Unbuilt Cincinnati teaser

 "Crystal Forest" planned for Fountain Square West.

Source: Enquirer article by Tony Lang [8/16/98].

 Canal Reconstruction along Pete Rose Way.
Source: Enquirer article by Tony Lang [8/16/98].

These drawings are just a few from the 1998 CAC show, Unbuilt Cincinnati.

I was in awe of this exhibit, and have since marked it as my favorite of all time - not only for my interest in concept drawings and notated processes, but for the fantastic insubordination of those artists/architects trying to break the mold of the city's modern conservatism. Of course, Cincinnati is no loser in attracting worldly architects and designers, and is probably a forerunner of stylistic architecture for cities of comparable size, but in terms of large scale planning, preservation and/or sale of a thematic model - (1) transportation: the Subway, streetcars, funiculars, (2) neighborhoods: The Banks, etc. - we're living in arid times.

For me, these drawings, and that one exhibit 10 years ago, has kept that twinkle in the eye of Cincinnati sparkling. Realized or not, these visions alone make the unprosperous times bearable.