February 1, 20169 yr They're still working on it... “All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.” -Friedrich Nietzsche
February 1, 20169 yr Today is also the eight-year anniversary of the fire that destroyed the steeples.
February 2, 20169 yr And also the eight-year anniversary in which I stated I wanted it to be a nightclub. Meanwhile, in 2016... "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
May 2, 20169 yr http://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/hamilton-county/cincinnati/iconic-spires-returning-to-old-st-george-church The base of the new steeples are now installed. The new steeples, apparently, will light up like one of those leg lamps. Can't wait.
May 3, 20169 yr Those interior shots from the video are really cool, and hopefully they keep most of the historic details. The little i know about crossroads makes me fear there will be a pretty boring whitewashing of the original/catholic character into a more suburban big box feel but I'm hopefule to be proven wrong, especially if they rebuild the spires. Anyway, this should really help the business at Altar'd State... Platte Design in OTR is handling the A&D side, which has a respect for historical preservation. The boxiness and blandness that you see from Crossroads probably has more to do with them spending their resources on humanitarian efforts rather than buildings.
May 3, 20169 yr ...I'm not so sure about that statement. Their audio/visual system cost them several hundred thousand dollars. No "church" that actually truly cares about helping others employs such a careless disregard for finances for completely superfluous crap. Crossroads's building in Oakley is obnoxious inside and out and gives no indication they care more about humanitarian efforts than their own buildings. I like Platte, but the releases images of these new spires is exceptionally worrisome as is Crossroads's statements that their renovation isn't necessarily going to be historic in nature. Don't get your hopes up folks.
May 3, 20169 yr To get us back to urban development though, I think Crossroads opening in Old St. George is a really positive thing. Crossroads attracts TONS of people to its location in Oakley, and many of those people end up at Sleepy Bee, First Watch, etc. either before or after services. I think the same thing will happen in Clifton, and the businesses in the area will receive a nice weekly bump on a traditionally slow retail day. It's also good for the Clifton area to have a demand driver that 1) will be around all year, not just when UC is in session, and 2) draws more than just students to the neighborhood. We'll see how the spires turned out, but seeing how they have been missing from the building and the church has sat vacant for many years, there's a very low threshold that needs to be met to qualify the renovation as an improvement.
May 3, 20169 yr I've talked to someone involved with the project (this was a couple months ago) and he said that they view elaborate designs as against their message, so they are covering some of the historic elements of the church (some paintings, I believe some windows, etc). The way it sounded, they almost enjoy having the big box and think that elaborate designs can turn people away from them. That being said, they do do quite a bit of volunteer work. I believe it was Crossroads who assembled the new playground and helped set up the landscaping at Grant Playground.
May 3, 20169 yr jmicha[/member] Respectfully, I don't necessarily agree with your statement. I'm not a Crossroads member (I'm Catholic), but if you look at the old Catholic churches scattered throughout the country and city, they spent an unprecedented amount of money and effort on the gothic design and materials for their churches. Although Crossroads may spend a good amount on lighting and sound, their buildings remain relatively basic in design, but the organization does A TON for the community. They were even a good part of the reason many Cincy public pools were able to open last year. I applaud their efforts and actually hope one day other religions catch on to some of their member engagement initiatives.
May 3, 20169 yr Whatever happens it's not going to look good. The storm windows they installed on the stained glass windows look cheap and cheesy. People should be very disturbed that this organization is attempting to distract college students from reading real books and recognizing that such organizations are scams.
May 3, 20169 yr ...I'm not so sure about that statement. Their audio/visual system cost them several hundred thousand dollars. No "church" that actually truly cares about helping others employs such a careless disregard for finances for completely superfluous crap. Crossroads's building in Oakley is obnoxious inside and out and gives no indication they care more about humanitarian efforts than their own buildings. I like Platte, but the releases images of these new spires is exceptionally worrisome as is Crossroads's statements that their renovation isn't necessarily going to be historic in nature. Don't get your hopes up folks. A sanctuary of that size needs a substantial investment in AV equipment in order to function. What's the alternative? I agree that the St. George steeples have the potential to look a bit cheesy. More often than not the modern intervention into historical space does. People should be very disturbed that this organization is attempting to distract college students from reading real books and recognizing that such organizations are scams. 60-75% of the courses at UC attempt to distract college students from reading real books and are basically scams, so this is nothing new to the area.
May 3, 20169 yr People should be very disturbed that this organization is attempting to distract college students from reading real books and recognizing that such organizations are scams. If I didn't actually know you, I'm not sure if I would think you are a real person
May 3, 20169 yr People should be very disturbed that this organization is attempting to distract college students from reading real books and recognizing that such organizations are scams. Lol cuz college students don't have any other distractions! Honestly I'm a very critical thinker and athiest, but I attended one of crossroads' community groups for a couple of years and met some of my dearest friends there. Unfortunate they'll be covering a lot of the old charm, but I understand where they are coming from logically/ideologically.
May 6, 20169 yr I've talked to someone involved with the project (this was a couple months ago) and he said that they view elaborate designs as against their message, so they are covering some of the historic elements of the church (some paintings, I believe some windows, etc). The way it sounded, they almost enjoy having the big box and think that elaborate designs can turn people away from them. Barf. If they don't like elaborate designs, then fine, just don't add any. But don't mar the historic significance of the building and extend a middle finger to the artists that created the murals and whatnot. If they disagree with such things that much, they should have just built another ugly steel monstrosity nearby. http://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/hamilton-county/cincinnati/iconic-spires-returning-to-old-st-george-church The base of the new steeples are now installed. The new steeples, apparently, will light up like one of those leg lamps. Can't wait. Oh wow. I was initially excited that St. George was being restored. After the last few posts, I kind of wish it was still empty. //EDIT: Here's a quote from the WCPO article: "Crossroads has taken painstaking care to restore many of those features to their original luster." So I guess I'll have to reserve judgment until this is finished. I'd love to see some before & after photos.
May 6, 20169 yr ...I'm not so sure about that statement. Their audio/visual system cost them several hundred thousand dollars. No "church" that actually truly cares about helping others employs such a careless disregard for finances for completely superfluous crap. Crossroads's building in Oakley is obnoxious inside and out and gives no indication they care more about humanitarian efforts than their own buildings. I like Platte, but the releases images of these new spires is exceptionally worrisome as is Crossroads's statements that their renovation isn't necessarily going to be historic in nature. Don't get your hopes up folks. A sanctuary of that size needs a substantial investment in AV equipment in order to function. What's the alternative? I agree that the St. George steeples have the potential to look a bit cheesy. More often than not the modern intervention into historical space does. People should be very disturbed that this organization is attempting to distract college students from reading real books and recognizing that such organizations are scams. 60-75% of the courses at UC attempt to distract college students from reading real books and are basically scams, so this is nothing new to the area. I challenge you to explain your statistics on this one.
July 30, 20168 yr Crossroads didn't build that building in Oakley though. It was originally a Builders Square II, I think, which was like an early '90s version of Lowe's.
July 30, 20168 yr Crossroads didn't build that building in Oakley though. It was originally a Builders Square II, I think, which was like an early '90s version of Lowe's. Wasn't it an HQ?
July 30, 20168 yr It could have been, but it looks a lot more Builders Square-ey than HQ-ey. Maybe it was a Hechinger that got turned into an HQ.
July 31, 20168 yr I have driven by a few times and the more I look the more I'm convinced that the two spires are not perfectly parallel. Something is not right. They are off by 6"-1 foot.
July 31, 20168 yr Glad to see the spires up! and regarding the building in Oakley, yes it was an HQ (Home Quarters).
August 9, 20168 yr The spires were lit for the first time on Sunday night. The lighting makes it even more obvious that the two spires are not parallel. It looks cheap when you get up close -- the lighting basically lights up the sort of metal stairway you'd see in the emergency exit of a dated suburban hotel.
August 9, 20168 yr I think it looks great. Huge addition to the neighborhood. From the Crossroads Facebook page:
August 9, 20168 yr I wonder if they're going to replace the missing copper at the base of the left spire. It looks unfinished in its current state.
August 10, 20168 yr I think they look fantastic! The internal lighting, the way the green catches the light in the day, the placement of the internal staircases, everything about them is exactly the way they should be.
August 10, 20168 yr I think it looks great too! The one's that don't like it be sippin on that Haterade.
August 24, 20168 yr What happens when Crossroads renovates a Catholic church from 1873? Look inside: PHOTOS Aug 24, 2016, 1:34pm EDT Updated Aug 24, 2016, 1:44pm EDT Andy Brownfield Reporter Cincinnati Business Courier Crossroads Church began hosting services in Bogart's uptown space in 2014, but now it has a more traditional – but very non-traditional – home to reach out to University of Cincinnati students. Crossroads, which is based in Oakley with five other campuses across Greater Cincinnati, purchased the Old St. George church on Calhoun Street in March 2015. The church is now wrapping up a $13 million renovation of the building and began hosting services there on Aug. 21. Click through the photos below for a look inside. http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2016/08/24/what-happens-when-crossroads-renovates-a-catholic.html
August 25, 20168 yr Looks like a mess to me. That building always had a high level of finish, but they think pulling down the ceilings and leaving spoiled plaster in tact somehow looks good.
August 25, 20168 yr Over at Bogart's they were luring them in with pizza and pop. Now it's pizza, pop, and a trendy coffee shop decor. The whole thing just seems like a way for people to pair off without the stigma of having met at a bar.
August 25, 20168 yr Looks like a mess to me. That building always had a high level of finish, but they think pulling down the ceilings and leaving spoiled plaster in tact somehow looks good. Agreed. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
November 13, 20177 yr I honestly don't know anymore if the western steeple is actually crooked or if my brain just automatically visualizes it as crooked because jmecklenborg[/member] said it was crooked. “To an Ohio resident - wherever he lives - some other part of his state seems unreal.”
November 13, 20177 yr I honestly don't know anymore if the western steeple is actually crooked or if my brain just automatically visualizes it as crooked because jmecklenborg[/member] said it was crooked. He's gaslighting you...
November 13, 20177 yr I honestly don't know anymore if the western steeple is actually crooked or if my brain just automatically visualizes it as crooked because jmecklenborg[/member] said it was crooked. He's gaslighting you... Gaslight is is Clifton this is CUF. ;)
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