Tag: over-the-rhine

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Arts & Entertainment News

Great day in Cincy

This past Saturday was a great day. It started at Fountain Square where I met up with several friends. The Square was crowded, the Reds game was on the LED board, a wedding party posed for pictures and horse-drawn carriages were in high demand.

Chris, Jake and myself went for a walk around Downtown to take some photos and enjoy the beautiful, albeit windy, weather. We eventually made our way over to the historic West Fourth Street area. Just after checking out the progress on the McFarland Lofts project we looked up at the new Parker Flats midrise and saw 5chw4r7z and Ms. 5chw4r7z with a couple friends enjoying their wrap around balcony.

They invited us up to check out their digs which we discovered to be a chic urban living space complete with ‘city doors.’ We arrived just in time to see the Bengals make their first selection in the 2009 NFL Draft and were pleased with the selection of an offensive tackle.

We worked our way back to the Square where Sherman and Chris had dinner on Via Vite‘s rooftop terrace. I worked my way further north into Over-the-Rhine where I met my father for dinner on Lavomatic‘s beautiful rooftop terrace.

Following dinner I met back up with Chris outside of Park + Vine and we walked down to City Cellars where we met a couple more people and had a couple glasses of wine out on City Cellars‘ patio. We then worked our way south, en route to the Cyclones game at US Bank Arena, stopping at Chipotle on Fountain Square for a quick bite for our other friends who had not yet eaten.

We arrive a little late to the Cyclones game and noticed we were already trailing 3-1 which quickly became a 4-1 deficit. Right about this point a t-shirt was launched from a canon in my direction. Making quick use of my eye-hand coordination, I snatched the t-shirt out of the air and savored my prize.

The third period hit and the Cyclones had charged all the way back and tied the game at 4-4. To overtime we went and the Cyclones quickly scored ending the game and taking a 2-0 series lead. After the game finished we split off as our two friends went to JeanRo Bistro for some drinks while Chris and I went to go meet up with Sherman once more in Over-the-Rhine.

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Arts & Entertainment Business News

Lavomatic turns 1 and opens rooftop terrace

Lavomatic will celebrate its 1 Year Anniversary and the reopening of their rooftop terrace tomorrow night (4/17) with a pig roast, drinks and a live DJ. The urban food and wine bar will offer the pig roast for $20 and everyone’s favorite OTR Ale for just $2. The fun will start at 8pm in the heart of the Gateway Quarter in Cincinnati’s historic Over-the-Rhine.

Lavomatic Cafe is located in a former laundromat in a single story building wedged in between multi-story structures on both sides. The rooftop terrace has a great view of the Art Academy and surrounding OTR buildings. The neat thing about it is that the terrace is surrounded by renovated buildings that now boast condos just feet away.

If you haven’t yet been to the Gateway Quarter this may be a great chance for you to get acquainted. Come down a little early and go check out the businesses nearby that are all within a short walk and make for great browsing/window shopping.

Lavomatic on Urbanspoon

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Arts & Entertainment Business News

Media Bridges to launch FM station, Radio Free Queen City

One of Cincinnati’s great unique assets is Media Bridges, our community media center. The non-profit organization operates four of the city’s public access television channels and broadcasts an Internet radio station, The Bridge.

Beginning August 1, Media Bridges will be adding yet another outlet as they launch Radio Free Queen City. This new low-power station, officially known as WVQC-LP, will broadcast on 95.7 FM. It will feature content produced by volunteers, focusing on issues, arts, and culture relevant to the community. The station will air city council meetings, some alternative national programming, and Spanish-language news. Media Bridges says WVQC will not duplicate the programming of other Cincinnati-area stations.

Media Bridges first applied for a license to operate an FM station in 2001, and the FCC granted the license last year. A campaign has been launched to raise the $127,000 needed to purchase the transmitter, build a new radio studio at Media Bridges’ Over-the-Rhine location, and fund the station’s first year of operation. Once operational, the FM signal will cover a 3-5 mile radius, and will presumably be streamed online for those outside the core of the city.

Cincinnati is currently served by another non-profit volunteer radio station, the East Walnut Hills-based WAIF, which has been surrounded by controversy in recent years.

Additional reading:
Radio tower photo courtesy of Flickr user maliciousmonkey.
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Development News

Dog Parks Can Improve Livability of Cincinnati’s Urban Neighborhoods

The Trust for Public Land recently ranked the nation’s largest cities based on the number of dog parks available to their residents. Cincinnati fared well, coming in at #15 with 1.2 dog parks per 100,000 residents (73kb PDF) out of the 75 total cities examined.

Dog parks provide dog owners living in the city a spot where they can bring their canine friend to do their business. A secondary, and equally important, role to dog parks is the social component. Dogs and their owners alike often use their trips to the dog park as a way to socialize and interact with other dogs and owners.

This social component provides that always desired community feel as people become bonded to their neighbors through shared experiences. In the city, it also puts more “eyes on the street,” and creates a sense of vibrancy that might not be there if the owners kept themselves and their dogs cooped up inside their urban dwelling unit.

A rather large example of a good urban dog park in NYC – Source

So while Cincinnati fares well with the overall dog parks per 100,000 residents analysis, it fails in the very neighborhoods that dog parks would provide this dual benefit. Aside from the Pet Athletic Club, there is no dedicated spot for residents of Downtown, Over-the-Rhine or the West End to take their dogs. These neighborhoods are the most lacking in private yard space and need these kinds of parks to make urban living possible for the slews of dog owners out there.

There is hope though as a dog park is planned for the northern portion of Washington Park as part of its ensuing renovation/expansion. This will be a great asset for the residents of Over-the-Rhine and even those living in the northern parts of Downtown, but how about the many people living in the “Soapbox District” or over near Lytle Park?

Well there was a movement that surfaced about as quickly as it went away for a Downtown dog park. City Manager Milton Dohoney got a group of stakeholders together to study the issue with pledged support from the Downtown Residents Council. The effort, however, has been stalled indefinitely as the associated construction and maintenance costs appeared to be too cumbersome.

Please share any thoughts or ideas you may have about how to go about implementing a small dog park in Downtown Cincinnati. A donated piece of land, volunteer service and ideas about how to set up some sort of dog park endowment would be especially helpful in developing a dog park.
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News

Swoon performing at Below Zero

Swoon will be performing at Below Zero Lounge on Saturday, March 28th from 7pm-10pm as part of a fundraiser for the Cincinnati Chapter of PFLAG.

PFLAG is “the nation’s foremost family-based organization committed to the civil rights of gays, lesbians, bisexual and transgender persons.” Boasting over 200,000 members and supporters in more than 500 chapters, PFLAG also offers scholarships for gay and straight-ally students who strive to make the world a better place for gay and lesbian people through support, education and advocacy.

The performance at Below Zero (GoogleMap) is meant to raise money for this scholarship program. Swoon is a local band that got their start in the U.K. They are a blend of pop, folk and punk style music. Tickets are $25 per person or $45 for couples. Light refreshments and a cash bar will be available in addition to several prizes for attendees.

If you wish to purchase tickets you can do so by sending a check payable to PFLAG Cincinnati, P.O. Box 19634, Cincinnati, OH 45219-0634. You can contact Suzanne at (513) 240-1193 or info[at]pflagcinci[dot]org with any questions.

If you’re on Facebook, RSVP on the event page.