Posted September 18, 200519 yr Hamilton City Schools, sometimes mistakenly called Hamilton Local Schools, serves most of the City of Hamilton and the southern portion of Hanover Township that is not in the Talawanda School District. UrbanOhio forumers should be interested to hear it has been rated the #1 rated Urban School District in Ohio. On the last report card, they accomplished an Effective rating. Before 2003, Hamilton had not had a new school in 45 years, since the new Taft and Garfield High Schools were opened in 1959. Both High Schools combined in 1981 when Taft became Hamilton High and Garfield became a middle school. To make things more efficent, the school district is combining its 13 elementaries into 8 new buildings, moving Freshman to a new building, rebuilding Wilson Middle School, and closing George Washington Middle School. In total, 10 new schools will be constructed and 2 will be renovated. The project is in three phases, with the first two finished and the third and largest to start soon.
July 3, 200618 yr Elementary sites will have separate bus parking and student drop areas from the parent parking and drop areas to get rid of congestion and the potential hazard and make it safe for the students to go from the buses to the buildings. Let's hope these "new" schools are connected via sidewalks to neighborhoods - that could alleviate potential congestion.
July 5, 200618 yr I agree with Mr. Anderson. They need to insure that the schools are well connected to the surrounding neighborhoods with sidewalks. This can help reduce the traffic issuses and give students and parents another transportation option besides the car and bus.
October 23, 200618 yr Author I am very optomistic that the bond is going to pass as the opposition has been minimal and the group leading the campaign, the Now is the Time Committee, is strong and very aggressive. Campaign website:http://achanceofalifetime.org/ I thought I would post a couple of the buildings that I have photographed... :roll: Madison, yes thats the front Lincoln, a cool old school integrated well with the neighborhood, one I'm certainly sad to see go Jefferson, a similar design is seen in Adams, Cleveland, Van Buren The oldest section of Jefferson, from 1904, oldest school building still in use (as a school) in Hamilton
October 23, 200618 yr That last school looks very cool, if only it had some buildings around it to give it some context...then it would be AWESOME!!!
October 24, 200618 yr The schools need to make sure they truly understand the impact of the school building in a neighborhood. If the schools and city are not careful the loss of these neighborhood schools will create new blight throughout the city. This will ultimately bring down surrounding property values hurting both the city's budget as well as the schools long term budget. I firmly believe that the professionals involved with the schools don't understand this concept and can only see the short term money from the sale of the property. Hamilton is on the rebound and doesn't need short sighted planning by the schools to create future blighted neighborhoods. Maybe they should do a little bit of research and learn that the new data shows that smaller schools, well integrated into the neighborhood, have the best return on investment and learning.
October 24, 200618 yr interesting those beautiful original buildings were still being used until now. not much of those architecturally tragic and cheap azz 60's-70's style school buildings junking up hamilton.
October 24, 200618 yr OSFC recommends these optimal sized buildings for efficiency, and they also require 10 acres of land, which is crazy for urban districts. May I point out that there is not a single architect, planner, design professional or even engineer on the OSFC board. I've heard that the OSFC is in the process of being sued for wasting tax-payers' money. Because, of the 10 acre requirements, the 100 or so parking spaces "needed", and the fact that no professionals are on the board.
October 24, 200618 yr Read the article from Governing magazine and it will shed some light on the absurdity of school construction and sprawl. http://www.governing.com/textbook/schools.htm
October 25, 200618 yr ^^Great article Mr. Anderson! However depressing... It might be depressing, but its a shame someone that makes decisions apparently didn't read it. Why must this region always react to issues 10 years after others communities throughout the US already made the change.
November 8, 200618 yr Author For better or worse, the issue passed by several hundred votes. I was following this and several other Butler County races as they came in last night, this issue was down by 400+ votes at least once. It would be interesting to see the precinct breakdown, it is obvious that different neighborhoods voted a majority one way or the other. From the 11/8/06 Journal-News: Let the building begin in Hamilton Hamilton schools get new facilities By Linda Ebbing Staff Writer Wednesday, November 08, 2006 HAMILTON — Let the building begin. Voters on Tuesday said yes to Issue 6, a 4.91-mill bond issue for the Hamilton City School District to construct eight new elementary buildings. The measure passed 51.56 percent to 48.44 percent — 8,431 to 7,921 — according to complete but unofficial results from the Butler County Board of Elections. "This means that the students of Hamilton will have quality facilities to match the quality education they are receiving," said Superintendent Janet Baker. The bond issue will generate the local share — $72 million — needed to complete Phase III of the district's master facilities plan, which includes eight new elementary schools. Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2158 or [email protected]. http://www.journal-news.com/hp/content/oh/story/news/local/2006/11/08/hjn110806hambond.html
November 8, 200618 yr I'm really happy that this happened for Hamilton. Good job getting the vote out!!!
January 11, 200718 yr It should be interesting to see what is done with the former school sites once all of the shuffling has taken place.
March 21, 200718 yr Author I had a realization today that at the district's (and city's) peak in the 1960's, Hamilton had 16 elementary schools (13 today as Jackson,Taylor and Polk have closed), 4 middle schools (Harding, Wilson, Washington, and Roosevelt) and two high schools (Taft and Garfield). That accounts for a total of 22 schools. The current plan includes eight elementaries, two middle schools, a freshman school, and a high school, a total of 12 buildings. Perhaps it is justified by enrollment/expenses, but the district is cutting neighborhood schools in half, going from 16 to 8, while covering a larger, sprawling city than in the 1960's.
September 11, 200717 yr Author The Ohio Schools Facilities Commission has approved the square footage of the first four elementary schools--Phase 1. Also, the Hamilton City School Board is to vote on the final names for the eight new buildings. Phase 1 Schools (to open 2009): 1) Wasserman Road Site: Ridgeway Elementary => originally proposed as Wasserman Elementary (91,257 sq. feet) 2) Fair Avenue/Garfield Site: Fairwood Elementary (90,470 sq. feet) 3) Bridgeport Ave/Freshman Site: Bridgeport Elementary (93,639 sq. feet) 4) Hoadly Ave/Geo. Washington Site: Linden Elementary (93,274 sq. feet) Phase 2 Schools (to open 2010): 5) Old Harrison Site: Riverview Elementary => originally proposed as Knightsbridge Elementary 6) Old Cleaveland Site: Brookwood Elementary => originally proposed as Arbor Springs Elementary (glad to see this changed!) 7) Old Fillmore Site: Highland Elementary 8) Eastview Park Site: Crawford Woods Elementary => originally proposed as Crawford Elementary
September 17, 200717 yr Author From the 9/17/07 Journal-News: Note that Fillmore should be Highland Elementary.
December 5, 200717 yr Author Demolition is nearing completion on George Washington Junior High for the construction of Linden Elementary in Lindenwald.
February 20, 200817 yr Author Images from hamiltoncityschools.com: Phase I: Fairwood Site Plan Bridgeport Site Plan Ridgeway Site Plan Linden Site Plan
February 20, 200817 yr I'll be honest, the site plans certainly do not thrill me one bit...considering Hamilton is an urban (not suburban) school district. However I blame the State more so than I do Hamilton City Schools or anyone on the local level.
February 21, 200817 yr What happened to naming all the schools after Presidents? I rather liked it that way . . .
February 21, 200817 yr ^Yup...they should rename Hamilton High after George W. Bush to match the gorgeous statue they have of him at the front entrance.
February 21, 200817 yr ^Yup...they should rename Hamilton High after George W. Bush to match the gorgeous statue they have of him at the front entrance. OMG that's too funny
February 21, 200817 yr Author What happened to naming all the schools after Presidents? I rather liked it that way . . . The district has abandoned that tradition based on the majority opinion of about 300 residents. After some research, I discovered that Hamilton schools started using president names in 1909, abandoning the naming of schools after their ward. Ironically, the first new schools will open in 2009, breaking the tradition exactly 100 years after it was established. ^Yup...they should rename Hamilton High after George W. Bush to match the gorgeous statue they have of him at the front entrance. Several people have called into the Community Voice with the same idea. The new Freshman school was just being completed when Ronald Reagan died, and there was a small effort to call it Reagan Freshman.
February 22, 200817 yr ^Yup...they should rename Hamilton High after George W. Bush to match the gorgeous statue they have of him at the front entrance. Several people have called into the Community Voice with the same idea. That's pretty disturbing...I hope they were all joking around as I was.
August 6, 200816 yr Author From the Journal-News: Community debates Wilson's future By Linda Ebbing HAMILTON — "You don't need these fancy (digs) to be a good student," Hamilton resident Don Leshner told Hamilton City School District board members. "Kids will learn anywhere if they have a good teacher." Leshner was among about 50 community members who attended a forum Tuesday night, Aug. 5, to discuss the pros and cons of rebuilding or renovating Wilson Middle School. http://www.journal-news.com/hp/content/oh/story/news/local/2008/08/05/hjn080608forum.html
August 6, 200816 yr Author I attended the Wilson forum last night. The district did a good job of presenting the facts of demolition versus renovation, although it did feel that the decision to rebuild had already been made. There do exist several key arguments for rebuilding, most noteably energy efficiency and classroom width limitations. A decent crowd appeared, but it was difficult to tell what the majority were thinking by the end of the meeting. I was especially impressed to see the city's preservation planner in attendance and in favor of saving Wilson. As a preservationist, I think Wilson has to be saved, but I think the tough reality is that a new building will be better able to serve students and less of a burden on the district's annual operating costs. There was discussion about retaining the limestone entry for use on a new structure, but I'd almost rather see it go to the landfill than disrespected on a new, generic structure.
August 27, 200816 yr Author From the Journal-News: Board votes to rebuild Wilson By Linda Ebbing HAMILTON — Hamilton City School District board members have decided to build a new Wilson Middle School, but keep the Carruthers Fine Arts Wing and media center complex. The board voted unanimously Tuesday night, Aug. 26, on that choice. Demolition is scheduled to begin at the end of the 2008-09 school year. http://www.journal-news.com/hp/content/oh/story/news/local/2008/08/27/hjn082708brdmtg.html
August 27, 200816 yr Author From the Journal-News: 'Hard work' fueled school improvements By Linda Ebbing BUTLER COUNTY — Hard work by students and teachers led to the improved scores and ratings on the state report card released Monday, Aug. 25, said jubiliant district administrators throughout the county. Ratings — excellent with distinction, excellent, effective, continuous improvement, academic watch and academic emergency — are determined by tests, attendance and graduation rates, yearly progress and performance index scores. The Hamilton City School district moved from continuous improvement up to an effective rating. Student passage rates were significantly increased in reading and writing at the seventh-grade level, social studies at the fifth- and eighth-grade levels, and science at the tenth grade. "We... continue to strive to have all students academically prepared and equipped with the skills to become productive and successful adults," said Associate Superintendent Barb Fuerbacher. ... http://www.journal-news.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2008/08/26/hjn082608reportcardsinside.html
August 29, 200816 yr Dang. I was hoping that they wouldn't go the rebuilding route, but I guess it's not that surprising. A good effort to try and save it.
November 15, 200816 yr Author While Hamilton has seen a number of developments in its core in 2008, the city has also experienced an extremely high number of demolitions compared to recent years. This thread is in no way completely inclusive of activity in the city as it ignores several significant projects like the new elementary school construction and the Marriot/Hamiltonian Renovation. 1) PALACE THEATER RESTORATION Originally constructed in 1920, the Palace closed in the 1950's and was cladded in 1967. The building was vacated in 2000 and Greater Hamilton Civic Theatre acquired it four years later as a home base for their operations. Using local funds and OCFC grants, the group is wrapping up restoration of the structure. The Palace in the 1990's with cladding Cladding removed in 2005 Facade work largely occured in the summer of 2007 Most fortunately, the entablature was not removed during cladding New name Once again, the before After 2) MAIN STREET DEMOLITION The owner of Tom's Cigar Store (an odd, but popular this & that store) on Main Street acquired and allowed three buildings directly adjacent to his store to be victims of demolition by neglect, leaving a major gap in the streetscape. Two were taken down in 2005 and the third came down in August. Block boarded in 2004 Remaining building in 2008 Coming down 3) RYANS TAVERN RENOVATION Don Ryan, the Mayor of Hamilton, purchased two High Street buildings and is nearing the end of a $1 million+ renovation project to create Ryans Tavern, an authentic Irish Pub. The food is good and the interior is very well done with lots of wood, stone, stained glass, exposed brick, etc. The facade is a major improvement from the existing 60's/70's cladding. The two white buildings to the left (a former thrift store and the Cozy Cafe) were involved in the project New facade work underway Once again, the before After Before After 4) SOUTHEAST FLATIRON BUILDING RENOVATION One of several distinctive flatiron type buildings in Hamilton's Southeast neighborhood was recently rehabbed to house a hair salon/barber. The building several years ago New storefront installed and painting underway Once again, the before After 5) FIRST FINANCIAL ANNEX FACADE REPAIR The brick facade on First Financial Bank's headquarters in downtown has been failing for several years. The inset brick was removed and replaced with a new glass facade that adds an interesting contemporary twist to High Street and softens the building immensely. Glass frames going up Once again, the before After 6) IMFELD BUILDING DEMOLITION Developer Bob McCormick demolished the former El-Bee shoe store building at the corner of High and Second Streets downtown in 2005 with pie-in-the-sky plans for a tower to encompass the rest of the block to Journal Square. The demolition caused damaged to the neighboring Imfeld Building and, to make a long story short, the city acquired both properties when the project fell through. Now razed, the Imfeld building was the oldest structure remaining on High Street. Hanging on Gone The neighboring Hamilton Center has one of the most ornates facades in the city, its just hidden behind some cladding 7) GERMAN VILLAGE MISC. a) DEMOLITIONS Due to fire, demolition by neglect, and development pressures, German Village has lost five structures since the beginning of 2008; this quantity is very significant for a nine block area. I put this graphic together to demonstrate how the demolitions impact the density and cohesiveness of the neighborhood, not to mention its historical loss. a) 332 Village Street - demo by neglect/declared a public nusinance b) Hensel Place Apartments - arson c) Village Station - demolished for a beer garden d) 415 N. Second - demo by neglect followed by small fire from arson e) 320 N. Second - accidental fire while occupied THIRD STREET ARCHES Two new arches similar to those used on Dayton Lane and Journal Square in the city were installed over Third Street to mark the edges of German Village; medians were also installed on part of Third as part of the streetscaping project. Northern arch Southern arch
November 15, 200816 yr I was up in Hamilton on Monday and saw that First Financial facade improvement and was truly struck. It looks immensely better and must really improve the work environment on the inside. Ryan's Tavern is looking good too, thanks for all the updates.
November 15, 200816 yr I cant wait until you get to add the High Street Mercantile Buildings to your before/afters!!
November 16, 200816 yr Some sad losses, but more signs of optimism than in the past, too. Some very good things are being done.
November 16, 200816 yr Some sad losses, but more signs of optimism than in the past, too. Some very good things are being done. Luckily for Hamilton they have some pretty decent leadership right now and a pretty good Planning Department that is doing some relatively progressive things for this part of the country. Keep it up Hamilton!
November 17, 200816 yr I'm amazed by how horrible The Palace once looked and its finished product now.
November 25, 200816 yr Author HCS sent out am aerials for each new elementary school/site on the Vision 2020 Listserve last week: Ridgeway Elementary Bridgeport Elementary Fairwood Elementary Linden Elementary Riverview Elementary Site/Old Harrison Brookwood Elementary Site/Old Cleveland Highland Elementary Site/Old Fillmore Crawford Woods Elementary Site
November 27, 200816 yr That's a lot of work. Has there been any kind of consensus reached on what to do with the former school sites?
November 28, 200816 yr Author Has there been any kind of consensus reached on what to do with the former school sites? Van Buren will of course become a city park and Harrison, Fillmore, Hayes, and Cleveland will be retained as part of new school sites, but I haven't heard anything official as far as the other sites (Monroe, Madison, Adams, Pierce, Grant, Buchanan, Jefferson, Lincoln, and McKinley). All are in residential areas and would probably function best as greenspace or housing, but there is some room for creativity.
February 9, 200916 yr Author From the Journal-News: Vision group says Artspace priority No. 1 By Richard Wilson HAMILTON — The city's Vision 2020 Commission has named its goals for 2009, and highest on the list is making Hamilton the first Ohio city to get an arts project that could transform the downtown area. City council is expected to vote Wednesday, Feb. 11, on entering contract negotiations with Artspace USA, a national nonprofit organization that builds and restores downtown spaces where artists can live and work at reduced rental rates. Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2122 or [email protected]. http://www.journal-news.com/hp/content/oh/story/news/local/2009/02/08/hjn020909artspace.html
February 9, 200916 yr ^That would be great for Hamilton. I think there is a market in that part of the metro that hasn't yet been tapped - why not tap it in Hamilton.
February 16, 200916 yr Author Good news. From the Journal-News: City gives Artspace a green light By Richard Wilson HAMILTON — Those who were willing to bet on this city's future won a victory over those who were too concerned about the current economic climate. That at least is how some civic leaders praised city council's 4-2 decision Wednesday night, Feb. 11, to go forward with the Artspace project, a plan to restore or build a downtown building in which artists will live and work. Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2122 or [email protected]. http://www.journal-news.com/hp/content/oh/story/news/local/2009/02/16/hjn021609artspace.html
February 17, 200916 yr If they are looking for a place. There is that empty lot across 2nd St. from Elder-Beerman. Or they could just redo the buildings across High St. from the art deco bank. It hurts to even look at that place. Not to mention that there is a parking garage already in place right behind there.
March 10, 200916 yr Author From the Journal-News: Marriott debut signals 'rebirth' By Richard Wilson HAMILTON — The difference between the Courtyard by Marriott and its former incarnation, the Hamiltonian Hotel, is "night and day." That's according to many of the Hamilton Community Foundation donors who got a sneak peek at the completed renovations before it opens at 3 p.m. today, March 10. Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2122 or [email protected]. http://www.journal-news.com/hp/content/oh/story/news/local/2009/03/10/hjn031009marriott.html
May 26, 200916 yr Downtown Hamilton reimagining center city through development and arts http://www.soapboxmedia.com/devnews/0526dthamilton.aspx The city of Hamilton is often thought of as a prototypical city of Ohio’s industrial past. This is certainly true historically, but this former industrial town on Cincinnati’s north side is working aggressively on new policies and initiatives that will change the way the city functions and, hopefully, its image at the same time. This re-imaging focuses the strategic efforts of city planners and community activists on the city's center including the historic neighborhood of Rossville as well as the downtown districts of Hamilton on the western and eastern banks of the Great Miami River, respectively. These historic centers of activity not only provide the city a context to work from, but they also possess the rare amenity of available riverfront property. “We’re focusing our energy and efforts on the core of the city, and hope to build out from there,” says senior planner John Creech. The city recently began work on expanding its arts community which has, thus far, been embodied by the opening of the Fitton Center for Creative Arts on the south side of downtown. The effort has also seen the installation of multiple sculptural art throughout downtown, earning the moniker, the "City of Sculpture.” Currently, the newest effort, ArtSpace, which will establish 35 units of artist live/work space in Hamilton’s urban core. Creech says the City is working on a feasibility study and hopes to submit a grant application to the state of Ohio for tax credits by Spring of 2010. The ArtSpace program started in Minneapolis and has since spread throughout the nation with much success. At this point, Hamilton is the first community in Ohio to commit this level of resource to the concept. The City is also working on the development of a new two-acre riverfront park and urban amphitheatre. The project site is part of an eight-acre redevelopment project that will also extend the Great Miami River Recreation Trail through the heart of downtown Hamilton. Creech says the city is currently reviewing qualifications for design firms and is still filling remaining funding gaps, but hopes that progress will be made within the next year. The two-acre park and amphitheatre will lead to the River's Edge development project, brininging high-density urban-living back to Hamilton’s downtown and riverfront. Downtown Hamilton has also seen itsprominent riverfront hotel completely renovated. The 120-room Courtyard by Mariott has 7,000 square feet of meeting space, an outdoor patio overlooking the river, an extended bike path through the site and features the new Amici’s Italian Bistro. Numerous other locally-owned businesses have opened creating a sense of optimism among local residents. Ryan’s Tavern in downtown and Riverbank Café in historic Rossville are among local favorites. “The river is extremely important and unique,” says Creech who says efforts will continue to redefine this city with an important industrial past and a promising artistic future.
May 26, 200916 yr Author ^Great article, Randy...an excellent summary of the efforts that are progressing.
June 4, 200916 yr Author Museum of Ancient Art at Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park now open By Richard O Jones Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park offers a new permanent feature this summer with the opening of its Museum of Ancient Sculpture. While park founder Harry T. Wilks has been rounding up his collection of large contemporary work for the 265-acre outdoor sculpture park, he’s also been quietly accumulating ancient sculpture, which until now he kept in the Pyramid House, his private residence on park grounds. http://www.middletownjournal.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/butlerentertainment/entries/2009/06/03/museum_of_ancient_art_at_pyram.html
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