5chw4r7z:: the ethos of downtown Cincinnati

the city is a canvas and we paint it with our bikes

Every Tuesday at 6:45 Urban Basin Bicycle Club leaves Fountain Square for a ride around the urban basin. Themed rides that usually end at a local bar for refreshments. No special bike, clothes or equipment is needed, pump up the tires, jump on your creaky bike and head to Fountain Square. Last week everyone rode towards the river then headed west. We were provided industrial scenes most people don't see everyday. Riding in the evening gave us empty roads with an oddly apocalyptic feel. The evening was rounded out with a few drinks over looking OTR on Rhinegeist's new rooftop deck.
Follow Urban Basin Bicycle Club on facebook for details on the next ride.

I'm a little jealous, Brad bought a house that had a basement stuffed with vintage bikes and he has been riding a different one every week.

If the mayor has his way this building could be a shiny new parking lot.

Rhinegeist's new rooftop bar is legit!

We got to the roof and busted out of the starway just as the sun was setting.

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Sid Saturday

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SiOS Shutter Out Photo Walk

Spring in Our Steps recently completed an inventory of all 507 public alleys in Cincinnati! In honor of that feat SiOS has been hosting informational walks through some of the amazing public right of ways they've helped clear.
The SiOS mission statement is "We are a consortium of committed Cincinnati residents, who feel that forgotten pedestrian spaces can become some of the city's best assets. The group initiates community-oriented projects in Cincinnati's alleyways and city steps, as well as its most neglected sidewalks."
I was lucky enough to tag along on their Clifton Hts, University Hts and Fairview walk. Sometimes it seemed crazy these places exist, like Schorr Alley, the longest continuous alley in the city or the long stairways in Clifton Hts that were once home to hundreds of homes until cars were invented and they fell out of favor.

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streetcar tracks, before and after

The streetcar opponents are really digging deep now to explain away the development along the streetcar line. With a sociopathic level of denial, they're claiming all the development in OTR is being driven by Washington Park. And I'm not going to totally discount the park as Fountain Square was credited with 100 million in development. How ironic the same people opposed to the streetcar also opposed spending money on those two parks?
Anyhow I'm getting off topic and I guess its just an inconvenience that every building along the entire OTR length of the line is under construction. A quarter billion of development announced so far this year, and wait until the development gets ramped up downtown, people haven't seen anything yet.
Back in 2013 this building sat empty and boarded up, it is now Artichoke, a kitchen store whose owners credited its proximity to Findlay Market and its location on the streetcar line as reasons for picking that building. But Cincinnati's tone-deaf and relentlessly ill-equipped mayor and a couple councilmembers know it was really Washington Park.

1824 Elm St 2013

1824 Elm St 2016

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3rd Annual Cincinnati Bike Show

Funny it was only a week or so ago we had one of those rain/sleet/snow kind of days but a bunch of enthusiastic bikers still showed up for UC|sustainability's 3rd Annual Cincinnati Bike Show.

I'm still trying to think up a reason to buy this electric cargo bike.

I did a double take because I thought this said 'Merica

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Sid Saturday

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Switch Lighting & Design to open 2nd location downtown

Switch Lighting & Design, the home lighting store located in OTR is riding a wave of success to open another location at 312 W 4th St downtown. They are currently renovating a four story building, the first two floors will feature lighting options and home furnishings. The top two floors will include an event space and office flex space for growing PR firms and architech firms on 4th. The space is still a little rough but they are hoping to have construction finished soon and open in May.
On a personal level I'm pretty excited about this just to have another business and more foot traffic on our sleepy little block in the southwest corner of downtown.

I got a couple crappy pictures of pictures. In the first dated April 1929 4th St is still two way with two sets of streetcar tracks. In the second, dated October 1929 the street is one one with the north set of tracks freshly paved over.

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Cincinnati Streetcar possible start date

Per John Schneider, "Looks like the Cincinnati Streetcar may open on Thursday, September 1, 2016. The Cardinals come to town the next day for a three-game series with the Reds. Sunday. September 4th is Riverfest, drawing half a million people to downtown and adjacent areas. Oktoberfest, which drew 650,000 people to downtown last year, is September 16-18th."

I hope someone realizes the streetcar should run for free during Oktoberfest and Riverfest, the system would get buy-in from literally a million skeptical people who only come downtown once or twice a year.

UPDATE: OK, John and others said it could open as soon as September 1st but I'm hearing from other well placed people that isn't likely so I guess we'll have to reset that to the original date of September 16th.

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#SaveTheDennison

The are big things in Cincinnati that make Cincinnati, Cincinnati. Like Fountain Square and Roebling Bridge to name a few. There are also some small things. The city is the sum of its parts. One of those small things in grave danger located smack in the middle of the East Manufacturing Historic District. If an old building isn't safe in a historic district what chance does any building in the city have? The Dennison located at 716-718 Main St., is a six-story Greek Revival/Italianate structure dating back to 1892. You probably know the Dennison as that huge red building with the cool ghost signs. It was purchased in 2013 by Columbia Oldsmobile Company and they want to tear it down for parking, never mind it is on the border of two huge parking lots. Now, the owners are claiming all kinds of economic shortfalls to any development plans. Which raises the question, why did they buy it if there are no viable options. At a Historic Conservation Board hearing for a building earlier this year Danny Klingler, Director of OTR A.D.O.P.T., made this point “the applicant may not be able to overcome the (financial) deficit in this case, but that’s not the key legal question. ... It’s whether the building can be reused by someone."
There are groups working to oppose the demolition and here is how you can help.
#SaveTheDennison t-shirts are available at Park + Vine and Acme Lock And Hardware at Main & Court. They are $10 cash only. Proceeds go to the Cincinnati Preservation Collective Dennison Legal Defense Fund.
You can go to Cincinnati Preservation Collective for more info and to donate directly to the cause.
If you have time Monday April 18th at 3pm, attend the hearing for the demolition permit. You don't have to speak, more bodies will let the board know there is broad support for the building.
And lastly there is a petition you can sign to make your voice known

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