The second season of Taking the Stage kicked off this past Thursday on MTV. The reality show takes place at Cincinnati’s famous School for Creative & Performing Arts and follows around a select group of students looking to make it big. Produced by Cincinnatian and former 98 Degrees front man, Nick Lachey, Taking the Stage airs each Thursday at 11pm and is primarily set in historic Over-the-Rhine and Downtown.
Tag: Cincinnati
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2nd Forgotten Cincinnati exhibition tonight
While you’re out and about for Final Friday this evening be sure to swing on by Park+Vine, Joseph Williams Home and Atomic #10 for the second Forgotten Cincinnati photograph exhibition. There will be abandoned photography from around Cincinnati by Ronny Salerno, Zach Fein and Sherman Cahal.
The Forgotten Cincinnati exhibition will start at 6pm and run through 9pm at the aforementioned Over-the-Rhine locations. The exhibition will actually run through Sunday, February 21 so that those interested will have plenty of time to make their purchases – but don’t wait long because these powerful photographs will sell quickly.
This morning Ronny Salerno and Zach Fein were on Fox 19’s morning show to discuss their work.
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Mercantile Library Renovations
The Mercantile Library is one of those easily overlooked gems, and is located in the heart of downtown Cincinnati. Housed on the 11th and 12th floors at 414 Walnut Street, this quiet oasis in the middle of the city is one of the best kept secrets around town. Few folks have heard of it, and even fewer would be able to tell you where it is, but hopefully that is about to change.
Executive Director Albert Pyle states that “there are about 2,000 members currently and we could easily welcome in 2,000 more.” This year marks the library’s 175th anniversary making it one of the three oldest cultural organizations in the city, and they have been in the same location since 1903. Recently, the Mercantile went through its first major renovation since moving into the space over one hundred years ago and UrbanCincy got to take a peek.
Mercantile Library restoration photograph by Scott Beseler.“This library deserves it” said Mr. Pyle, as it relates to the renovations made, at a recent preview event. This massive undertaking led by local architecture firm Brashear-Bolton and local construction firm HGC Construction. The main goal was to add modern touches while trying to maintain the Machine Age feel, and based off what we saw, they did a wonderful job.
Some of the changes are more cosmetic than anything, such as the movement of the 16 portrait busts featuring presidents and authors, among others, to eye level mounts throughout the room. This was done so that members could appreciate the art and “hold better conversations with them” joked Mr. Pyle.
Other changes were made to help accommodate a more modern era such as the replacement of an old and noisy air conditioning on the south side of the reading room which will allow the library to comfortably host events during the summer. In the same part of the room, two story stacks were built out of steel beams which were actually hoisted up from Walnut Street and through the windows so that they could be installed.
Two final updates move the library firmly into the 21st century modernization as the card catalog has been made electronic and moved online. Not only is it now accessible through the Mercantile’s website but it actually forced the library to make its first official count of its collection. Totaling over 78,000 books, many first editions, the Merc provides a unique collections as about 2/3 of it cannot be found elsewhere in the city. Additionally, the walls that used to separate The Ladies Reading Room from the rest of the library have been removed to allow for a more open and bright space in the northeast corner of the room.
The Mercantile is a membership library, one of only about twenty in the United States, and dues start at $45 for an individual membership. Mr. Doyle stated that many members like to visit on their lunch hour during the week and will actually bring their lunch along with them. Others come to find peace and quiet and have been known to doze off during their visit. Aside from their traditional website, the good folks at the Mercantile also maintain the blog Stacked.
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New street wear boutique to open in OTR
Cincinnati’s freshest business and Over-the-Rhine’s newest neighbor, Original Thought Required (OTR), will open this Friday, January 29 on Main Street for Final Friday. The street wear boutique will be one of the first of its kind for Cincinnati and has an owner that is very excited to be a part of the renaissance taking place in the historic neighborhood.
“I really believe in what 3CDC is doing and I’m really excited to be able to make my dream a reality,” said Original Thought Required owner James Marable.
On Friday, the store will be open for Final Friday from 5pm to 10pm, and Marable encourages people to just come and check out the store even if they are not intending on buying anything. “I wanted to create a space where people come in with an open mind and where people can just be themselves.”
Original Thought Required (map) will be much more than just a street wear boutique, and will eventually include regular events and be representative of the larger street wear culture where people focus on individuality, personal style, and music. Visitors on Friday can expect a small mixer atmosphere where they can get a peek of the new place and hang out.
The winners have been chosen, and Ohio’s efforts to land money for rail service along the Cincinnati-Columbus-Cleveland (3-C) Corridor have been successful. Today it has been announced that Ohio will receive $400 million for track upgrades, grade crossings, new stations, and maintenance facilities.
Meanwhile the larger Midwest region pulled in a collective $2.6 billion which was second only to the West Coast region which nabbed an impressive $2.942 billion of the total $8 billion available. Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood, views this as an investment that will make passenger rail more efficient while also providing better service in travel markets across the nation.
- High-speed rail travel offers competitive door-to-door trip times
- It reduces congestion on key routes between cities
- It reduces transportation emissions
- And, most of all, it creates the jobs of the future, the jobs America needs right now
For Cincinnati there are still questions though about a station location. The $400 million is a significant investment, but will still not enough to cover the $517.6 million needed to extend the line through one of the nation’s most heavily congested rail yards to Union Terminal. Additional track to run the line all the way to Lunken Airport might also prove be to costly according to project officials.
Ken Prendergast, executive director of All Aboard Ohio, responded to those questions by saying, “The state could trim costs by using rebuilt, rather than new, passenger cars and by ending the route in Sharonville rather than at Lunken Field, and when there is enough money run trains to Union Terminal.”
The 250-mile 3-C Corridor has long been seen as one of the nation’s most promising rail corridors with projections estimating that 478,000 passengers will use the rail service annually. The new service will operate three daily round trips with top speeds of 79mph and serve a population of more than 6.8 million people, close to 40 colleges and universities, and 22 Fortune 500 companies.