertops, stone floors and walls, custom wine racks. Unbelievable. Although this is a "chain," the owners are very passionate and have been on site non stop to oversee the work. Via Vita is a way off for interior finishes. It looks like July would be a reasonable opening for this restaraunt. This is a two-story building with a bar and dining area on the first floor, and an outdoor terrace and private dining on the second floor. This is not as nice in regards to finishes as Boi Na Braza, but I am pretty sure the target markets for each restaraunt are quite different. I just viewed drawings for Graeter's this week. They are preliminary, but it looks like it will be in the 5/3 Tower on the corner of 5th and Walnut. There is not much work involved with this, so I would expect this to open in July as well.
May 1, 200718 yr I'm just waiting until some Girls Gone Wild commercials air in the middle of the night, someone complains, and the thing gets disassembled. There's no reason for that TV to be playing all the time. It should only play when there's an away game or when there's a national news event. There are very few commercials that play at all...and the ones that do play are commercials that are usually regulated by the programmers of sorts. I just don't see that happening. Most of the stuff during the day is promotional stuff...Cincinnati Ballet, Metro, Cincinnati.com News, etc.
May 1, 200718 yr thanks for the pictures Rando. I am getting very excited about moving to Cincinnati in September.
May 1, 200718 yr Great shots, I wish that the Belvedere Group (Carew Tower's owner) would give the first five floors of the Carew a good scrubbing, it is way overdue. Take a look at the shot from Rando and you will see what I mean.
May 2, 200718 yr -how's the stanzcek piece coming along? I'm sorry, but I don't know what the hell that is?!?!?! I was trying to figure it out while I was down there, but I have no idea...can someone enlighten me?
May 2, 200718 yr I went to the Square for lunch today and the 6th Street facade of 5/3 garage looks as if all the old metal skin has been removed and the structure cleaned and painted black. That's all I can tell on the sculpture piece.
May 2, 200718 yr ^ That's true. Also, Boi Na Braza(sp?) has installed their awnings. Kind of like a maroon red color with mustard-yellow font ... it looks good!
May 3, 200718 yr City hopes state alters liquor policy THE ENQUIRER Fountain Square could see more events, Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory says, if pending state legislation passes to issue longer-term liquor permits. Under Senate Bill 102, introduced by Sen. Robert Schuler, R-Sycamore Township, non-profit organizations that run public spaces could get permits that last nine months, rather than having to apply for a permit for each event. It applies specifically to Fountain Square, which is managed for the city by the Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation (3CDC). In a letter to Schuler supporting the legislation, Mallory said the longer-lasting permits will allow 3CDC more flexibility in scheduling events and therefore draw more people downtown. http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070503/NEWS01/705030384/1056/COL02
May 5, 200718 yr Fountain Square project brings nearly $1M in liens Payments not made while contractor work disputed BY DAN MONK & LUCY MAY | [email protected] & [email protected] May 4, 2007 DOWNTOWN - Contractors who helped build the new Fountain Square have filed liens totaling $946,000 against the project in the last five months, and the project's total price tag has risen about 5 percent, to $45 million. But project organizers insist neither fact points to financial trouble. Cleveland-based 21st Century Concrete Construction Inc. filed the largest lien of $853,000 against the project in February. The company's president, Patrick Butler, said project construction manager Megen Construction hasn't explained why it's not paying. At the advice of his attorney, Butler attached a lien on public funds, which means city, state or federal dollars can't be spent on the project unless reserves are set aside or Butler's claim is addressed. Butler said his company won three bid packages totaling $2 million in concrete work. He said there were change orders prior to 21st Century's completion of the work in November but couldn't say how much of the lien covered claims for additional payment, over the original contract amount. "They gave us no choice but to lien the project," Butler said. "We completed the work. We should be paid." Megen Construction President Evans Nwankwo declined to comment on the lien but did say that he has explained to Butler why payments have not been made. The CEO of the Cincinnati Center City Development Corp., a nonprofit civic group in charge of the square's renovation, said 3CDC has "issues and concerns" with 21st Century's work. Stephen Leeper said any public funds set aside for the project already have been spent. "Ninety percent of this project is private money, and this is a private dispute," he said. Two other contractors filed new liens against the project in late April. Arts Rental Equipment is seeking payment of nearly $34,000 for equipment it furnished in February and April. Hilltop Basic Resources Inc. filed a $20,000 mechanics lien for materials furnished in February. Leeper said he was not familiar with the details of those liens. Such liens are typical for a big project like the Fountain Square renovation and are merely part of doing business, said Leeper. "This is the course of business. It does not concern me a bit," Leeper said. "These disputes happen. But we have a good working relationship with the vast majority of our prime contractors, and sometimes there are differences on these sorts of things." Likewise, 3CDC board member Neil Bortz said the project's $2.3 million in cost overruns are negligible compared to the $48 million in new private investments sparked by the work. "If you look at the big picture, it's not a big deal," he said. In percentage terms, the Fountain Square overrun is roughly half the size of the $48 million cost overrun for the construction of Paul Brown Stadium. 3CDC has been renovating Fountain Square since September 2005. Under a financing plan approved by Cincinnati City Council in June of that year, 3CDC planned to spend $42.7 million to renovate the square and complete the project in the summer of 2006. That timetable later gave way to a phased reopening, as portions of the renovated square were completed. Project costs and financing strategies have shifted, too. For example, the original financial plan called for 3CDC to use $10.75 million in federal New Markets Tax Credits on the project. That figure has jumped to $13 million, and the overall price tag on the Fountain Square rehab is now $45 million, according to 3CDC's recent application for a new allotment of New Markets funding. The U.S. Treasury Department program offers federal tax credits to investors in urban redevelopment. 3CDC won a $50 million allotment in 2004 and recently applied for an additional $65 million. Attorneys familiar with the lien process said liens are often filed when an owner is having cash flow problems or when there is a dispute between the owner and the contractor over the value of services performed. In most cases, liens are resolved before the matter ever lands in court. While they're often resolved, liens are "not a good thing, not normal," said Joe Dehner, a partner at the Frost Brown Todd law firm. Another downtown project affected by liens is the McAlpin, a $25 million condo project in the old McAlpin's department store on Fourth Street. About $850,000 in mechanics liens have been filed in the past month. Joe Straka, a partner in the development group that built the McAlpin, said Turner Construction Co. filed an $831,000 lien because of a contractual dispute involving construction delays. But he added that the lien hasn't kept developers from closing on the sale of several condo units. He said 24 of 62 units are sold. "The project's doing great," said Straka. "Turner is no longer on the premises. We're finishing the building ourselves." But Kenneth Jones, vice president and general manager of Turner's Cincinnati office, said Turner completed its work on the McAlpin. "It was a very tough project and a tough old building," Jones said. "The project took longer than everybody thought to get done." He said Turner filed the lien to protect its rights as it continues to negotiate various issues with its client. That's typical, he said, especially in a condo project where the property is being divided up among multiple owners. "We're still down there working," he said. "We're still completing little punch list things that they're asking us to do."
May 8, 200718 yr Also, Boi Na Braza(sp?) has installed their awnings. Kind of like a maroon red color with mustard-yellow font ... it looks good! Here is a visual...it also looks like they may be constructing some type of fixed signage above the location of the clock. There is some type of steel supports being put up on the corner of the building (hence the scaffolding).
May 8, 200718 yr Contractors who helped build the new Fountain Square have filed liens totaling $946,000 against the project in the last five months... 21st Century Concrete Construction Inc. filed the largest lien of $853,000 against the project in February ... Arts Rental Equipment is seeking payment of nearly $34,000 for equipment it furnished .... Hilltop Basic Resources Inc. filed a $20,000 mechanics lien... Such liens are typical for a big project like the Fountain Square renovation and are merely part of doing business ... Leeper...said 3CDC has "issues and concerns" with 21st Century's work. 90% of the leins are from one company for concrete work. If the concrete did not pass tests after 4 weeks, they may be asking them to replace defective concrete. That could be a mess.
May 8, 200718 yr the scaffolding was seemingly assembled to take the clock down...i will be very pissed if they are doing anything other than maintenence.
May 8, 200718 yr they should mount that clock on a frestanding base in the square. or maybe put it in wash park
May 8, 200718 yr how about they put it back where its supposed to be. i have no idea if its even original to the carew but what is a public square without a clock.
May 9, 200718 yr That should make sure it tells the correct time first. If I remember right it always seemed to be like 10-15 min. off.
May 9, 200718 yr I bet they put up a huge neon steakburger on the corner, they have to compete with the big fish across the street. Go 3cdc!
May 9, 200718 yr Oh come on, that was hilarious. Just repeat, "huge neon steakburger" to yourself and tell me you didn't smile.
May 10, 200718 yr Oh i know it was funny, but it seems Maximillian has a strong disliking towards 3CDC
May 10, 200718 yr quote]it seems Maximillian has a strong disliking towards 3CDC It's not really a dislike, they have done alot of good, in some of the properties they own, I just don't trust them. They already ruined the orange Bank Cafe Clock at the corner of 12th and vine, which I happened to like, so I wouldn't be surprised one bit if they ruined something else. Please pass the Ketchup!
May 10, 200718 yr ^Yeah...it was my understanding that they actually restored the thing. I think it looks quite nice now...it was something I had never really noticed before.
May 10, 200718 yr It is a nice atomic orange George Nelson inspired clock. The Bank Cafe sign has been replaced by a big ugly "Q" Here is a pic off the Ham County website. it's a poor pic but you get the idea.. Went to fountain Sq earlier and the cladding on the fountain side of 5th 3rd looks great! Maybe I just miss the Bank Cafe sign.... http://64.56.97.146/RoverDocuments/20030713OD082556JPG_large_000_65344F5D9DDA4C4B8ECF343BC87B1B2C_V_0.JPG
May 10, 200718 yr Fountain Square to get a world-record geyser May 9, 2007 | CINCINNATI BUSINESS COURIER DOWNTOWN - The maker of Mentos candies is seeking to break the world record for its candy-induced geysers, and will make a cattle call for 500 Cincinnatians to volunteer. Perfetti Van Melle USA, based in Erlanger, on May 24 will attempt to set a world record by launching the largest number of Mentos Geysers to be set off at once in one location. That location will be Fountain Square. A geyser can be created by dropping Mentos candies into a bottle of Diet Coke. To assist, it has employed the help of "Eepybird," the juggler-and-lawyer team that found fame last summer by filming a massive Mentos geyser video that resembled the Bellagio fountain in Las Vegas. Their efforts were captured on YouTube. The pair will be in town May 24 to help set the record, and Perfetti will register 500 people on-site to participate in the event. Registration will begin at 5 p.m. on the day of the event, at Fountain Square. "What could be fresher than hundreds of Mentos geysers set off in Fountain Square on a beautiful spring evening, while setting a world record in the process?" Pete Healy, vice president of marketing at Perfetti, said in a press release. Perfetti Van Melle USA makes AirHeads, AirHeads Xtremes and Mentos. It is a division of Perfetti Van Melle, a privately owned company that markets candies and chewing gum in more than 130 countries around the world.
May 10, 200718 yr If you stand on 12th looking towards main you see a big Q & A from the Bank Cafe bldg and art acadamey [sic]
May 15, 200718 yr I found this photo of a rendering of Fountain Square South for a proposal in the early 1970's. I have only seen this once before, and never since. The Albee Theatre is still gone :(, but I would take the height of this box over the crappy Westin anyday. The picture is for sale at the Visual History Gallery on Observatory Avenue in Hyde Park. Sorry about the glare, cameraphone thru a store window.
May 23, 200718 yr Graeter's to open on Fountain Square BY POLLY CAMPBELL | [email protected] Black raspberry chocolate chip, fresh peach and other flavors that Cincinnati can’t seem to live without will once again be available downtown. Graeter’s ice cream company signs a lease today with Fifth Third Bank for a store on Fountain Square. It will occupy the glassed-in space that was the Cincinnati Visitor’s Center, close to the corner of Walnut and Fifth Street, and should be dipping ice cream by mid-July. “We are so excited to be coming back downtown,” said Richard A. Graeter, executive vice president of the company. “We’ve been part of this community for 138 years now, and we’ve always been downtown. We’ve got a lot of faith in the revitalization, and we just had to be part of it.” The store will carry all three product lines: ice cream, candy and pastry. It will also have “a really large outdoor dining area,” said Graeter. There was a Graeter’s on Fourth Street until it closed late in 2005. Graeter said that location did well until the buses stopped going to the nearby Dixie Terminal. The new location, on Fountain Square and near the bus stop at Government Square, has more room and more visibility, said Graeter. “Our core customers are Cincinnati folks, but now if out-of-towners have heard of us, they’ll be able to find us.” The store will open in mid-July and be open daily until 9 p.m.; 8 p.m. on Sundays through the summer. http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20070523/LIFE/305230023/
May 23, 200718 yr I found this photo of a rendering of Fountain Square South for a proposal in the early 1970's. I have only seen this once before, and never since. The Albee Theatre is still gone :(, but I would take the height of this box over the crappy Westin anyday. The picture is for sale at the Visual History Gallery on Observatory Avenue in Hyde Park. Sorry about the glare, cameraphone thru a store window. It looks like the Market Square building in Indianapolis. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
May 23, 200718 yr The story about Graeter's is awesome news for downtown! Graeter's will be on Fountain Square and open until 9 p.m. during the summer. Now all the CBD needs is a movie theater, and we'll have a complete entertainment district.
May 24, 200718 yr There was a live band playing down there today. It looked like a giant restaurant patio. Tables everywhere.
May 24, 200718 yr I went to McCormick & Schmick's tonight with my parents, and the place was totally packed! We had reservations for 6:30, but people were waiting for tables almost until we left (8:00). The bar was hoppin' and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Oh and the food was FANTASTIC!! I got the parmesan crusted Talapia...very nice! Boi na Braza also has added some new entrance features that look pretty cool (sorry no pic). They have also installed wood or bamboo blinds on the insides of the windows...looks kinds cool, but I would like to see some of the activity inside spill over onto the sidewalk. Opening up the windows would do that, but I can see why they would want to add some privacy for their patrons.
May 24, 200718 yr Construction won't hurt Taste BY JON NEWBERRY | CINCINNATI ENQUIRER May 23, 2007 DOWNTOWN - With half a million people about to converge on Fifth Street downtown for Taste of Cincinnati, parts of Fountain Square and its environs are still bogged down in construction. But that won’t get in the way this weekend, according to the event’s organizers. Workers have been finishing up the last of the new streetscaping along Fifth Street opposite the square this week and should be done by Friday, said Pat Sheeran, vice president of the Downtown Council. With that, all of the Fountain Square renovations up to and including the Tyler Davidson Fountain will be completed, leaving only the northern portion of the plaza off limits. And that’s only a minor concern that should have minimal impact, he said. “You can see the light at the end of the tunnel,” said Sheeran, who staged Zinzinnati Oktoberfest in 2005 and 2006 in essentially the same blocks along Fifth Street while the square was being demolished and rebuilt. In a couple other spots – the corner of the Carew Tower that faces the square, where work on the Brazilian steakhouse Boi Na Braza is wrapping up, and in front of the Taft Theater – construction will obstruct the use of sidewalks, but Sheeran said there’s ample room in the street. The council has been putting on Taste of Cincinnati USA in conjunction with the Greater Cincinnati Restaurant Association since 1980, initially in Piatt Park on Garfield Place and from 1988 to 2006 on Central Parkway. It’s relocating the event this year to the heart of the central business district, nearer major hotels and restaurants. The north side of Fountain Square remains closed off because of continuing work on the structure that will eventually house the Italian bistro Via Vite and on exterior renovation of Fifth Third’s five-story building that abuts the plaza. The pedestrian passageway through that building to Sixth Street is barricaded, as is the walkway to Walnut Street between it and the Fifth Third office tower on the east side of the plaza. So people parking to the north who want to get to the square and the P&G music stage – or to Fountain Square’s public restrooms – will have to walk around the Fifth Third complex. The Fountain Square parking garage will be open and accessible from either Vine or Walnut streets, Sheeran said. Renovation of the Fifth Third building’s facade, on both the plaza and Sixth Street sides, is on track to be completed by July, said bank spokeswoman Stephanie Honan. That will still leave work to be done on the adjoining sections of the public plaza – including installation of granite paving and lighting – by the Cincinnati Center City Development Corp., the non-profit group now running the square. Meanwhile, two groves of trees north of the Tyler Davidson Fountain that were scheduled to be opened to the public by Opening Day are still cordoned off. Chad Munitz, director of development for 3CDC, said it will start finishing the north end of the plaza right behind Fifth Third as the bank moves from east to west on its renovation. He estimated 3CDC would complete its work about four weeks after Fifth Third. For safety reasons, access to the north grove areas won’t be opened to pedestrians until Fifth Third’s overhead crane is removed, Munitz said. The base of the crane is north of the grove, but its boom swings over it. Workers had dug a trench through part of the grove this week to fix some water-proofing. Major downtown retailers have thrown their support behind the relocated festival and plan to take advantage of the crowds it draws. Macy’s, Saks Fifth Avenue, T.J. Maxx, and Tiffany & Co. will all be open on Memorial Day, a holiday that would normally prompt them to close. Likewise, many restaurants and bars around the square – including Havana Martini Bar, McCormick & Schmick’s, Palomino, and Rock Bottom Brewery – will be serving. The Contemporary Arts Center will also be open. Nicola Pietoso, owner of the future Via Vite on Fountain Square, wishes his eatery also was going to be open for business, but construction of the two-story structure is far behind schedule. He initially planned to open his bistro – with an upper-deck patio for outdoor dining – in early May, but the date has been backpedaling ever since he signed the deal last fall. Pietoso, who also owns Nicola’s Ristorante in Over-the-Rhine, said this week that he now expects to open in late August or early September – “mid-September at the latest” – 10-to-12 weeks after taking possession of the building shell for interior finishing. He now figures to do that in June, six months later than his initial target. “The weather’s been perfect,” he said, suggesting 3CDC would know the reason for the delay better than he. Pietoso said he would have liked to have opened at the beginning of the summer rather than the end. The late start will prevent him from taking full advantage of the warm weather for outdoor seating, he said. Event spouts off Thursday While construction continues in spots, most of the square is up and running. That – particularly the “up” part – should be quite evident later today when Fountain Square Management Group and the makers of Mentos mints (Erlanger-based Perfetti Van Melle USA) attempt to set a Guinness world record for the most Mentos pop bottle geysers. Volunteers are needed to launch 500 geysers, which will be created by dropping Mentos mints into two-liter pop bottles. They can register on Fountain Square starting at 5 p.m. Participants will receive a gift bag with candy, a Mentos geyser loading tube, goggles, and a rain slicker. The show is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. If you go to Taste What: Dozens of food vendors (items from $1.50 to $5); continuous live music on five stages; beer (including Cincinnati brews) and wine. When: Noon to midnight Saturday and Sunday; noon to 9 p.m. Monday. Where: Downtown along Fifth Street between Race and Broadway. Cost: No charge for admission or entertainment; food and drinks sold separately. Online menu: www.taste-of-cincinnati.com/tastemenu.asp
May 24, 200718 yr Boi na Braza also has added some new entrance features that look pretty cool Actually they ruined the appearance of the Carew tower at it's base. Anybody remember the gold star chili at 118 East fourth st?? This is almost as bad. I will take a pic tonight at the mentos geyser.
May 25, 200718 yr They went completely Mentos May 24, 2007 | CINCINNATI ENQUIRER View Photos: Fountains of Mentos. View a geyser in slow motion. Read a PDF about making your own geyser. DOWNTOWN - Yes, they set the world record. A total of 504 Mentos geysers launched on Fountain Square this evening, pointing Cincinnati toward the Guinness Book of World Records for something no one previously had done. The event lasted mere seconds. After a countdown, the hundreds of poncho-wearing participants pulled a toothpick from a tube that was holding six Mentos, releasing the candies into a 2-liter Diet Coke bottle. Geysers went up and soda pop came down on Fountain Square. Everyone dispersed and workers from Downtown Cincinnati Inc. set about hosing down the square with soap and water. Want to see an earlier incident when Mentos candies were dropped into scores of bottles of Diet Coke? Check out video of Experiment 137 on EepyBird.com. For more, go to the Mentos Web page for the United States, www.us.mentos.com/.
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