Mid-century Reading Road (Cincinnati, Hamilton, Finneytown: sales, lease, condo)

[veteran observer]

The transit company was Ohio Bus Lines. The fleet was green, gold and white. I do not recall service to Hamilton. I lived near Reading Road in Bond Hill and Ohio Bus Lines had a route to Sharonville. My recollection is the turnaround point was just inside the Reading Road entrance to Sharon Woods. They must've had some arrangement with Greyhound at the old Fifth Street terminal across from Empress Chili as I remember seeing their buses at the station. This was pre-I-75 in the 1950s. Reading Road was the main north-south drag (U.S. 25 and U.S. 42) and I would often see Greyhound buses with Dayton and Xenia as their destinations.

[jayboydog]

just a little bit of fill in -- Alms Hotel on west side of Victory Pkwy north of Wm H. Taft. on the east side of Victory was Toddle House a tiny restauant having a counter with a dozen seats. Park Lane Apts were built at Victory and Reading Rd in mid 60s. a mobile home trailer park and Dunkin Donuts were on east side of Reading Rd. It was a Gulf Oil gas station which became a Union 76. Before the Smorgasboard, there was a toy car racing store on east side of Reading where Avon Dr meets. At the SW corner was Huber's Sohio gas. Cincinnati sash and door was on east side of Reading Rd. across from a Bonded gas which became a cavalier dry cleaners. SE Reading at Tennessee had Dixie Foood Market and Capri Pizza also had those asphalt strips as parking lot surface. Porter Paints was on the NE corner at Tennessee.
McDonalds opened in '71 on the west side of Reading at Andina. the Roselawn shopping center at SE Reading at Section Rd was built by Wachendorf who also built Losantiville Bowling Lanes and I think many of the four unit apt buildings between S ection Rd and Losantiville. (this land east of Reading Rd was half of Crest Hills Golf Course) His daughter Sue married UC and Royals basketball center Connie Dierking. The Buccaneer was a bar on the west side of Reading Rd north of Carters restaurant. Ponderosa steak house replaced Parkmoor restaurant on NW Reading at Summit. Mr. Jims was a steakhouse on West side of reading Rd north of Summit Bowl. East of the Thriftway grocery on Sunnybrook was a Putt-Putt mini golf.

[franke01]

Originally Posted by veteran observer

The transit company was Ohio Bus Lines. The fleet was green, gold and white. I do not recall service to Hamilton. I lived near Reading Road in Bond Hill and Ohio Bus Lines had a route to Sharonville. My recollection is the turnaround point was just inside the Reading Road entrance to Sharon Woods. They must've had some arrangement with Greyhound at the old Fifth Street terminal across from Empress Chili as I remember seeing their buses at the station. This was pre-I-75 in the 1950s. Reading Road was the main north-south drag (U.S. 25 and U.S. 42) and I would often see Greyhound buses with Dayton and Xenia as their destinations.

I remember them at the Greyhound terminal also. I rode one to Cincinnati after transferring from a Greyhound (not sure where I transferred) coming back from Indiana. I know the OBL bus came down Route 4 at that time which was the early 60's. I do remember them being green.

[MiddleCincinnati]

Originally Posted by veteran observer

The transit company was Ohio Bus Lines.
...
They must've had some arrangement with Greyhound at the old Fifth Street terminal across from Empress Chili as I remember seeing their buses at the station.

There was also a bus line that ran between downtown and northern
Kentucky. I seem to remember those 1950's-era red buses taking commuters
across the Suspension Bridge.

This was pre-I-75 in the 1950s. Reading Road was the main north-south drag (U.S. 25 and U.S. 42)[/b]

That would explain why there were so many motels scattered along Reading
between Roselawn and Sharonville in those days. As I-75 opened, though,
the chain motels began to dominate the scene. The Imperial House, in
Evendale, and the whole Chester Road development, offered food and lodging
just off the exit ramps.

[franke01]

Originally Posted by MiddleCincinnati

There was also a bus line that ran between downtown and northern
Kentucky. I seem to remember those 1950's-era red buses taking commuters
across the Suspension Bridge.


That would explain why there were so many motels scattered along Reading
between Roselawn and Sharonville in those days. As I-75 opened, though,
the chain motels began to dominate the scene. The Imperial House, in
Evendale, and the whole Chester Road development, offered food and lodging
just off the exit ramps.

The red buses could possibly belong to Dixie Traction Company which, I think, was out of Erlanger (although Ft. Thomas is possible also).

I think that company could have been taken over by Green Line.

[MiddleCincinnati]

Originally Posted by jayboydog

just a little bit of fill in -- Alms Hotel on west side of Victory Pkwy north of Wm H. Taft. on the east side of Victory was Toddle House a tiny restauant having a counter with a dozen seats.

So there was more than one Toddle House! I can only remember their store
on Clifton Avenue, just across from U.C. That branch may have survived as
late as the 1980's.

Do you remember the Cabana Club at all? It was a swim club somewhere
near that corner with Wm. H. Taft - must have closed in the early 1960's.

Park Lane Apts were built at Victory and Reading Rd in mid 60s. a mobile home trailer park and Dunkin Donuts were on east side of Reading Rd. It was a Gulf Oil gas station which became a Union 76. Before the Smorgasboard, there was a toy car racing store on east side of Reading where Avon Dr meets. At the SW corner was Huber's Sohio gas. Cincinnati sash and door was on east side of Reading Rd. across from a Bonded gas which became a cavalier dry cleaners. SE Reading at Tennessee had Dixie Foood Market and Capri Pizza also had those asphalt strips as parking lot surface. Porter Paints was on the NE corner at Tennessee.

These are great. Most of the businesses had been mentioned before, but
without their names and lacking some of these details. The Dunkin' Donuts
became a sort of drive-through pony keg in later years; no idea what is on
that spot now.

There was an upholstery cleaner on Tennessee, just east of Capri and
Dixie. Their name was something like Security Amerkhenian.

the Roselawn shopping center at SE Reading at Section Rd was built by Wachendorf who also built Losantiville Bowling Lanes and I think many of the four unit apt buildings between S ection Rd and Losantiville. (this land east of Reading Rd was half of Crest Hills Golf Course) His daughter Sue married UC and Royals basketball center Connie Dierking.

That's a huge chunk of development: it's pretty much everything north of
Roselawn Park between Reading Road and Golf Manor. That style of
apartment building can be found throughout Cincinnati and is typical of the
era.

Mr. Jims was a steakhouse on West side of reading Rd north of Summit Bowl.

Could you mean east side? - the bowling alley was on the east side of the
street. I vaguely remember that Mr. Jim's took over either the site - or the
actual building - of the Howard Johnson's soda fountain, which was just
north of Summit Lanes.

For what it's worth, in the early 1970's Mr. Jim's also had a store on
Springfield Pike, just north of Bypass 50. The site had been occupied by a
Big Boy clone called Jerry's, which was also a regional chain. After Mr. Jim's
closed, Daily Donuts opened a 24-hour store that survived until some time in the 1980's.

[cblanehill]

I remember a chemical plant called Hilton Davis on Langdon Farm Road in the 60's. There was a nursery with greenhouses next door to it. Sometimes when there were accidental releases from the plant with the telltale sirens, our laundry hanging outside on the line would get soiled from it.

[c ottaway]

What about the Cincinnati Race Bowl, it was located where Swifton Village is. It was a 1/8 mile dirt race track, I went there in 1954 and watched Wayne Woodmansee win the feature race.

[franke01]

Originally Posted by cblanehill

I remember a chemical plant called Hilton Davis on Langdon Farm Road in the 60's. There was a nursery with greenhouses next door to it. Sometimes when there were accidental releases from the plant with the telltale sirens, our laundry hanging outside on the line would get soiled from it.

Was that Evans Nursery? I remember going with my mom and pulling the flowers she bought home in my wagon.

[franke01]

Originally Posted by c ottaway

What about the Cincinnati Race Bowl, it was located where Swifton Village is. It was a 1/8 mile dirt race track, I went there in 1954 and watched Wayne Woodmansee win the feature race.

There was also a 1/8 mile oval near the corner of Reading Rd and Bypass 50. I think it was called the Sharonville Race Bowl.