I think this is a pretty good idea (creating a district name for W. 4th) in the world of branding and brand identity...what does everyone else think?

 

Downtown Cincinnati Inc. is having a party Wednesday to showcase new businesses in a part of downtown recently dubbed the Soapbox District, in honor of Cincinnati's strong soap history.

 

The district runs from Central Parkway to Elm, with a center of gravity on West Fourth Street. As downtown evolves, DCI is trying to highlight the identities of different "districts." This one is marked by loft condos, ad agencies, nightclubs and now shopping.

 

Bang is hosting the party 5-7 p.m. Call DCI for details: 513-421-4400.

http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080727/COL01/807270349/1076/NEWS

I wish the name was the Soapbox Urban Living District.

 

but really the name is stupid.  How about West Fourth, or Fourth Street Alive, or North Losantaville, or something else. 

Yeah, something simple like West Fourth probably would have done the trick.  I like the historical reference, but this area wasn't the area where the soap making took place or where the history should be remembered.

from what I have heard it isn't a historical reference, it is the soapbox district as in "get up on your..."

"Soapbox District" reeks of an amateur marketing campaign. But that's true of most districts named by civic officials in almost any U.S. city in the last 10 or 20 years. Instead of neighborhood names that are rooted in history and have had the same name for a century or two, people have jumped on the "district" bandwagon and contrived a prefix for it. Gateway District. Discovery District. The Avenue District. Etc.

 

And while I'm at it, I should rail against "Gateway." That's another bit of amateur marketing babbitry that's slapped onto far too many developments. They usually make as much sense as: "Ohio: Gateway to Indiana." Or (as Jon Stewart said last week): "Wilkes-Barre: Gateway to Scranton."

from what I have heard it isn't a historical reference, it is the soapbox district as in "get up on your..."

 

"Downtown Cincinnati Inc. is having a party Wednesday to showcase new businesses in a part of downtown recently dubbed the Soapbox District, in honor of Cincinnati's strong soap history."

Soapbox Urban District = sud.  Soap...suds...get it?

jk

 

"The name makes sense on many levels," Heuser says, "not only because the entire block is shaped like a bar of soap but with the city's rich history with Procter & Gamble and the fact that the city needs a place where young people can again be heard, in essence, as if they were on their soapbox. This could be a very strong residential, entertainment, retail and business district with the right attention."

So...we're both right.  I accept your apology.

 

"The name makes sense on many levels," Heuser says, "not only because the entire block is shaped like a bar of soap..."

 

Oh, my.  Shaped like a bar of soap...like Ivory?  Has he ever seen a bar of Coast?  Now that would be cool.

question, how many blocks aren't shaped like a bar of soap?  or perhaps a box of soap?

Neighborhood name branding drives me nuts,  reminds me of the burbs..Just call it what it is "W 4th".  Short and sweet.

yeah, do away with all the neighborhood names..........

They need to add a bubble machine and have Ho Don singing Tiny Bubbles on repeat.

I was thinking of soapbox cars/races when I first saw the thread title.

What's soap?

^LOL!

If that area was where they made soap it should be the Soap District. Not Soapbox.

 

 

For me “Soapbox District” brings to mind a place that had a concentration of soapbox speakers, delivering impromptu oratory on political or other causes.  I don’t know about other places, but in Chicago this used to be Washington Square, AKA Bughouse Square. 

 

If there was a similar location in Cincinnati, that would be the soapbox corner or soapbox district

 

"Soapbox District" reeks of an amateur marketing campaign. But that's true of most districts named by civic officials in almost any U.S. city in the last 10 or 20 years. Instead of neighborhood names that are rooted in history and have had the same name for a century or two, people have jumped on the "district" bandwagon and contrived a prefix for it. Gateway District. Discovery District. The Avenue District. Etc.

 

And while I'm at it, I should rail against "Gateway." That's another bit of amateur marketing babbitry that's slapped onto far too many developments. They usually make as much sense as: "Ohio: Gateway to Indiana." Or (as Jon Stewart said last week): "Wilkes-Barre: Gateway to Scranton."

 

Amen, brother!

And while I'm at it, I should rail against "Gateway." That's another bit of amateur marketing babbitry that's slapped onto far too many developments

Of course I will have to object to this.  Several years ago, even before "Gateway" was ever out of the ground, I sat with Tarbell in NKY at a lunch looking straight up Vine St and he said, to everyone, "How could we the city, let the Gateway to our core be so neglected?"  Vine is Gateway, well before there was a project so really any other name would have been a bit of marketing babbitry.  Gateway is a statement of fact.

 

As for the Soapbox Dist, if it gets a few extra people talking about downtown in a positive light then that amateur campaign is a successful campaign none the less.

And while I'm at it, I should rail against "Gateway." That's another bit of amateur marketing babbitry that's slapped onto far too many developments

Of course I will have to object to this.  Several years ago, even before "Gateway" was ever out of the ground, I sat with Tarbell in NKY at a lunch looking straight up Vine St and he said, to everyone, "How could we the city, let the Gateway to our core be so neglected?"  Vine is Gateway, well before there was a project so really any other name would have been a bit of marketing babbitry.  Gateway is a statement of fact.

 

As for the Soapbox Dist, if it gets a few extra people talking about downtown in a positive light then that amateur campaign is a successful campaign none the less.

 

My thoughts exactly.

Vine is Gateway, well before there was a project so really any other name would have been a bit of marketing babbitry.  Gateway is a statement of fact.

 

 

The problem is, with the bandwagon effect and the overuse of the term, all of the new faux gateways cheapen the effect of the legitimate gateways.

As for the Soapbox Dist, if it gets a few extra people talking about downtown in a positive light then that amateur campaign is a successful campaign none the less.

 

That's a major upside to dividing "downtown" into these types of districts.  The area is so large that it's difficult to turn perception around on the whole thing at once.  But if you can get someone who hates downtown to buy into something like this, they might still hate downtown as a whole, but they may say "well, the soapbox district is nice".  Same thing for Fountain Square.  Eventually, as you push each one, the misperception of downtown being a bad place begins to erode.

^Exactly...we should keep in mind that 3CDC's board is made up of executives from some of the best branding/marketing firms in the world.  They might just know what they're doing here.  So far, so good with Fountain Square and the Gateway Quarter.

Speaking of the Soapbox District/West 4th, any news when Boss Cox will be opening?

The name won't catch on.

The name won't catch on.

I am not sure that really matters.  The real take away here is the fact that more and more stakeholders in pockets of downtown are stepping up and trying to bring attention to their neighborhood or street.  We did it with a Mulberry Hill Tour.  The Brewery Dist. is doing everything under the sun.  Main St. Entertainment Dist. does their thing.  Gateway and Vine St Merchants are doing their thing.  Merchants on Main are doing their thing.  The Chamber is actively promoting downtown on 550 AM.  DCI is running both radio and TV spots.  DRC is doing their part with various promotions.  7th St. Entertainment Group is doing their radio ads now.  And there are several more who are doing active promotion of Downtown and collectively it all ads to the change in perception of downtown and OTR as a whole.  Soapbox Dist can come and go but added to the mix of everything else, that positive article lent to an overall branding of energy, excitement and renewal of downtown Cincy.

^Exactly...we should keep in mind that 3CDC's board is made up of executives from some of the best branding/marketing firms in the world. They might just know what they're doing here. So far, so good with Fountain Square and the Gateway Quarter.

 

I agree.  As a marketer myself I would.  And it makes sense but I just can't get over the "it's shaped like soap" comment.

Related to edale's question, I read an article saying the guys who own Bang are getting ready to open Boss Cox (which I also read should open by fall) and also operate a place called Mainstay on 5th - has anyone heard of that?

 

Maybe they can bring Nick and Vanessa back for the opening of Boss Cox......I inadvertently came across this and found it amusing.

How about we brand the area of east fifth near Chiquita the "Banana Distict"  and have giant butter jesus sized Bananas sticking up along the roadway

 

Lots of interesting news in this article...

 

Investor's high on Soapbox

http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080730/BIZ01/807300322/1076/NEWS

 

DOWNTOWN - Josh Heuser thinks the next downtown neighborhood to boom will be the Soapbox District, and he has money on it.

 

One of the things he loves about the neighborhood - which is concentrated on West Fourth Street from Central Avenue to Elm Street and runs from Third to Fifth streets - is that it is home to bars, restaurants and stores, loft apartments and new condos, and workplaces as well.

Damn! What a great article! I'm excited about all of this energy. It's undeniable what's going on in our urban core.

I love the cobblestone streets idea, but I don't see how that would ever fly.    I mean new construction of anyway.    Do they even still do this anywhere?

I don't see the cobblestone streets ever happening, on 4th, for the simple reason that 4th Street is an access point to vehicle getting on I-75 northbound.  Traffic engineers will never allow for something like cobblestone streets to get in the way of vehicles attempting to access an interstate (unfortunately).  It would be great though.

I dont know about the interstate access, but this happens all over. Check out this site i particularly like their 'Fishscale' or 'Fan'pattern

 

http://eurocobble.com/

Personally I would rather see cobblestone on smaller streets, not on the large one-way streets downtown. I think the traffic calming effect of cobblestone is more suitable in that setting. More cobblestone streets would be great to have in OTR, especially for tertiary streets. Perhaps once we get the streetcar, they could get local businesses and residents to pay some of the cost when the new wave of development proves to be successful and improvements on infrastructure are being looked into. I just don't see how Cobblestone would be practical on 4th., as visually appealing as it is. That's a cool site, BDRUF but notice most of the examples they use are private drive-ways and pedestrian-only streets.

Would love to get people's opinion of whether promoting a "Soapbox District" causes negative confusion with Soapbox Media (soapboxmedia.com). 

Scoop up the blacktop,  the original cobblestone streets are in great shape where the new gas lines havn't screwed them up

 

From wikipedia

 

A soapbox is a raised platform on which one stands to make an impromptu speech, often about a political subject. It is also used to express concerns or to release frustration, and can often simply serve to stroke the egos of the shrill and self-important.

The term originates from when speakers would stand on a wooden box meant for holding soap. The term is also used metaphorically to describe a person engaging in often flamboyant impromptu or unofficial public speaking, as in the phrases "He's on his soapbox", or "Get off your soapbox." Hyde Park, London is known for its Sunday soapbox orators, who have assembled at Speakers' Corner since 1872 to discuss religion, politics, and other topics. A modern form of the soapbox is a blog: a website on which a user publishes one's thoughts to whomever reads the page.

 

 

Would love to get people's opinion of whether promoting a "Soapbox District" causes negative confusion with Soapbox Media (soapboxmedia.com). 

 

Is that your site? If it is, I wanna say that you did a hell of a good job with it. I guess it is likely people might assume your site is in regards to the district, but like I said, I don't think the brand will catch on since "soapbox" has no profound meaning within the boundaries of the district.

 

Don't get me wrong, I am not against districts. I think the Gateway (although it is not very original) makes sense, along with the Brewery District. The problem is that we already have a "Gateway" and "Brewery District" in Columbus. If we were talking about commodities, it would be copywrite infringement. I just wish they would come up with original names but also names that are very pertainent to said district's past or present. Soapbox is at least original.

 

 

The term originates from when speakers would stand on a wooden box meant for holding soap. The term is also used metaphorically to describe a person engaging in often flamboyant impromptu or unofficial public speaking, as in the phrases "He's on his soapbox", or "Get off your soapbox." Hyde Park, London is known for its Sunday soapbox orators, who have assembled at Speakers' Corner since 1872 to discuss religion, politics, and other topics. A modern form of the soapbox is a blog: a website on which a user publishes one's thoughts to whomever reads the page.

 

It's unfortunate that we don't have places like this anymore. People don't care about public issues. Instead, they like to make their own private issues public!

Don't get me wrong, I am not against districts. I think the Gateway (although it is not very original) makes sense, along with the Brewery District. The problem is that we already have a "Gateway" and "Brewery District" in Columbus. If we were talking about commodities, it would be copywrite infringement. I just wish they would come up with original names but also names that are very pertainent to said district's past or present. Soapbox is at least original.

 

There's a neighborhood called "Gateway" in Newport as well.  Of course, there's also a "Clifton" neighborhood in Newport.  I guess there are only so many place names...

Would love to get people's opinion of whether promoting a "Soapbox District" causes negative confusion with Soapbox Media (soapboxmedia.com).

 

When I first saw the headline that is what came to mind.  Then again I'm not sure how many people know of Soapbox Media yet.  So something like this could easily screw up the name recognition that Soapbox Media is working to attain.  I do think that the district name should probably be modified slightly or change the district to fully embody a soapbox-type area that is open for public displays, discussion, etc.

>hat 4th Street is an access point to vehicle getting on I-75 northbound

 

There's a major ramp in Pittsburgh that dumps directly onto a narrow brick street, it's totally hilarious because you can just tell the highway planners want nothing more than to tear down one side of the street and lay pavement and for whatever reason it's been held up for decades.  And btw there are cobbles all over main streets in Europe and in fact before they decided to rip it up the stones and pattern on Fountain Square resembled the cobbles all over Paris.     

Yeah, I was the instigator behind Soapbox Media... However, the best thing I did was raise the initial cash and hire an amazing editorial team.  They're the ones that put out an entirely new issue each Tuesday morning.  I can't take much credit for that.   

 

The point of us picking Soapbox for our name was our intent to create a true media outlet designed to share the stories of the amazing entrepreneurship, innovation, development, or investment happening every day in this region.  There are plenty of other media that will talk about crime, sprawl, or bankruptcies.  We're providing that platform to demonstrate - in a professional, compelling, and authentic way - that Cincinnati has a lot to offer. 

 

In that respect, to have a district of downtown named after us is pretty flattering.    :wink:

I do think that the district name should probably be modified slightly or change the district to fully embody a soapbox-type area that is open for public displays, discussion, etc.

 

When I heard the name I thought that they may be thinking the same thing. Even just a small park with a "soapbox" in it could be a really cool place for groups and individuals to use as a forum.

SoapDish for August 12: A new Soapbox in town

http://www.soapboxmedia.com/features/soapdish26.aspx

 

Ah yes, ‘tis Tuesday morning once again…the time of the week when your intrepid Soapdish columnist turns his steely gaze to our fair city’s urban streets, its hearty inhabitants, its bon vivants….its neighborhoods…and, as of last Wednesday’s little reception at Bang nightclub, its, um, “Soapbox District”?  That’s right folks, apparently some enterprising and eager entrepreneurs on West 4th Street decided to designate their little corner of downtown the “Soapbox District.” [note of disclosure: SoapboxMedia.com is in no way connected to this nascent and plucky new “Soapbox District,” other than as an interested observer and booster, of course]

 

Now any Cincinista with comprehension skills exceeding that of your average 2 ½  year old is well aware that the concept of “branding,” and everything it entails, is mighty big business here in Cincinnati.  Hence we continually find ourselves eagerly doling out spunky monikers for just about any new project that comes down the pike with the hopes that one or two of them will stick to the wall of our collective civic consciousness.  The “Gateway Quarter/the Q” in Over the Rhine and the Banks are but two such obvious  examples.  Some stick, others slide by the wayside (“Mulberry Hill” anyone?), the jury is still out on some (hello “Brewery District”), while a few churn along like an overly hyphenated and politically correct surname (see, e.g. Liberty Hill-South Mt. Auburn-Prospect Hill historic district).

 

Now don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against the name “soapbox,” in fact, it is indeed catchy and vaguely familiar, but I struggle a bit to see the connection with the downtown district which has historically been referred to as West 4th Street.  Josh Heuser of Troika Development, one of the impresarios behind this whole branding exercise, originally explained that the “Soapbox District” name derives from the fact that the neighborhood is shaped like a bar of soap, and, according to Downtown Cincinnati, Inc.’s press release, the name was also a convenient nod to Cincinnati’s well documented and sudsy past.  Perhaps recognizing that just about any neighborhood downtown could be interpreted as being shaped like a bar of soap with a sudsy past, Heuser went further, noting that the title is meant to evoke the “speaker’s corner” derivation of Soapbox, i.e. a place where young professionals can get involved, open businesses and get up on their soapbox to tell you about it.  All well and good, and regardless of the genesis, there can be no denying that this little section of downtown is primed to take off.

 

West 4th Street, er…the Soapbox District, is chock full of some beautiful and historic architecture, but on a much more intimate and modest scale than many other parts of downtown.  With minimal setbacks on both sides of the street, and few open spaces (ignoring the surface lot at Plum and 4th), the area has retained a traditionally cozy and dense urban streetscape.  Throw into the mix a nightclub (Bang) a few neighborhood bars (Tina’s and Plum Street Cafe), a new scenester art gallery (AVS Art), an uber-hip new skateboard-inspired street-wear retail store (unheardof), an old school mainstay Italian restaurant (Campanello’s, “Just 3 blocks from the beach!”), and, speaking of mainstays, a new not-yet-opened live music venue at the corner of 5th and Plum to be called, well, Mainstay—et voila, a viable, walkable and livable downtown neighborhood.  Heuser and his comrades, including (but not limited to) Chad Reynolds and former nightclub curator Andrew VanSickle, are a few of the driving and more visible forces behind Bang, AVS Art, unheardof, Mainstay and the in-progress Boss Cox, a $1.7 million gastro-pub that will reportedly seat 175. Suffice to say they obviously have some skin in this “big Bang theory” of urban evolution playing out on West 4th.

 

Mixed in with all this, residential pioneers both big and small are continuing to put their mark on the neighborhood.  Middle Earth Development’s striking Parker Flats, at the west end of 4th, is putting the finishing touches on its 55 units of glass-walled urban loft living, while, on a much smaller scale, Conrad Oppt and Jack Glazer are moving forward with the seven unit McFarland Lofts, a somewhat more modest loft renovation in the 137 year old former wagon warehouse of Cincinnati Gaslight & Coke (just behind and to the East of AVS Art).  According to Oppt, the model at McFarland should be ready in 6 or 7 weeks, and they will custom finish-to-order the units (most of which will range from $195K to $250K) as they are sold.

 

Add to all of this the “vision” presented at last week’s reception, replete with narrowed cobblestone streets, gaslights, cast iron benches, planters and more, and you can readily see that this could be an extremely vibrant new quadrant of downtown. Imagine meeting for drinks at Twist, strolling over to an art opening at AVS, walking across the street for dinner at Boss Cox, and then closing it out at Bang before heading home, and doing all of this within a two block strip.

 

Regardless of the name, be it West 4th, the Soapbox District, or, um, say, The Gateway to Northbound Interstate 75, it is clear that this is yet another downtown district on the upswing.

Some stick, others slide by the wayside (“Mulberry Hill” anyone?),

 

HA!  I never liked that one either. Sorry, Michele redmond

Giving the 'Soapbox District' some teeth

http://www.urbancincy.com/2008/10/giving-soapbox-district-some-teeth.html

 

W. 4th Street has seen a buzz of activity in recent months. New stores have opened, new buildings have gone up, and new residents move in. In addition to this the area has also attempted to be rebranded as the 'Soapbox District.'

 

A soapbox is a raised platform on which one stands to make an impromptu speech, often about a political subject. This is one of the angle that the branders were getting at. The other was to pay tribute to Cincinnati's soap making history and the shape of many of the buildings in the W. 4th Street area.

 

I find the angle of public speech and discussion to be most interesting. Fountain Square was seemingly that spot, but that public space has been converted into a hybrid public/private space where I doubt this kind of thing would be tolerated any longer. The branders also mentioned how this could be the spot, in Cincinnati, where young people make their voices heard. Great, many of the new residents in that area are indeed young so this seems to possibly have some traction.

 

The problem is that there seems to be no concerted effort to make this into reality. I look to London's Hyde Park. In the park's NE corner (aka Speaker's Corner) people come to speak publicly about what they wish. They are allowed to continue as long as it is considered lawful. I look at this example and see a huge opportunity at 4th & Plum (GoogleMap) in Cincinnati.

 

That location is right in the heart of the 'Soapbox District' and is currently occupied by a surface parking lot. An ideal scenario would be to acquire this lot and turn it into a park. Create a much needed dog park area within it, sitting places, and lots of trees. In addition to this, make the park the epicenter for public/free speech in the newly dubbed 'Soapbox District.' The idea is great, now let's give it some teeth.

rando preaches the truth

get off rando's b*lls 'so goes it.' 

 

:-)

rando preaches the truth

 

Yes...from my soapbox.

 

get off rando's b*lls 'so goes it.' 

 

:-)

 

HEY...jealousy is a strong emotion.  :laugh: