If you refuse to donate money to hurricane victims based on a comment by Kanye West--the biggest known narcissist on the planet, then something's wrong with you.

 

And if they did choose not to donate based on that then it probably just proves his point.

If you refuse to donate money to hurricane victims based on a comment by Kanye West--the biggest known narcissist on the planet, then something's wrong with you.

 

And if they did choose not to donate based on that then it probably just proves his point.

 

Dude, that show was a sales job, and he submarined it.  You could as easily say, "if you choose not to donate money because they don't put on a song and dance routine, then that proves his point."  No, it doesn't - they were trying to sell folks on donating, and he spit on all of it.

 

^Did families go to see her? Probably not, I'm betting that a good percentage that had never heard of her, and why would they research her? They were trusting 3CDC would choose appropriate entertainment. It appears 3CDC can't be blamed either, as she slipped them in at the last moment, so ultimately the blame falls on her, lest we forget.

 

Well, 3CDC should've known who they had coming and deemed them appropriate for the event or not.  Or atleast hear what she was going to say before giving her the green light (as she IS a prominant activist).  Always do your homework, first.  I was very surprised they had Nikki Giovanni as a speaker in the first place but alas.

Prima Vista has such a dated decor to it...but man, you can't top that view.

 

Anyway, yeah, Via Vite should be fantastic...very much looking forward to it...couldn't happen to a better restauranteur either - Nicola stuck with OTR all through the riots, the recession, etc...there was about a year there where he lived off the money he made from selling Pan E Vino in Hyde Park.  We'd go in sometimes and be one of two or three tables the whole night.  He could have packed it in at any point, moved back to St. Louis, or really gone anywhere, but he stuck with Over-the-Rhine through some very tough years...

 

And now he'll have the single most premier location in the entire city...and, by the way, the name "Via Vite" is "Vine Street" in Italian...I hadn't caught that at first...such a great homage to the city...ach, I can't wait for May!

 

 

great story.  Glad he stuck it out. How is his place doing now? I assume better.

 

i also agree w/ your point on prima Vista.  Very dated decor in an Italian American sense (I'm not into painted walls etc etc).  The view is amazing but there are a lot of great views all over Cincy. :)

Nicola's is doing great.  His son Christian came to the states a couple years ago, and took a great place to a whole new level.  It was ranked 4th in the city last year...it's always busy, sometimes even packed...they have wine tasting nights sometimes, hosting dozens of people...Nick will stay open late on a lot of symphony nights because Paavo will often bring a party of folks over after the show for a late dinner - soloists, guests, etc.  The interior looks fantastic - much more up-to-date - the partner of one of the regulars is an interior decorator, who has done a lot to update the place, and will be designing the interior of Via Vite.

 

I think it's a bit more pricey than it's been in the past, but the drinks are still very reasonable, and the food is really phenomenal.  Had a roasted yellow pepper soup last time we were in there - just wow.  Stuff you'd never think of, and it's so tasty...

 

Ach, I could gush all day...

 

Giovanni won't apologize for remarks

BY PEGGY O’FARRELL | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

October 17, 2006

 

CINCINNATI - Poet Nikki Giovanni touched off a firestorm Saturday with a profanity-spiked diatribe against Ken Blackwell during the re-dedication of Fountain Square.

 

She’s not happy about the uproar and criticism she’s drawn for her remarks, in which she called Blackwell “a son of a bitch” and “a whore.”

 

But she’s not apologizing, either.

 

"All I have is my voice,” she said in a phone interview with the Enquirer Tuesday. “I don’t want it silenced. We were on (Fountain Square) where the Klan gathered to speak. I’m not sure as many people called to complain about what the Klan had to say as what I said.”

 

Many who criticized Giovanni’s remarks said the occasion – a family-friendly celebration of the city – was inappropriate.

 

But she disagreed.

 

“There’s never an appropriate place,” she said. “The square is a place for free speech and public dialogue.”

 

Giovanni added, “I think Kenny is not a nice person. I think you can tell that by what I wrote.”

 

Giovanni, who grew up in Lincoln Heights, said she was invited to write and recite a poem about Cincinnati, and she did. She said her poem touched on “what is great about Cincinnati” and on what she called “some of the people who are falling short of the promise.”

 

In her opinion, she said, Blackwell has fallen short. She said she’s been acquainted with Blackwell for years and over time, the two of them have developed “different views of the world.”

 

“If Kenny had been from Batavia or Dayton, I wouldn’t have mentioned him,” she said.

 

She added that her remarks were not meant as an endorsement for Ted Strickland, Blackwell’s opponent in the Ohio governor’s race.

 

“This is not about endorsement or go out and vote. The poem is about Cincinnati. and its problems and its promise. This is a city that can and should be great again.”

 

E-mail [email protected]

http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061017/NEWS01/399990051/-1/CINCI

3CDC should NOT be held accountable or be responsible for what she did. She is a well known artist, and it was completely appropriate to have her speak. The idea was good, and as 3CDC has said, the draft that she gave them did not have those comments. You can't control someone who has such an agenda. What's horrible is that something that was supposed to be a celebration now has such a negative cloud cast over it. I truly feel she did this city a dis-service by doing that. It seems that when folks are working hard towards progress and forward movement our city has a wonderul way, somehow, to digress. It's really unbelieveable sometimes.

I don't know martin. The idea that the square is a place for free speech is certainly a positive IMO.  While I don't disagree that it was inappropriate, I don't think there is any kind of negative cloud hovering.  This what a square is for.

The idea was good, and as 3CDC has said, the draft that she gave them did not have those comments.

 

Then she was inappropriate to say what she said as she didn't share what she said initially.

 

What's horrible is that something that was supposed to be a celebration now has such a negative cloud cast over it. I truly feel she did this city a dis-service by doing that. It seems that when folks are working hard towards progress and forward movement our city has a wonderul way, somehow, to digress. It's really unbelieveable sometimes.

 

Eh, typical Cincinnati cynicism.  It'll go over (like everything else) and people will enjoy Fountain Square (for free speech or otherwise).

So which space exactly will Nicola me moving to?

Nicola's is moving into a space that isn't built yet. Just behind the elevator pavillion that's currently under construction will be a new modern restaurant. It will be over the entrance to the garage from Vine Street.

3CDC should NOT be held accountable or be responsible for what she did. She is a well known artist, and it was completely appropriate to have her speak. The idea was good, and as 3CDC has said, the draft that she gave them did not have those comments.

 

3cdc are the same brand of nuts that decided to locate the new washington park school in the middle of OTR and destroy 22 historic buildings.

Nicola's is doing great.  His son Christian came to the states a couple years ago, and took a great place to a whole new level.  It was ranked 4th in the city last year...it's always busy, sometimes even packed...they have wine tasting nights sometimes, hosting dozens of people...Nick will stay open late on a lot of symphony nights because Paavo will often bring a party of folks over after the show for a late dinner - soloists, guests, etc.  The interior looks fantastic - much more up-to-date - the partner of one of the regulars is an interior decorator, who has done a lot to update the place, and will be designing the interior of Via Vite.

 

I think it's a bit more pricey than it's been in the past, but the drinks are still very reasonable, and the food is really phenomenal.  Had a roasted yellow pepper soup last time we were in there - just wow.  Stuff you'd never think of, and it's so tasty...

 

Ach, I could gush all day...

 

 

I think it's a little too pricey sometimes, but I'll say this:  Everytime I eat at Nicola's, I seem to find myself saying "that may be the best meal I've ever had" as I head on home. 

3cdc are the same brand of nuts that decided to locate the new washington park school in the middle of OTR and destroy 22 historic buildings.

 

So that is still happening, huh?

Went downtown tonight to check out fountain square...Genius of Water, how do I love thee?  Let me count the ways...

 

I was just there, no water on, no events, it's just sitting there, and I saw "To the people of Cincinnati" with her standing out against the sky, and got chills.  Absolutely amazing...God, I love this city...

speaking of the fountain...I heard a number of people question if "they made it bigger" or if they (3CDC) had done something special to it. I truly believe that the new, more prominent, location on the square gives the pedestrian a much different perspective. I know you could walk up to her before, but in the old design she was perpendicular to the square, and in my opinion had more relationship with 5th street. I think the genius has a much more powerful and dignified presence on the site now. I can't wait until the trees are in and provide a nice back drop for her. Right now she's the same color as that ugly 5/3rd building and almost blends right in. When she was turned on over the weekend it was absolutely beautiful at night.

Free speech is free speech.  If you want censored speech then let's close the square right now.  Let's sell it to private enterprise and take it away from the public.  She is entitled to her opinion.  She is entitled to speak it. 

So what's up with the water being off? Is it normal for this time of year?  It seems a bit too early for that.

So what's up with the water being off? Is it normal for this time of year?  It seems a bit too early for that.

 

Probably the time of the year. I know the other morning it was 28 degrees, which is obviously below freezing.

Holiday revelry back to Square

Scheduled festivities begin Nov. 24

BY JIM KNIPPENBERG | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

 

Christmas is on its way back to Fountain Square.

 

After a year of exile in Sawyer Point because of construction, Light Up the Square, presented by Procter & Gamble, will return to the heart of the city Nov. 24. The centerpiece will be the official Christmas tree, a fixture on the Square since at least 1913, when the first newspaper account ran, although organizers at Downtown Cincinnati, Inc. think the tradition dates more than 100 years.

 

Plans are under way for a traditional ceremony similar to the ones that have taken place on the Square for years, with some bonuses:

 

Light Up will run 5-8 p.m., with the tree lighting set for 6:30-7 p.m. Overall, there are more than 300 holiday events, attractions and performances scheduled downtown between the Nov. 24 opening and the end of the year.

 

The tree - donor to be determined - will go to the corner of Fifth and Vine streets instead of the back of the Square, where it used to sit. That way, says Emilie Johnson, spokeswoman for the DCI, it should be visible to pedestrians and motorists driving onFifth or Vine. Instead of colored lights, tree lights will almost certainly be all white, as will the rest of the lights on the Square, even though parts will still be under construction.

 

Ceremonies will include:

 

The grand opening of the new and expanded ice rink (said to be the same size as the rink at New York's Rockefeller Plaza).

 

Skating shows.

 

Christmas music from choirs and soloists.

 

The debut of Macy's Downtown Dazzle, featuring a return of last year's Rappelling Santa - this year he'll rappel down the 525 Building and onto the roof of Macy's.

 

Rozzi's Famous Fireworks.

 

It's all free except the ice rink - $2 to skate, $2 rental.

 

Rappelling Santa and Rozzi fireworks are scheduled every Saturday in December through Dec. 23.

 

New this year: The Holly Jolly Downtown Trolley, two authentic trolleys in antique green. The free trolleys will run 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturdays and noon-5 p.m. Sundays. Operated by Metro, they will board at the Westin and cover a route that passes all downtown holiday attractions along Fourth and Fifth streets. It will depart every 10 minutes and feature a conductor providing commentary and handing out holiday guide booklets.

 

There are free carriage rides as well. These will board at Macy's, noon-5 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday Nov. 25-Dec. 23.

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061019/NEWS01/610190365/1056/COL02

For reference, I posted a photo thread of Fountain Square from last night over here:

 

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=10816.0

 

...and here's a video (might be easiest to right-click and Save As, since it's 10M) that I took of the square last night - just a 1 minute 360 degree video.  Sorry for being shakey, but I tried to go slow enough that it isn't unwatcheable, and you can always pause it to see more detail...

 

A OK Go's performance is on YouTube. It looked like they put on a fun show, I'm sorry to of missed it.

 

 

Is there a way to embed video on UO?

 

Edit: Not that anyone is going to see this, but I thought I'd update this post now that we can insert YouTube videos.

 

[youtube=425,350]7LgevKjM6xU

I dont have java script enabled and cant watch Youtube...does that clip include the scene they did from Les Miserables when their guitar broke?

^Nope, it's a decent cover of an ok song by a terrible band (ELO).

 

http://www.myfountainsquare.com/ has another video link (OK Go doing a dance routine) and links to photo's on Flickr.

Yeah those guys were really entertaining. They did a lot more than just songs. At one point one of the guys jumped down into the audience and gave some girl 14 dollars to buy herself a drink.

It's great to hear about this.  Cincinnati's festivities are one of my favorite things about the Christmas season.

 

Holiday revelry back to Square

Scheduled festivities begin Nov. 24

BY JIM KNIPPENBERG | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

 

Christmas is on its way back to Fountain Square.

 

After a year of exile in Sawyer Point because of construction, Light Up the Square, presented by Procter & Gamble, will return to the heart of the city Nov. 24. The centerpiece will be the official Christmas tree, a fixture on the Square since at least 1913, when the first newspaper account ran, although organizers at Downtown Cincinnati, Inc. think the tradition dates more than 100 years.

 

[etc.]

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061019/NEWS01/610190365/1056/COL02

When are they starting on the 5/3 facade rennovation?

Half the story lies beneath Fountain Square

Focus on history

 

By Dan Hurley

Post columnist

 

Standing along Fountain Square watching the fireworks dance playfully above the head of the Genius of Waters two Saturday nights ago reminded me of Wallace Stevens' "Anecdote of the Jar." The poet describes placing a jar on a hilltop in the midst of the Tennessee wilderness. With that simple act, "The wilderness rose up to it, and sprawled around, no longer wild..."

 

The Tyler Davidson Fountain is our jar. When it is gone, greater Cincinnati dissolves into an urban wilderness without an organizing symbol. When the fountain is put back in place, even a new place, that wilderness can rise up and reorganize itself, no longer so wild.

 

I was reminded just how important the fountain and the square are by the reaction to the dedication ceremonies. Many people have already commented on the fact that although no one questions the right of Nikki Giovanni to speak her mind on Fountain Square, her remarks were unfortunately inappropriate for the occasion, which should have been about attracting people back to downtown, not providing one more excuse to stay away.

 

Marianne Schmidt e-mailed me to say that she did not believe that the redesign was worth "$42 million in our tax payers money." Although Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation (3CDC) has said it many times, I don't think it has sunk in that only $4 million of those $42 million are public (tax payer) funds. The rest are private, largely corporate, dollars.

 

More importantly, what really drove the cost of this project was not the "pretty" part that people could see two weeks ago, the partially finished public square, but repairing the parking garage beneath the square. That garage has been the centerpiece of downtown revitalization for almost 60 years.

 

After World War II, city leaders undertook a series of planning exercises to try to find ways to "modernize" the downtown. The 1948 Metropolitan Master Plan bluntly recognized that parking in downtown has "not been solved in a completely satisfactory manner in any American city."

 

Though a few cities like San Francisco were building underground garages, Cincinnati land prices were not high enough to justify such an investment. Instead, the document suggested that the city consider building an "express bus terminal" beneath Fountain and Government Squares. Over the next decade a series of studies explored a vast underground facility beneath both squares that could handle buses and trucks on the top level and a cavernous 1,100 -plus space parking garage for cars on three lower decks.

 

When Fifth Third Bank announced plans for a skyscraper at Fifth and Walnut and an office building on Sixth in 1961, city planners scaled back the proposed garage and centered it beneath Fountain Square. On December 29, 1965, ground was broken for a seven-level, 615-space garage which opened 16 months later with Mayor Walter Bachrach driving his limousine through the ceremonial ribbon.

 

Though hard to appreciate, the underground garage was the "first major downtown urban renewal project that was completed and was one of the most important," according to the Cincinnati Post.

 

But the garage almost didn't get built for a very odd reason, which is related to a question that Jerry Hellmann, and at least three other people asked me. "Where is the flower stand? Don't we have to sell flowers from it at least once a year?"

 

People born here grew up with the oral tradition that the city had to arrange for the sale of flowers at least once a year from the flower stand that stood since 1871 on the southwest end of the esplanade and the Square. Supposedly this was necessary to fulfill its legal obligation to maintain the property as a "market space."

 

In 1971, James W. Farrell, Jr., wrote an article entitled "The Myth of Fountain Square" for a collection of legal essays published by the Cincinnati Bar Association.

 

In 1827, when the city wanted to widen Fifth Street between Vine and Walnut to build a market house in the center, Farrell found that it purchased an additional 75 feet of property from a series of owners on the south side of Fifth. The deeds for seven parcels on the western end of the block stated that the property would be used for "a market-house and market space."

 

When Henry Probasco offered in 1867 to donate the Fountain, the city first considered tearing down just the eastern half of the Fifth Street Market House where none of deeds contained the restrictive language, but in the end tore down the entire structure. To honor the restrictions, the city commissioned architect James McLaughlin to design a wonderful little wrought-iron flower stand (the Cincinnati Historical Society Library has the two drawings he prepared) and to sell flowers from the stand at least once a year.

 

The legal necessity of this quaint custom, or its sufficiency, was never tested until 1957 when municipal bond attorneys, "among the most cautious and disbelieving people in the world" according to Farrell, forced the city to sue the heirs of the property owners to establish that it actually had clear title to the property.

 

The city offered five arguments, including the operation of the flower stand. The courts found in favor of the city without explicitly ruling that the flower stand was necessary or sufficient.

 

Bill Donabedian, the manager of Fountain Square for 3CDC told me that the stand is in storage "somewhere," but that it has not been decided if it will be returned to the Square. Sometimes it is the quirky, distinctive, things that make a place special.

 

Though the Genius of the Waters has been returned, clearly many Cincinnatians recognize that something important is missing, and without this gentle, civilizing element, it remains hard to organize the wilderness in our minds.

 

http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061027/LIFE/610270338/1005

^Alabama ExPat, great post.  Dan Hurley is awesome.  I'd like to get a look at those McLaughlin designs for the flower stand.

Yeah, Dan Hurley is king...they should have a local travel show where he and Bootsy Collins go around the city checking cool stuff out...Bootsy and Hurley at the zoo, or Bootsy and Hurley at Pigall's, or Bootsy and Hurley in the abandoned subway...

Did anyone catch the census reversal of Cincinnati's population? Hopefully Fountain Square and other efforts by 3CDC will help Cincinnati increase the population even more than 27 people.

 

Supposedly they were going to plant trees around November 1st.

Supposedly they were going to plant trees around November 1st.

 

Thx, for the timeline....I am anxiously awaiting the final foliage that will be on the square!!

Any ideas on when the rest of the Square will be open?

I just heard that the trees won't be planted until late November. I'm not sure why. The Ice Rink installation should begin very soon - a week or so. It's supposed to be installed and running by Thanksgiving. The garage should open in a week or so. The elevator pavillion up top is almost done and looks pretty good. The restaurant (which really hasn't begun yet) isn't supposed to be complete until at least February. I think it has something to do with the 5/3rd work that hasn't begun yet. 5/3rd was supposed to begin in August. Don't expect the north part of the square to be open until at least June or July due to 5/3rd's schedule.

 

The installation of the (temporary) Ice Rink has begun. It will run from November through February. Crews are on-site right now with the raised platform that it will sit on. The area of the rink will be roughly 7,000 square feet comparable to Rockefeller Center.

Did they start putting the trees up on 5th street?

When does the rink open?  Will it be open this weekend?

The rink will be open around Thanksgiving. Actually I think the official open is the day after. They start planting the trees a week from today on November 16th. If you get a chance you should walk by and take a look. The rink is huge, and they've built some real nice glass tents. My guess is for skate rentals and coffee/hot chocolate. It looks much nicer than the last rink they had on there, and 4 times as big.

 

I heard that the rink is as large as the one at Rockefeller Center in New York.

saw this in the Paper today:

 

 

--Fifth Third Bancorp plans to begin installing a new glass-curtain exterior later this month on the five-story office building that forms the northern boundary of the plaza. But the bank still hasn’t signed any new retail tenants for multiple spaces in the Fifth Third Center that open onto the square.

 

 

What rtail spaces are they talking about?  is it the Probasco market or something else?

 

along with the spaces in the tower.

saw this in the Paper today:

 

 

--Fifth Third Bancorp plans to begin installing a new glass-curtain exterior later this month on the five-story office building that forms the northern boundary of the plaza. But the bank still hasn’t signed any new retail tenants for multiple spaces in the Fifth Third Center that open onto the square.

 

 

What rtail spaces are they talking about?  is it the Probasco market or something else?

 

 

The full article:

 

Downtown garage opening set

 

BY JON NEWBERRY | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

 

More than two months after a redesigned Fountain Square was scheduled to be completed – and four weeks after an Oct. 14 formal rededication – the Square’s “rolling re-opening” is making halting progress in the heart of downtown Cincinnati.

 

Two weeks before Light Up Cincinnati officially kicks off the holiday season:

 

--Crews this week are busy installing a much larger – and colder – skating rink that’s scheduled to open the day after Thanksgiving. And the underground parking garage, whose needed repairs precipitated the entire $42.7 million project, is scheduled to open by the same day.

 

--McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurant in the Westin, initially set to open in August, will begin serving next Friday, and Via Vite, an Italian Bistro operated by Nicola’s Ristorante owner Nicola Pietosa, has signed a lease for a new restaurant directly on the square. But Via Vite won’t be ready until late April at the earliest and possibly not until June, as construction of the structure hasn’t even begun.

 

--Fifth Third Bancorp plans to begin installing a new glass-curtain exterior later this month on the five-story office building that forms the northern boundary of the plaza. But the bank still hasn’t signed any new retail tenants for multiple spaces in the Fifth Third Center that open onto the square.

 

Today, Downtown Cincinnati Inc. unveiled its Holy Jolly Trolley that will provide free rides to holiday shoppers and other downtown visitors in the central business district.

 

Two of the special Metro buses will begin plying Fourth and Fifth streets on Saturdays and Sunday, traveling between Pike Street and Central Avenue with stops along the way – including the new Fountain Square skating rink, newly rebuilt Government Square, Lytle Park, and the 61st edition of the Duke Energy holiday train display.

 

Passengers can hop on one of the trolleys every 10 minutes or so all along Fourth and Fifth streets, said David Ginsberg, DCI’s president and chief executive.

 

DCI opens the holiday season with the annual Light Up the Square show, Nov. 24 on Fountain Square. It will include the lighting of the city’s Christmas tree, skating shows, music acts, and fireworks. Some 300 holiday events are planned for downtown from Thanksgiving to New Years.

 

According to DCI’s third-quarter report on downtown Cincinnati, the number of violent crimes were down 22 percent through September compared with the same period in 2005.

 

The group will be providing 24 “downtown ambassadors” throughout the central business district – and 24 hours a day on Fountain Square – to assist visitors, keep the area clean, and provide directions. They are in addition to a team of 38 police officers, including mounted police, who will also be patrolling downtown 24 hours a day.

 

The DCI report also said that, through the first nine months of 2006, the number of downtown condominium sales increased 58 percent compared to the same period in 2005, from 95 units to 150. The average price was up 24 percent to $339,000, it said.

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20061110/BIZ01/311100021/

Square parking back soon

Closed extra weeks to let sealants cure

BY JON NEWBERRY | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

 

Photo of Skating Rink:  http://cmsimg.nky.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=AB&Date=20061111&Category=BIZ01&ArtNo=611110336&Ref=V2&Profile=1002&MaxW=600&title=1

 

The 635-space Fountain Square parking garage is now expected to re-open by Nov. 24, the day after Thanksgiving and the official start of the holiday season

 

It has been four weeks since the garage was supposed to re-open for the square's Oct. 14 rededication, but 3CDC (Cincinnati Center City Development Corp.) put it on hold at the last minute to make sure sealants were completely cured.

 

Bill Donabedian, managing director of Fountain Square for 3CDC, said even if it had opened then, it would have been shut down again afterward because more work needed to be done that would have interfered with public traffic.

 

Rather than risk damaging work in progress, 3CDC decided to wait until it was 100 percent finished, he said Friday.

 

Meanwhile, as the potentially busy holiday season nears, Fountain Square's so-called "rolling re-opening" has been making halting progress in the heart of downtown.

 

Crews this week were busy installing a much larger skating rink that's also to open by the day after Thanksgiving. That work shut off access to most of the center of the square, and other sections east and west of the rink were also closed off as workers continued to lay down blocks of granite paving.

 

Aside from walkways along Fifth Street and the Fifth Third Center, that left only small sections on the edge of the plaza open to the public as of Friday.

 

Donabedian said all of the closed-off areas south of the Tyler Davidson Fountain, the garage elevators and public restrooms should be completed by mid-week and will remain open after that, he said.

 

The square's sound system and remote cameras will also be in place by Thanksgiving, and special programming on the giant video screen will start to take shape, Donabedian said. For the past four weeks, it's been mostly limited to CNN.

 

Downtown Cincinnati Inc. has events scheduled on the square through the holidays, and other live programming will pick up after the rink is dismantled in March, he said.

 

"The ice rink takes up so much room, it kind of becomes the programming," he said.

 

McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurant in the Westin, initially set to open in August, will kick things off on Thursday with a pre-opening reception and then open to the public on Friday.

 

Boi Na Braza (Steer Over Embers), a Brazilian-style steakhouse, is scheduled to open on the ground level of the Carew Tower complex facing the square in February, Downtown Cincinnati's chief executive David Ginsburg said Friday.

 

Via Vite (Vine Street), an Italian bistro operated by Nicola's Ristorante owner Nicola Pietosa, has signed a lease for a new building on the square. But it won't open until late April at the earliest, and possibly not until June, as construction hasn't even begun.

 

Fifth Third Bancorp plans to begin installing a new glass-curtain exterior later this month on its five-story office building north of the plaza. That work is due to be completed in June but isn't supposed to interfere with interior tenant spaces or access to them.

 

The bank has not signed any new retail tenants for spaces available in the Fifth Third Center that open onto the square. The space is listed on CB Richard Ellis's Web site for

 

The bank has begun to prepare space on the ground level for its banking center, which is moving from the second floor. That move is planned for early next year.

 

Among other elements still missing on the square: trees will be planted by Thanksgiving, but the children's water wall might have to wait until after the New Year.

 

And water will soon be flowing again in the fountain now that waterproofing has been completed. Donabedian dismissed rumors that leaks in the fountain were responsible for delaying the re-opening of the garage.

 

"She's 135 years old. She has always leaked," he said. The garage includes a room under the fountain that collects leaking water and drains it away, he said.

 

Downtown activities include trolley rides

Across from Fountain Square, where workers were working on the sidewalk in front of the Westin and McCormick & Schmick's on Friday, Downtown Cincinnati unveiled its Holly Jolly Trolley that will provide free rides to holiday shoppers and other visitors in the central business district.

 

Two of the special Metro buses will begin operating along Fourth and Fifth streets on Saturdays and Sundays, traveling between Pike Street and Central Avenue with stops all along the way - including the new Fountain Square skating rink, newly rebuilt Government Square, Lytle Park, and the 61st edition of the Duke Energy holiday train display.

 

Passengers can hop on one of the trolleys every 10 minutes or so all along Fourth and Fifth streets, Ginsburg said.

 

DCI opens the holiday season with the annual Light Up the Square show on Nov. 24 on Fountain Square. It will include the lighting of the city's Christmas tree, skating shows, music acts, and fireworks. Some 300 holiday events are planned for downtown from Thanksgiving to New Year's.

 

The group will be providing 24 "downtown ambassadors" throughout the central business district - and all day and night on Fountain Square - to assist visitors, keep the area clean, and provide directions and information. They're in addition to a special team of 38 Cincinnati police officers, including mounted police, who will also be patrolling downtown 24 hours a day.

 

 

 

http://news.nky.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20061111/BIZ01/611110336

Free Trolley Rides?  Yes, I am so there....

Nice to hear about the new restaurants coming up.

Construction on Via Vite is supposed to begin on Monday - the walls should start going up!  Man, I cannot wait for that place to open...

so it really seems like june-july ish is really the time the square will totally come together.  does this seem right?

Seems about right

What a terrible photo of the new ice skating rink for the square!?!?!  Does angle/perspective mean anything to Enquirer photographers??

 

Sorry...its an anti-enquirer sentiment on my part...ignore my whining