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2009 a year of progress for Cincinnati preservationists

2009 was a year full of progress for preservation advocates in Cincinnati. Several important structures were saved from the wrecking ball, new public policy is being implemented to help prevent additional demolitions, and Cincinnati’s historic neighborhoods reaped the many benefits of restoration investment.

This year the Cincinnati Preservation Association (CPA) has recognized six different individuals, organizations, and projects that represent “outstanding accomplishment in local preservation.” The awards included a new award for Special Recognition that went to the Meiner Flats building in Over-the-Rhine.

Meiner Flats was built in 1875 by a family of German-American stonemasons and is one of the tallest buildings in historic Over-the-Rhine. After sitting vacant for roughly two decades the building was ordered to be demolished by the City. The Special Recognition award was presented to Danny Klingler, among others, who helped bring attention to the building and save it from the wrecking ball thanks to generous donations from Cincinnatians, 3CDC, and the City of Cincinnati.

[Above] 13th & Republic in OTR’s Gateway Quarter. [Below] Rader Gallery building at Liberty and Main streets in OTR. Photos provided by Mike Stehlin.

Rookwood Pottery took home the Craftsmanship Award for restoring the proud Rookwood tradition which includes the first female-led manufacturing firm in the country, the best-known art pottery in the U.S., and one of Cincinnati’s most famous companies that was started back in 1880. In 2006 new ownership acquired all of the remaining assets of the original Rookwood Pottery and has moved into a massive 100,000 square-foot structure in Over-the-Rhine near Findlay Market.

Other awards handed out by CPA include the following:

  • Education Award: Elizabeth Meyer for her instrumental work in preserving original documents, drawings, photographs, and other resources pertaining to Cincinnati Modernist buildings.
  • Rehabilitation Awards: Luedeking House in East Walnut Hills has been meticulously restored over the past five years and has restored the home’s previous grandour. 2312 Park Avenue in Walnut Hills also received this award following an adaptive renovation that now houses the offices of Vivian Llambi & Associates.
  • Sustainability Award: Veraestau Historic Site in Aurora, Indiana took home the Sustainability Award for its incorporation of progressive conservation practices in addition to its preservation efforts that included a new geothermal heating and cooling system.
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Happy Holidays Cincinnati

The UrbanCincy team would like to wish everyone a merry Christmas and happy holiday season. Thanks for reading and supporting Cincinnati’s urban core.

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Fountain Square Ice Rink open on Christmas!!

It’s less than two days until the Big Day arrives. After a frenzied couple of hours, the presents will be opened, the food will be eaten, and all the preparations for the Christmas holiday will be dismissed in a pile of discarded wrapping paper and distended bellies. If you’re looking to spend some quality family time beyond the 24 hour “Christmas Story” marathon, look no further than our beloved Fountain Square.

The U.S. Bank Ice Rink will be open Christmas Day, Friday Dec. 25, from 2pm to 10pm. The rink will also be open New Year’s Day, Friday Jan. 1, from 2pm to 10pm.

Regular hours from now through Sunday Jan. 3 are Sunday through Thursday from 10am to 10pm, and Friday & Saturday from 10am to midnight. From January 4 to February 21, the regular hours will change to:

  • Sunday – Wednesday: noon – 6pm
  • Thursday: noon – 10pm
  • Friday & Saturday: noon – 10pm
  • Holidays: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and President’s day: 10am – 6pm

The cost to skate is $2.50 per person. Skate rental is also $2.50 or feel free to bring your own skates. Parking is conveniently located in the Fountain Square Garage for just $5 after 4pm on weekdays and all day on weekends, and Metro’s Government Square bus hub is located less than a block away for convenient bus service. Bicycle parking is also plentiful on/around the square.

Come start a new holiday tradition on Fountain Square this holiday season. And if you’re not in town but want to live vicariously through others, Cincinnati Bell has a live webcam of the ice skating area here.

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So Long, Slim

It was January 8, 2006 and the football had crested and was on its way down to a streaking Chris Henry who was a step ahead of the Steeler defender. I was in Section 337 at Paul Brown Stadium and as the rookie ran under the ball and made the catch, I and 65,000 of my closest friends went crazy. The Bengals had arrived and came out as the aggressors in their first home playoff game in fifteen years. It was going to be great. Of course, you probably know the rest of the story. Carson Palmer’s knee was blown out on the play, Henry was injured too, and the game went downhill not long after that.

When the news of Henry’s accident surfaced last week, followed by his untimely passing the next morning this was the one play (video – first 30 seconds) I was stuck on. I have been a season ticket holder since the arrival of Marvin Lewis in 2003 and seen Henry play since his 2005 rookie campaign but this play went through my head all day Thursday, the day of Slim’s passing.

There are two reasons why I think it left such an impression with me, the first of which is how it encompassed and paralleled the unfortunate legacy Chris Henry leaves behind which is that of unfulfilled potential. This has been written and discussed ad nauseam and was even pointed out by Coach Lewis last Thursday afternoon. The long pass to 15 that late January afternoon was about hope and promise as much as it was about “what could have been” after the play ended and damage was assessed.

The other reason I think that play stuck with me is because it is a reminder of how quickly and dramatically life can change and how many of us find ourselves in positions we wouldn’t have expected just nearly four years earlier. I sat in Covington’s Riverside Park on Thursday evening looking across the river at PBS wondering this thought, and then recognized that had I been told back then that I’d be in Riverside Park on December 17, 2009 I would have undoubtedly called you a liar. There was a fire glowing alongside the Ohio River that evening in the shadow of Paul Brown Stadium, and I’m going to guess that if you told whoever was being warmed by it four years earlier that they would be homeless and living by the river they would have done the same. And assuredly had you told Chris Henry that he was to meet his untimely death he would have had more than a few doubts about your prediction.

His passing to me was a reminder that to some degree we all have pieces of our lives that unfold that we don’t expect, or count on. Some are good, some are bad, and some just are. I do find it somewhat ironic that out of all the plans we make and how much control that many people like to have, life continues to unfold in unexpected and sometimes confounding ways. We live and work in a society that is about chasing dreams and making plans, but sometimes the best parts in life are the ones we don’t expect. The unexpectedness can also bring the worst parts in life which is what happened last week.

Regardless of your feelings about Chris Henry and some of his past exploits, his passing is tragic and yet another moment in time where the circle of life is broken yet again as a 26 year young man was buried yesterday. Aside from seeing him around town a few times over the years and of course Sundays on the football field, I didn’t know him nor am I going to pretend to. But that doesn’t mean that I was unaffected. To me his passing was not just about a reminder of how fragile life is, it was so many life lessons that we all can easily forget or not even recognize until it’s too late.

So long, Slim. We were rooting for you in so many ways, and now we root for those you left behind.

Chris Henry image from BleacherReport.com.

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Development News Politics

Downtown Cincinnati needs more residents

Downtown Cincinnati has experienced tremendous progress over the past 10 to 15 years. The Aronoff Center for the Arts was built along Walnut Street which sparked the investment seen in the nearby area now called the Backstage District, two new professional sports venues were built along the riverfront along with the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, the convention center was expanded, the Contemporary Arts Center was prominently rebuilt, the renovation of Fountain Square sparked millions of dollars worth of spin off investment nearby, and hundreds of new housing units have been developed.

Over this same time crime rates have gone down, population has increased, commercial occupancy rates have held steady, retail spaces have filled up, and the hotels boast the highest occupancy rates in the metropolitan region. But as in any situation, one solution often creates another problem.

Case in point, the Metropole Apartments on Walnut Street are now slated to become a trendy 12c Museum Hotel which will relocate the low-income residents that currently call the building home. This will not only create a difficult situation for the large number of people living there, but it will also take away a large number of full-time residents from the downtown population.

The same situation is shaping up at the Phelps apartment building that fronts onto the picturesque Lytle Park. The 137 apartments there will more than likely be lost to an extended stay hotel that will take advantage of the downtown commercial success, but once again, another large block of full-time residents will be lost in the process.

The interest in the downtown commercial market is very encouraging, but downtown must be able to be thriving both commercially and residentially in order for it to become that 24-hour downtown we all hope it will become. The apartment conversion of the historic Enquirer Building will help offset the aforementioned residential loses, but an apartment conversion of the historic Bartlett Building would also do wonders for the residential component of downtown.

The Banks is slated to add hundreds of new residents to the urban core, but there are also great opportunities for residential density at 5th & Race, 7th & Vine, Court & Walnut, and Court & Elm/Race. A residential strategy should be employed to best maximize the use of these areas – high rises at 5th & Race and 7th & Vine, midrise at Court & Walnut, and a mixture of townhouses/rowhouses at the Court & Elm/Race area would seem to be a good strategy off-hand that would create different price points and unit options that would appeal to a wide variety of people.

To become a truly vibrant downtown beyond the hours of 7am to 8pm, Cincinnati must develop a downtown residential plan that will massively grow the downtown population base and infuse the area with a mixture of young people, families, and retired individuals. If this can be achieved, then the retail and nightlife mixture we all hope for will follow.

Phelps Apartmens photo by Mark Bowen of the Cincinnati Business Courier.