Author: Patricia Feghali

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Arts & Entertainment Business News

Neighborhood Group Attempting To Establish Museum Focused on Over-the-Rhine

Over-the-Rhine Museum Kick-Off Event [Provided]

For those of us who worry that Over-the-Rhine is in the process of losing its history to a swarm of new development and residents who know little about the previous lives of the neighborhood, there is a new group, of which I am part, which is working to address that very issue.

The impetus behind the Over-the-Rhine Museum, which is still in its formation stage, is to create a space where people can come to “discover and interpret the history of Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine neighborhood from its earliest inception through to the present.”

The goal is to accomplish this by using the stories of real people who have lived in specific buildings in OTR to show how the neighborhood has changed over time.

The museum plans to share not only stories of the neighborhood’s celebrated German heritage, but also stories of the Appalachian and African American residents that have helped to define the neighborhood more recently – creating a comprehensive history of the neighborhood over the past century and a half.

The Over-the-Rhine Museum group is in the early stages of forming and is basing itself on the model used by the Lower East Side Tenement Museum in New York City, which is located in another neighborhood with a strong immigrant influence that has changed dramatically over time.

While the Over-the-Rhine Museum does not yet have a physical location, the plan is to establish a pop-up museum in the near future, with the exhibits based on the specific space where the pop-up will be held. Any historic building in OTR can fit the bill for the pop-up space or the permanent museum because, as founding member Anne Steinert says, “all of these buildings have stories to tell.”

Those interested in getting involved with the effort, or simply learning more, can participate in a walking tour of historic tenement buildings around Findlay Market on Sunday, October 4. Tickets for the OTR Tenement Walking Tour cost $10 and can be purchased online.

Group organizers say that they are also planning to host a storytelling event over the winter. Additional questions regarding how to get involved can be directed at otrmuseum@gmail.com.

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Development News

Green Man Park to Transform Formerly Vacant Lot in Peeble’s Corner

If all goes according to plan, and Mother Nature plays nice this winter, Walnut Hills may have a brand new park in spring of 2015.

An empty lot at the corner of Stanton and McMillan (almost across from the new Fireside Pizza) is in the process of being turned into Green Man Park. Fred Orth, Walnut Hills Area Council member and neighborhood supporter extraordinaire, is spearheading the effort to not only make the lot into a public green space, but also to install a seven-foot tall sculpted stone “green man” for which the park is named.

The enormous sculpture was carved by David Hummel in 1890 for a Walnut Hills building, and ultimately watched over the area until that building was demolished in 1991. Prior to the demolition, the sculpture was rescued by a concerned citizen and has been sitting in pieces in the East End ever since.

Then, last weekend, neighborhood volunteers helped lay pavers for the new paths in the park. They used materials donated by the City of Cincinnati and equipment provided by HGC Construction. With a bit more work the park will contain several more trees, areas for seating, possibly a small performance spot, and one very large Green Man.

An ancient symbol of rebirth and the rejuvenation of spring, the Green Man seems an appropriate symbol for Walnut Hills’ fast-improving business district. Hopefully the sculpture will be there to witness another 100 years in the life of this great neighborhood.

Those who wish the support the community’s efforts to build out the rest of the park, which was previously a vacant lot, can do so by donating through the Greater Cincinnati Foundation.

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Business News

Collective Espresso to Open Second Location in Northside Later This Fall

Northsiders will soon have another place to get their coffee fix. Collective Espresso is expanding from one slightly hard to find location to a second, with the new Collective Espresso Northside opening this fall in the space previously occupied by Cluxton Alley Coffee Roasters.

It is a strange location, with the side entrance between Fabricate and Happy Chicks Bakery on Hamilton Avenue, but the main entrance accessed from a courtyard at Vandalia Avenue and Cluxton Alley.

The fact that the roof of half of the room is made of glass further highlights how unusual the space is. It feels like a secluded garden cottage that just happens to have a sharp new coffee shop with first class coffee, and is somehow calmly tucked away just steps from the bustle of Hamilton Avenue.

Anyone familiar with the original Collective Espresso, on Woodward near Main Street in Over-the-Rhine, will recognize that the new space is run by the same people.

Owners Dustin Miller and Dave Hart say that they wanted the new shop to have the same philosophy, but with slightly different methods. Where the original location has clean lines but skews rustic, the new location is almost modernist, with white tile and smooth wood counters instead of the barnwood of the original location.

There will be seating at the bar and a few tables, but not much of it. The owners expect the shop to seat about 12 people, similar to their OTR location.

Miller and Hart say that Collective Espresso Northside will feature a Synesso three group espresso machine made in Seattle, and will have coffee from Deeper Roots in Cincinnati, Quills in Louisville, and a rotating cast of national roasters including Intelligentsia, Kuma, Herkimer, Madcap, and Four Barrel. They say they will also use Hartzler Milk from Wooster, Ohio.

While Collective Espresso naturally specializes in espresso drinks and pour over coffee, the Northside location will utilize French Press coffee instead of the Chemex method used in Over-the-Rhine.

Similar to Over-the-Rhine, though, the owners say that Northside has a lot going for it and wanted to be part of the progress.

“We feel like there is a lot of momentum in Northside,” Hart told UrbanCincy. “It’s nice to have new neighbors like The Littlefield in addition to places that have been at it for years like Melt, Picnic + Pantry, and Northside Tavern.”

As with the OTR location, many of the decorations and accessories will be supplied by local businesses, with the frames done by Frameshop, the plants done by Megan Strasser at Fern Studio, the terrariums built by Jessie Cundiff, the signs done by Ink & Hammer, and the aprons made by Noble Denim.

Collective Espresso Northside will open later this fall, and have hours of operation from 7am to 4pm on weekdays and 8am to 4pm on weekends. Cluxton Alley Coffee Roasters, meanwhile, will continue to sell coffee at Picnic + Pantry, Fabricate, and at the Northside Farmer’s Market.