December 4, 200816 yr I thought there were talks about puting a restaurant in the park? I'm not sure how you could fit a restaurant into Lytle Park. It is quite small and any addition like that would basically take up the entire park. Maybe you're thinking of the earlier conversations about the possibility of a restaurant being added to Burnett Woods. No, I know of the plans or proposals for the restuarant in Burnett Woods, but I was reading somewhere, maybe a blog, that someone did not vote for the steakhouse option for Burnett Woods because they thought it would be better in Lytle Park. Oh well, any overhaul of the park should be nice, though there really needs to be some more attractions, be it retail or restaurants, to really get good use out of the park.
December 4, 200816 yr nice, it does need a facelift My reaction to this project is the same when i heard that Gaslight/Ludlow was getting a facelift. Sure in a perfetc world, these areas can use some love but they should not be a priority for the city right now. Shouldnt we iuse this money for OTR or the streetcar. I just don't see the need AT ALL. That corner of the city where Lytle park is just fine.
December 4, 200816 yr ^I agree, but many times the Park Board has their own donations and revenue stream coming in to pay for these sorts of projects. No funding source has been determined yet, nor has there been a budget set, but I would imagine that only a small amount of money would come from the City coffers with the rest coming from State grants, donations and that kind of thing. Once there is more information about that though I'll be sure to report back.
December 4, 200816 yr nice, it does need a facelift My reaction to this project is the same when i heard that Gaslight/Ludlow was getting a facelift. Sure in a perfetc world, these areas can use some love but they should not be a priority for the city right now. Shouldnt we iuse this money for OTR or the streetcar. I just don't see the need AT ALL. That corner of the city where Lytle park is just fine. I agree, too. Shouldn't this money be put into other parks that need rennovation more like the planned overhaul of Washington Park? No one really even goes to Lytle Park, and without plans to add any commercial space around the park, I don't see it being used much more after the rennovation. The only thing that could impact park usage could be the new Queen City Square building that is close by, and some of the office workers might choose to use the park at lunch time, but this seems like a pretty limited use for an expensive upgrade.
December 4, 200816 yr nice, it does need a facelift My reaction to this project is the same when i heard that Gaslight/Ludlow was getting a facelift. Sure in a perfetc world, these areas can use some love but they should not be a priority for the city right now. Shouldnt we iuse this money for OTR or the streetcar. I just don't see the need AT ALL. That corner of the city where Lytle park is just fine. the ludlow streetscape was something like $2 million, here where two questions that I don't think were asked: 1. return on investment? 2. economic impact? The 2 mil, doesn't include the plaza, which is going to cost extra.
December 10, 200816 yr Ohio preservation board recommends Mount Airy Forest for National Register http://www.building-cincinnati.com/2008/12/ohio-preservation-board-recommends.html The Ohio Historic Site Preservation Advisory Board has recommended Mount Airy Forest for the National Register of Historic Places. The recommendation now goes to state historic preservation officer Dr. William K. Laidlaw Jr., who may choose to forward it to the Keeper of the National Register of Historic Places for consideration. A decision from the Keeper is expected within 90 days. Mount Airy Forest, the largest park in Cincinnati's park system at just under 1,470 acres, was created in 1911 with the acquisition of 168-acres of depleted produce and dairy farms. The majority of the park was developed during the Great Depression with federal funding and federal labor programs, including the Works Progress Administration, the Civil Works Administration, and the African-American Civilian Conservation Corps. The nomination also recognizes the design of landscape architect George E. Kessler and state forester Edmund Secrest, the quality of construction of its rustic structures, and for the work of R. Carl Freund, the park board architect who designed 12 buildings in the park between 1930 and 1959. Also at the meeting, the board approved the content of the "Historic Resources of the Cincinnati Park and Parkway System 1817-1959" study, which could become the basis for deciding which components of the City's parks and parkway system are eligible for National Register listing; and recommended the Charles C. Meade House in Loveland for the Ohio State Registry of Archaeological and Historic Landmarks. Nine other Ohio sites were recommended for the National Register, including: Rock Hill Presbyterian Church, Bellaire Concord Hicksite Friends Meeting House, Belmont County Inglewood Historic District, Cleveland Heights The Railway Chapel, Denison The Town Pump, East Sparta Old Enon Road Stone Arch Culvert, Enon Selby Shoe Company Building, Ironton Olive Branch High School, New Carlisle Harvey Wells House, Wellston
January 23, 200916 yr $32.1M plan adds acreage, playgrounds More acreage, playgrounds, facilities The Hamilton County Park District plans to spend $32.1 million in the next five years on projects ranging from new playgrounds to new roofs. The park board, which oversees 21 parks, recently approved a five-year-plan that divides spending about equally among land acquisition, recreation and outdoor education. Projects include everyday maintenance such as replacing carpet or managing the deer, geese and honeysuckle, as well as the more high-profile work of extending the Little Miami bike path. There are also plans for installing new playgrounds, acquiring between 200 and 500 acres and completing the upgrade of the Winton Woods campground. Read full article here: http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090123/NEWS01/901230349/1055/NEWS
January 26, 200916 yr Conservancy plans to open 173 acres By Amanda Van Benschoten, Cincinnati Enquirer, January 25, 2009 The county and the Boone Conservancy plan to open about 173 acres of land to the public for recreational use. The Boone Conservancy owns the land, which includes the old gravel pit site and the Camargo Hunt site. The land is roughly located on Ky. 18 between Dinsmore Homestead and Ky. 20. The Boone Conservancy, a non-profit land conservation group, will lease the sites to the county for $1 annually over the next three years. The county will maintain the sites as a public park. "I think it'll be a nice amenity to the residents of Belleview, and provided at a very low cost to the taxpayers," said Judge-executive Gary Moore.
February 16, 200916 yr Mount Airy Forest awaits history By Jane Prendergast • [email protected] • February 16, 2009 Mount Airy Forest - all 1,459 acres of it - could soon be on the National Register of Historic Places. Cincinnati officials await word on whether the park, the city's largest, will be accepted onto the list by the U.S. Department of the Interior and National Park Service. The park was nominated for the list by the Ohio Historical Society. Parks Director Willie Carden said the designation would add to Cincinnatians' pride in their parks and give another reason why planning a "staycation" in the city, rather than a vacation away, might be a good idea. He also thinks the honor would be validation for the initiative and foresight it took in 1906, when a group of supporters decided all Cincinnati parks would be best run by an independent board. That remains the case today. Read full article here: http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090216/NEWS01/902160326/1055/NEWS
February 16, 200916 yr The park really should be included as it is a prime example of the monumental WPA works that were done during the Depression-era. The next spectacular thing that could be done is to reconnect the now split up Mt. Airy forest through a connection under I-74. This is in the Park Board's plans, but will hinge upon ODOT's cooperation when I-74 through that section is redone. It's possible, only if the political will is there.
February 17, 200916 yr From today's AJC: http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/atlanta/stories/2009/02/17/atlanta_lacks_parks.html
March 11, 200916 yr WHO: Cincinnati Park Board WHAT: JOB FAIR—Open to the Public WHEN: Thursday, March 12, 2009, 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. AND Saturday March 14, 2009, 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. WHERE: Cincinnati Parks Operations Center, 3215 Reading Road, Cincinnati, OH 45229 CONTACT: Cincinnati Parks Operations Center, (513) 861-8970, or e-mail [email protected]. The Cincinnati Park Board is now hiring for Season Maintenance Workers for 2009. Must be a resident of Hamilton County, at least 18 years of age, have a valid Ohio driver’s license, have a good police record and be able to pass a drug screen. Hourly rate: $8.50, up to 40 hours per week during the season. Able to perform heavy to very heavy physical labor. Seasonal Maintenance Workers perform grounds maintenance including mowing, hand-trimming bushes, clearing weeds, litter pick-up and trash collection; manual landscaping tasks such as installing trail ties, loading/unloading fertilizer and mulch; park building maintenance and cleaning—sweeping and mopping floors. Bring with your application: [*]Current police records check obtained from Hamilton County Clerk of Courts [*]Current driver’s license abstract obtained from local Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles office [*]Valid Ohio driver’s license shown when submitting application
May 19, 200916 yr Cincinnati may apply for grant for Ault Park improvements http://www.building-cincinnati.com/2009/05/cincinnati-may-apply-for-grant-for-ault.html Cincinnati City Council is considering an ordinance allowing it to apply for a grant to fund capital improvements at Ault Park. The $75,000 grant from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources would be applied to adopt-a-plot garden areas, overlooks, and other small projects within the park. The ordinance also would create a new capital project account for the project. The City would not be required to provide matching funds.
May 22, 200916 yr Owls Nest Park Reconstruction Underway http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/city/downloads/OwlsNestReconstructionUnderway509.pdf For residents along Evanston's Fairfax Avenue and East Walnut Hills' Annwood Lane, an amazing transformation has been taking place at Owls Nest Park. Thousands of cubic yards of fill have been brought into the north end of the park, raising the grade of this side of the park over ten feet. What was once a low lying, and often wet area, below the level of the street, has now been brought up to sidewalk level. It is the first step in an ambitious master plan for the entire park which will tie together the Fairfax Avenue and Madison Road sides of the park with new walkways, landscape and lighting. Other features include a new ballfield, a basketball shooting court, park furnishings such as benches, drinking fountains and bike racks, and a new entrance and parking area off of Pogue Avenue. The City of Cincinnati Park Board recently awarded a $676,000 contract to the J. K. Meurer Company to construct the new park improvements. Work is starting this month and slated for completion this summer. The stage was set for this work, however, with the fill that was brought into the site by the Maxim Crane Works Company. The Park Board contracted with Maxim Crane to bring in over 30,000 cubic yards of fill and grade it and compact it. This work would have ordinarily been part of the park construction contract. Maxim Crane donated a portion of the cost of this work, a value of over $245,000. The timing was right because Maxim had contracted with nearby Xavier University to remove fill from a University site, and some of this fill is what was brought to the park. The community group that has been working with the Park Board on Owls Nest Park is delighted with the project. Rae Vuic, a member of the Owls Nest Park Advisory Council, cited the progress on park construction and the donated fill as “a wonderful example of civic mindedness and of a public-private partnership”. The Owls Nest group spearheaded the development of a new plan for the park and led private fundraising efforts for the park which to date have brought in over $200,000. The Park Board has contributed over $700,000 toward the project and MSD is contributing $40,000 toward rain gardens which are being built as part of the project. Last year, two volunteer-built playgrounds were installed in the park, one supported by the Madieu Williams Foundation and the other by the Cincinnati Academy of Leadership for Lawyers.
August 19, 200915 yr Hamilton County Parks buys 184 acres for $1.1M http://www.building-cincinnati.com/2009/08/hamilton-county-parks-buys-184-acres.html The Hamilton County Park District has completed the purchase of 184 acres in Colerain Township from Rumpke Consolidated Companies, Inc. for $1.1 million. Located between East Miami River, Thompson, and Flick roads, the hilly and heavily forested property includes a connection to the Park District's existing Oak Glen Nature Preserve. The Park District also has been approved for a Clean Ohio Green Space Conservation Program grant of nearly $918,000 to begin a habitat restoration project on the site. The Park District has collaborated with Rumpke for several years, working together to preserve a total of 361 acres. "The Board of Park Commissioners places a strong emphasis on seeking out appropriate greenspace purchases as part of our commitment to Hamilton County residents," said planning director Ross Hamre. "This is a significant land acquisition and we're grateful to our corporate partner Rumpke." Total greenspace preserved and protected by the Hamilton County Park District is now 16,248 acres.
September 23, 200915 yr Cincinnati Parks documentary to air Tonight (Wednesday) from 8 pm - 9pm "Cincinnati Parks: Emeralds in the Crown" http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/blog/2009/09/cincinnati_parks_documentary_to_air.html
September 24, 200915 yr Caught the last 15 minutes of it. Pretty good. Would have been better if Robin Wood hadn't voiced the show with her lifeless tone though.
September 24, 200915 yr Watched it last night. Had absolutely no idea just how many odd little parks the system has. I thought it was a fantastic overview of the whole system. The pictures of Eden park as a full blown water resevoir were great, as well as the pictures of the old Lincoln Park where Union Terminal now sits. Did anybody catch where that stone slide is? It's outside of some nature center but I didn't hear them name the park. I remember going to camp there a looong time ago and loved that slide....
September 24, 200915 yr The slide they talk about is in Burnet Woods near the Tailside Nature Center (near the pond) There is also a slide though at Alms Park.
September 24, 200915 yr Watched it last night. Had absolutely no idea just how many odd little parks the system has. I thought it was a fantastic overview of the whole system. The pictures of Eden park as a full blown water resevoir were great, as well as the pictures of the old Lincoln Park where Union Terminal now sits. Did anybody catch where that stone slide is? It's outside of some nature center but I didn't hear them name the park. I remember going to camp there a looong time ago and loved that slide.... The slide is fun. You used to need cardboard, but they shellacked it with some sort of hard resin now you can slide down without cardboard. I do suggest you lift your feet while going down you the heels of your shoes don't catch and slow you down.
September 24, 200915 yr I love the slide in Burnett Woods! The landing can be a little rough sometimes, but it's still so fun.
January 14, 201114 yr Parks Department starts solar array project Business Courier Date: Thursday, January 13, 2011, 3:53pm EST. http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2011/01/13/parks-department-starts-solar-array.html The project, installed in 12 different parks and on structures around Cincinnati, consists of 586 235-watt Sharp solar modules. When finished, the solar power project will provide the district with 170 kilowatts of renewable energy.
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