Over-the-Rhine: a little bit of this and a little bit of that

[ink]

Just a random assortment of the 300+ pics I've grabbed of OTR in the last three months...















































































































inside mixx looking at cue


inside cue




mixx
























St. Anthony Village

[thomasbw]

streetcar

[ColDayMan]

Nice!

[atlas]

ugh.  OTR threads makes my heart hurt sometimes.  So much potential and so much beauty, and a lot of this is being reached but still a ways to go.  Best 'hood in Ohio imo. 

[clvlndr]

Nice.  Clearly shows Cincy is the historic and architecture king (and queen) of big city Ohio.  Obviously, OTR has much unrealized potential but, also there are clearly urban pioneers there (commercial and residential).  Getting serious subway/light rail I think would go a long way to helping bring Cincinnati truly into its own.

[mrnyc]

excellent. great time of year to do this, you can see everything better before the trees are in full bloom.

it's funny to look at this thread and think about oil resources because in the not too distant future neighborhoods like this will be back in full force again and the far flung suburbs will be as empty.

[Cincinnatus]

Damn Ink, this is probably one of my favorite OTR threads yet!


Did you buy a new camera or something?

[X]

Great thread.  Great neighborhood.  Lame president.^

[Columbusite]

Looks like once fixed up and occupied that it would be a great, dense urban neighborhood. You guys need to woo people from other big cities who would also see the great amount of potential that exists there.

[David]

One of the best OTR threads ever. I love that pic you took at Race and 15th. My friend is in a photography class and I convinced him to come down to Cincinnati and take pics of OTR; We took pretty much the same route you did. The inside of Mixx is awesome.

[ink]

Did you buy a new camera or something?

No (well, I did last November), I'm just in OTR weekly now, so I've finally had the chance to really explore.

[UncleRando]

Looks like once fixed up and occupied that it would be a great, dense urban neighborhood. You guys need to woo people from other big cities who would also see the great amount of potential that exists there.

Exactly and you don't have to go any further than the Gateway Quarter to see that first hand.  The renovated buildings are gorgeous, the shops unique, and there are lots of people moving in from out of town.  From what I've heard there are still people trickling in from the Gillette (Boston) acquisition by P&G.  People from Boston see OTR and think that it would cost millions.  Then when they get here and see that they can get a renovated unit in the Gateway Quarter for $90k I'm sure they flip.

[David]

I never thought about the Boston-Gillette connection. I'm sure they come here with a sense of optimism about OTR after seeing how successful rehabbing has been for Boston.

[ink]

That, or they look at Cincinnati in comparison to Boston (OTR to Beacon Hill, or whatever) and think we are absolutely pathetic.

Hopefully, they see it as an opportunity as Randy mentioned, however.

[ProkNo5]

Looks like once fixed up and occupied that it would be a great, dense urban neighborhood. You guys need to woo people from other big cities who would also see the great amount of potential that exists there.

Ummm, I'm sitting here in Milwaukee, completely wooed by OTR.  But for me, it's simple:  If Cincinnati builds the streetcar, I move to OTR in 2 years.  If it doesn't get built, then I don't move.
I have to let you guys know that I am not the only one either.  I personally know of 9 other people here in Milwaukee, 1 person in Kansas City, 3 people in Seattle, and 2 people in Providence who are watching the Cincinnati streetcar proposal unfold too. 

I've decided that I need to get the message out to the people of Greater Cincinnati that this isn't just a local issue.  There are hundreds, if not thousands of people in this country that check into public transit systems first when they decide to move.  Those people (including myself) look at a list of cities across the US that have rail systems and says to themselves, "These are the only places I can live."  Cincinnati is not on that list. 

Fortunately, when I looked in my "Places Rated Almanac" a few years back, they listed Cincinnati as one of the cities that would be building a system "in the near future."  So, I decided to keep it on my list.  In the years since, many of the other cities have been knocked off for various reasons.  But it's photo threads like this (and the occasional visit) that have kept it on my list. 

So to deliver my message, I plan on writing a few editorials, but I can't seem to find the place to send them to on the Enquirer website.  If anyone could help with that, I'd really appreciate it.

[David]

Looks like once fixed up and occupied that it would be a great, dense urban neighborhood. You guys need to woo people from other big cities who would also see the great amount of potential that exists there.

Ummm, I'm sitting here in Milwaukee, completely wooed by OTR.  But for me, it's simple:  If Cincinnati builds the streetcar, I move to OTR in 2 years.  If it doesn't get built, then I don't move.
I have to let you guys know that I am not the only one either.  I personally know of 9 other people here in Milwaukee, 1 person in Kansas City, 3 people in Seattle, and 2 people in Providence who are watching the Cincinnati streetcar proposal unfold too. 

I've decided that I need to get the message out to the people of Greater Cincinnati that this isn't just a local issue.  There are hundreds, if not thousands of people in this country that check into public transit systems first when they decide to move.  Those people (including myself) look at a list of cities across the US that have rail systems and says to themselves, "These are the only places I can live."  Cincinnati is not on that list. 

Fortunately, when I looked in my "Places Rated Almanac" a few years back, they listed Cincinnati as one of the cities that would be building a system "in the near future."  So, I decided to keep it on my list.  In the years since, many of the other cities have been knocked off for various reasons.  But it's photo threads like this (and the occasional visit) that have kept it on my list. 

So to deliver my message, I plan on writing a few editorials, but I can't seem to find the place to send them to on the Enquirer website.  If anyone could help with that, I'd really appreciate it.

Great post AJ! I would ask Thomasbw, he's written editorials before. It would mean a lot to streetcar supporters if you did that.

[ForTheLoveOfDayton]

Great post

[UncleRando]

That, or they look at Cincinnati in comparison to Boston (OTR to Beacon Hill, or whatever) and think we are absolutely pathetic.

Hopefully, they see it as an opportunity as Randy mentioned, however.

So to deliver my message, I plan on writing a few editorials, but I can't seem to find the place to send them to on the Enquirer website.  If anyone could help with that, I'd really appreciate it.

Here is the information on writing editorials for the Enquirer:

Publication Guidelines
Please include your name, address (including community) and day phone. Limit letters to 100 words. All letters may be edited for space and clarity. Longer letters may be considered for other features on the Editorial Page, Opinions Page or in Sunday Forum. Letters, opinion and editorial columns, and articles submitted to The Enquirer, may be published or distributed in print, electronic or other forms.

Submit by Mail:
Letters, Enquirer Editorial Page, 312 Elm St., Cincinnati, OH 45202; fax 513-768-8569.

Submit by Email:
Send to letters@enquirer.com as plain text without attachments.

Submit Online:
Use our online form.

All this information can be found here:
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=LETT

[hohum]

That, or they look at Cincinnati in comparison to Boston (OTR to Beacon Hill, or whatever) and think we are absolutely pathetic.

Hopefully, they see it as an opportunity as Randy mentioned, however.

As someone who came here from Boston and has tried to network with other Boston transplants, I will tell you first hand that what Bostonites see in OTR is untapped potential.  That said, they also look on in a bit of horror that it has taken this long for that potential to be really seen.  Keep in mind that folks moving from Boston were looking at median home prices for an easy commute to Gillette at about 480K at the time of the acquisition (this number has declined substantially since then, but the median price within an easy commute of Gillette is still well in excess of 350K).  A place in Boston like one of the condos in the Q, with that kind of proximity to downtown Boston, can EASILY run in the multiple millions of dollars, and in the 1 million dollar range without batting an eye.  These are the types of places I only wished I could afford in Boston, and here, its well within middle class reach.

[Jimmy_James]

Nice.  Clearly shows Cincy is the historic and architecture king (and queen) of big city Ohio. 

Thanks!

Obviously, OTR has much unrealized potential but, also there are clearly urban pioneers there (commercial and residential).  Getting serious subway/light rail I think would go a long way to helping bring Cincinnati truly into its own.

Agreed.

As someone who came here from Boston and has tried to network with other Boston transplants, I will tell you first hand that what Bostonites see in OTR is untapped potential.  That said, they also look on in a bit of horror that it has taken this long for that potential to be really seen.

Yeah, revitalization has taken WAY too long, and really is still in its infancy.  It's my belief that OTR would have never gotten this bad if it was serviced by a rail system, but that's just speculation at this point.  I realize that I don't have to tell you this, but the streetcar should accelerate the  revitalization process.  Hopefully, OTR will be unrecognizable in 15 years (in a good way).

Also, I really enjoy the old German signs that are still painted on some of the buildings, some of which were for long closed businesses.  I hope that many of these are restored/preserved as OTR is revitalized, instead of painted over, because they really do add a lot of character to the neighborhood.

[Columbusite]

Someone here needs to make a google map or something showing gentrified, somewhat gentrified, beginning to gentrify, and un-gentrified streets. When I go back I want to be able to have an idea when I check this place out. Or I should just let you guys know when I'm coming so you can show off your city.  Also, ajknee pointed out something I didn't really think about; that people from from larger cities looking to move to a smaller or alternative city see mass transit as a non-negotiable deciding factor; either your city has it, is getting it, or don't got it, in which case moving there is not even entertained. As far as you Bostonites, wait I knew that sounded off, Bostonians (you are from Boston right?) being shocked by how long gentrification is taking you know what needs to be done to fix that: bring more Bostonians!

[hohum]

Indeed, Bostonite, Bostonian, either or

Yeah, more folks do need to come, but try convincing them without good public transit.  Its no small sticking point.  People are used to being able to hop on a subway and go, heck it would be virtually unaffordable if you had to hop from garage to garage (When I was working downtown I was paying $40 a day to park in the lot at my building)  It also doesn't help that P&G has very much pointed employees towards other areas of the city than anything near downtown.

I am sure someone here would be more than happy to show off the city when you come to visit...

[BallHatGuy]

Awesome pics Ink.

[JoeL]

It also doesn't help that P&G has very much pointed employees towards other areas of the city than anything near downtown.

This is very true. While the realtors are professionally obligated to be somewhat neutral, the other P&G employees who speak with new hires are quite blunt. We were basically told to not even consider neighborhoods west of I-71. The existence of OTR has never once been mentioned to us in our house-hunting process (although people were rather positive about downtown).

[Cincinnatus]

(although people were rather positive about downtown).

Cool, can you recap any comments or suggestions ... I'm curious.