Aerial Photo of Cincinnati [1949].
Overhead composite.
Photo source: mgsmith.This is a composite I made of four more images from Michael G. Smith's amazing Flickr (70 Years Later set). These really need to be seen in detail, so make sure you visit each link below.
Some notable differences from today, in order from W to E:
* Note: If you're new to Flickr, zoom in to the image by clicking the "All Sizes" icon on the top of the photo, then click on "Original Size" at the next screen.
West End - From top to bottom (left side), the large Roundhouse, Crosley Field, and CUT used for its original purpose (with rear concourse still intact).
Downtown West & Covington - The Fountain Square Esplanade on Fifth Street (just west of the Carew Tower), and the Cincinnati's riverfront warehouse/rail district vs. Covington's barren banks.
Downtown East & Newport - More riverfront railways heading east, Broadway Commons railyards in action, and lower Mt. Adams with houses, but no "Big Mac" bridge, nor a competing Newport-on-the-Levee.
East End - More rail/industry along the river, a full Eden Park Reservoir, and seemingly-unending highly-developed city blocks.
Again, significant differences from today: Cincinnati Union Terminal was still acting as grand entrance to the city, Eden Park reservoir was full, Broadway commons was active, and the Riverfront was still playing host to its industrial foundations... all, of course, without sight of massive spaghetti highways and large parking lots/garages cutting the city into disjointed wedges.
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Looks like my sister has expanded her practice from local spas & living rooms to neighborhood blogs...
Though not as relaxing as actually having the lactic acid squeezed from your contractiles, this recent article at Cincy Chic is definitely comforting... especially to those trying to run a small business.
Thanks Linda - and cheers, Jenny!
• In a further effort to shamelessly promote my sister's biz, feel free to contact me directly if you're in need of a muscle relaxant and I'll pass the message along. My email: matthunterross@gmail.com
• Blog title borrowed from Marshall McLuhan.
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What a better way to celebrate the new locale than through lead and cellulose.
I wish I had the dates for these sketches, but for now, they'll have to speak for themselves.. I'm guessing the 20s, considering Mariemont was planned and partially constructed in that decade.
Anyway, expect a substantial amount from this area in the future.• • • • • • • • • •
Back in April, I posted the final segment of my "City to Scale" series, The City to Scale: Unbuilt Cincinnati, which sparked some speculation from Drew (of design cincinnati & drew-o-rama fame):
"...it'd be cool to find drawings of projects that were actually built and place them alongside photos of said project to see how the original vision and the end result compare."
I agreed - it would be cool, especially if time wasn't of concern. I really do wish I had an allowance to do these things... but luckily, I've found others who have jumped on these concepts, some of which I submitted later in the post, Oh, I Believe in Yesterday....
But recently, and even more entrancing position was taken by the grandson of Cincinnati photographer Nelson RonSheim, Michael G. Smith... 
The 5th St. Viaduct in downtown Cincinnati frames
a steam locomotive on Eggleston Ave.
Original photo by Nelson Ronsheim, 11-16-1940.
2009 photo by Michael G Smith.
Source.
What differentiates this series from other before-and-after concepts out there is that everything is "in-house" - his grandfather took the originals (all of which are excellent, by the way) followed with Michael's take from the same location... 70 years later. How cool is that.
Make sure to CHECK OUT THE FULL SET!
• Another reminder to join Michael G. Smith's Flickr, if you haven't already.
• If Ronsheim's original shot above looks familiar here, it's because I posted it as a Renascence Friday quickie back in June - one of my favorites.
• You can view the full "The City to Scale" series by selecting the pull-down menu under the Featured Articles section on the right sidebar. Note: More on this theme to come.
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Not the original "foundry", but production started on Thanksgiving Day (1880).
Source: Cincinnati Views.
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It's amazing to me knowing that this blog is just over two years old... and astonishing at how little I've actually posted in that time. Kind of a metaphor for my life, it seems. Yet in fairness, 2009 has meant major upheaval for the Ross household, so I actually have legitimate excuses for my absence here (as you'll see below).
So, Thanksgiving has become as much of a birthday celebration as it is for all of the traditional familial gatherings and gratitude - online, at least. Still, back in reality, some candid offerings from me are definitely due this year - a long list of commendations will be handed out to kin and comrades on a silver platter, in one way or another related to these recent events...
• My wife, Elizabeth, is due to deliver our second child in December.
Amazing to think that: (1) We'll have another wonderful addition to our family - a girl!, (2) my son is now 2 and will have to deal with some serious Mommy-withdrawal, (3) just when we're getting into a rhythm that's bearable, our nights are most likely going to elongate dramatically again, and (4) the amount of work that Elizabeth currently entails day-in and day-out, and the amount added to that to come, all with the perspective of a full glass, is completely inspiring.
• After long and hard searching (studio and soul), our decision to stay awhile longer culminates with my new job downtown.
We thought laboriously on many areas of the country, but this is a good move all-around - for family, friends, and us - and ends the feeling that we're on a never-ending cusp of transition. So, since we'll be here for the foreseeable future, hopefully we can make some long-lasting contributions to the city that have been swept under the rug for far too long.
• We moved... again.
Elizabeth and I have a storied past, but no one could have predicted the number of legs of this trek we've already completed. Actually, maybe a better way of putting it would be: No one would have guessed how many legs this trek was going to be comprised of, and how many markers we've already passed. Heck - any way you put it, moving five times in five years back and forth between two different cities is tiring enough... then add in all of the other fun stuff and you've cooked up an official bowl exhaustion. But, it's good exhaustion... and we're in a new part of the city. Both having grown up and lived a substantial portion of our lives here, neither of us have resided in this particular local, nor have any friends or family members. It's a little reinvigorating in that way - new places to explore, fresh perspectives on old memories, and welcome solace from another one of Cincinnati's great neighborhoods (not proper, but still Cincinnati to me). It's a good compromise... and it's on the bus line.
There's other stuff of which I won't break the code of silence, but is well worth explicit gratitude as anything else. All I can say is that I am completely humbled by the amazingly supportive people near and far that I'm lucky enough to call my family and friends. Hopefully, one day, this perseverance will echo favorably and I'll be able to reciprocate that generosity to those in kind.
Have a good holiday, everyone.
Now if this would just happen again, I'd be really thankful...
Milwaukee Sentinel (p.2) [1958].
Source.
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I've never really been that into politics, mainly because I hate the underhanded, argumentative nature that surrounds most issues (and usually the politicians themselves)... so I bite my tongue, but still manage to get the polls when that time comes around. Though, thanks to COAST and other outside entities trying to shape our local government/society, this year has been a little different...
There are several issues that I personally think are extremely important (as you've seen if you visit some other local blogs, like CAAST or The Phoney Coney), and so, in honor of the big day, here's a quick rundown of what I'll checking my name next to on some of the issues:
Issue 9
If you want a referendum-style government like California has (voting on every single issue, and costing the taxpayers millions of dollars just to vote on them), the Anderson Township-based COAST's Issue 9 takes you down that path. Also, this charter amendment is not just about the streetcar - it states that ANY rail construction will have to be voted on by the citizens, from the miniature Cincinnati Zoo train to the high-speed 3C Corridor train planned for the whole state of Ohio... anything that involves rails.
The logic behind COAST's plan is to basically slow down, and potentially stop any kind of rail construction, because these four guys think it's a bad investment for the whole of the city. Basically, they like sprawl, they like pollution, they like spending thousands of hours of their life in traffic, they like how much money they spend on their car (and related maintenance), and they like that a substantive portion of their taxes go to road construction/maintenance year after year after year, even if it doesn't solve the aforementioned problems.
Cars are incredible pieces of machinery, no doubt, and the perceived independence you have while in them is worth something. But it's the worst investment you'll ever make with your hard-earned money; immediately nosediving once driven off the lot, and costing you a fortune over it's lifespan. Additionally, with the development of electric vehicles (that the car companies have been holding out on us for 50 years), there will be lessening gas taxes to finance the maintenance of those roads, and who will pay for this in the near future? We all will... heavily.
So, if you agree with them on rail, so be it - but imagine this... voting on every type of construction related to the automobile. I'm not going to get into a long rant here, but one has to recognize that everything related to car transit - from road/bridge infrastructure & maintenance to car manufacturing itself - has been one of the most heavily subsidized (government/taxpayer funded) portions of our society to date. Do you feel good that tens of billions of dollars of our tax money was given to private car companies recently? No? Do you wonder why COAST didn't put up a substantial fight against it, or why they don't construct a charter amendment demanding votes on every extremely-high priced road construction in our city? It makes you wonder, considering that the amounts spent on car-related infrastructure dwarfs the amounts associated with rail.
Additionally, we vote in leaders to our government that we think will lead us in the right direction - if you don't agree with their views, you vote in someone different. But COAST and the supporters of Issue 9 don't agree with this style of government - in fact, COAST has stated this on their official website (as they've also been opposed to giving the state required information about who contributes to their PAC). They want you to pay millions of dollars to hold special elections for every single little issue, essentially killing any forward progress that a city might make.
Thus, this issue has become less about rail, and more about how we want our government to function. Still, I personally am sick and tired of the billions of dollars of government handouts to private corporations (e.g. car companies), the lost time and increased stress facing the heavy traffic everywhere I drive, the high cost of car maintenance & insurance, and the inevitable rise of gas prices... so it's no surprise that I'm all for the expansion of alternative types of transportation. And as we've seen time and time again in other cities, when the proper investments are given to these alternatives, they flourish, along with the surroundings.
Lastly, no one is pretending that rail transit will ever overtake the automobile, but to have multiple transit options not only is smart for the viable movement of a community at large, but aids in a healthier, wealthier, and more vibrant community. I want a better quality of life for all Cincinnatians, which is why I'd urge you to also:
VOTE NO ON ISSUE 9
You can visit any of the other numerous local blogs against Issue 9, but here a couple more interesting posts from outside the state, and conservative...
http://www.stlurbanworkshop.com/2009/09/first-vote-no-on-issue-9-ad-up-in.html
http://thedeuceblog.wordpress.com/2009/09/20/why-you-should-vote-no-on-issue-9/
Issue 3
Basically, I don't like gambling - I don't think it's healthy for individuals or cities at large... but who am I to decide what others do with their earnings. Aside from the fact that we already have a multitude of options in place for those who like to do it, other factors at play here surround the outside entities trying to shape our local community. Like COAST trying to dictate what happens in other peoples' neighborhoods, we have casino owners in another state trying to control the future of Ohio gambling laws. Even if I was a gambling proponent, I wouldn't vote for this issue - I'd want my own city and state to decide upon and have control of these issues and structures. All of this is why I'm voting:
NO ON ISSUE 3More people all over the state (conservative & liberal) against Issue 3 here...
http://www.truthpac.org/
http://mvred.com/2009/09/28/vote-no-on-ohio-issue-3/
http://www.morningjournal.com/articles/2009/09/27/opinion/mj1665991.txtSome other Issues (without the shpeel):
YES ON ISSUE 5
A renewal to continue funding of issues surrounding MRDD.
YES ON ISSUE 6
Funding for maintenance of the historic Cincinnati Union Terminal.
YES ON ISSUE 7 Funding for local libraries.
Still, no matter what you decide, just get out and vote!
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Fall Train (Cincinnati, Ohio) [1/1/03].
Image © Chuck Madden.
• If you haven't checked out Chuck Madden's Flickr, you should do so now - his shots are incredible.• • • • • • • • • •
Kilgour Fountain at Hyde Park Square [1901].
Image source.In relation to the last post (and the importance of constructing something tall as a central locator and gathering place for the neighborhood), here's a little more info on the history of the Hyde Park Square fountain & esplanade:
"Appeasement rather than gratitude was one reason for the construction of the fountain... The work, designed by Joseph F. Cronin, was a gift in 1900 from the Kilgour family. The Kilgour brothers were part of the syndicate that developed the triangle of land between Madison Road, Observatory Avenue and Edwards Road around the turn of the century.
"Dubbed 'Genevieve' by generations of residents... The Kilgour Fountain was a gesture of good will to calm furor caused by the extension of the trolley tracks from Delta Avenue to Madison Road, disrupting the tranquility of a few bordering streets. In addition, the farsighted syndicate wanted to beautify the shopping district planned to be in walking distance of their developed property." Source: Cincinnati Magazine [September 1975].• The Kilgours were a major presence in the area of the time: John Kilgour, a wealthy Cincinnati banker & President of the Cincinnati Street Railway, and his brother, Charles Kilgour, a wealthy real estate investor & street railway engineer. They helped to develop Hyde Park into an area strictly for the wealthy, contributing the land for the Cincinnati Observatory (moved from Mt. Adams, which also gave Mt. Lookout its name), and dedicating the "Kilgour Esplanade" (Hyde Park Public Square) to the village of Hyde Park (July 21, 1900). Sources: City of Cincinnati - Parks Dept, Cincinnati Enquirer, and "Cincinnati: A Guide to the Queen City and its Inhabitants" by the Federal Writers' Project (p.306, 307).
• Read a short history on the development of Hyde Park by the Hyde Park Neighborhood Council, and Mt. Lookout's history at the Mt. Lookout Community Council & P&G.
• Current info on Hyde Park at soapbox!, and a great photo of "Genevieve" here.
• And for some interesting side reading, check out these historical news articles relating the Hyde Park and its streetcar.
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Finally, here a couple more recent photos of the fountain getting its Fall bath before closing down for the colder months...
All photos taken 9/25/9.
Click any for a larger view.
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Aerial Photo of Cincinnati [1949].
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