Mid-century Reading Road (Wyoming, Ada, Northwood: zip code, relocating to, estate)

[soozycue520]

Originally Posted by goyguy

It's because of Reading Rd's general "sadness" that this thread lives on and on...
Can any recent travelers of that thoroughfare tell me whether Amma's Kitchen is still open? For some years it was known as "Udipi" and was doing a land-office business as Cincinnati's only Southern Indian vegetarian restaurant. Not long after the name change, it dropped off the radar. It occupied (and hopefully still does) the building which for many years housed the Fortune Kookie.

Yes, Amma's Kithcen is still there.

Amma's Kitchen

[RoselawnKid]

I grew up in a house on Miramar Court next to Castle Farm. Castle Farm was on Summit Rd across the street from the Jewish Center. Castle Farm was torn down and the Summit East Apartments were built on part of the land and a small school was built on the rest. I use to play at Castle Farm, climbing on the building which was like climbing on a castle. I remember sneaking into building when it was empty, and seeing the large dance halls. It was a beautiful place outside and inside. Sunday mornings, the parking lot was littered with heavy paper bowls (for pretzel's) and the smell of beer. I saw my first helicopter when it landed in the parking lot and Fabian (?) got out. I watched them tear down the place before I was old enough to go inside.
Does anyone know where I can get a picture of Castle Farm?

[RoselawnKid]

After Castle Farm was torn down, the lot was vacant for many years. The weeds grew tall, and occasionally I would see a man come out an cut the weeds down with a hand sickle.

[MiddleCincinnati]

Originally Posted by RoselawnKid

After Castle Farm was torn down, the lot was vacant for many years. The weeds grew tall, and occasionally I would see a man come out an cut the weeds down with a hand sickle.

My father worked for the company that put up Summit East. He
seems to remember that they had acquired the land from the
Adath Israel congregation, which may have been planning to build
there. If I remember correctly, they ended up building at Ridge
and Galbraith, some time in the late 1960's.

The Historical Society might have pictures, as might some very
old newspapers, available on microfiche at the library. If you
search the web for the Midwestern Hayride, there are some shots
taken inside Castle Farm, before the show was moved to the
(WLWT?) studio. I wonder whether any of the old Woodward
yearbooks or school papers would have photos ...

[RoselawnKid]

Originally Posted by MiddleCincinnati

My father worked for the company that put up Summit East. He
seems to remember that they had acquired the land from the
Adath Israel congregation, which may have been planning to build
there. If I remember correctly, they ended up building at Ridge
and Galbraith, some time in the late 1960's.

The Historical Society might have pictures, as might some very
old newspapers, available on microfiche at the library. If you
search the web for the Midwestern Hayride, there are some shots
taken inside Castle Farm, before the show was moved to the
(WLWT?) studio. I wonder whether any of the old Woodward
yearbooks or school papers would have photos ...

My mother agrees with your father about Adath Israel buying the lot and then deciding to build in Amberly. Castle Farm was torn down in 1964 and was vacant until 1971. Thanks for the Midwestern Hayride reference. My mother was familiar with them. She enjoyed your earlier postings.

[goyguy]

Welcome aboard, RK!
Being from Wyoming and of a certain age, we probably have common acquaintances since some of my classmates' parents had relocated from Roselawn.
Adath Israel did build its temple on Galbraith, just east of Ridge Rd. How high is the ceiling in that sanctuary anyway? (lol) I think their decision to build there rather than on Summit played no small part in the neighborhood's demographic transition. When the Catholic church on Eastlawn closes this summer, Roselawn Lutheran will be the last majority-White congregation in the community, and it's a pretty small one.
My pediatrician started out in the Roselawn Center building (on the Brookcrest side) before relocating to 8040 Reading Rd. I have a lot of memories of that area and hate seeing how it's slipped downward from the way it was in the '60s and '70s. Sadder still is the knowledge that the crime problems spawned by all the now-Section 8 apartment buildings, and the now-flophouses north of Summit Rd, have too many people equating that and the current racial composition of the neighborhood with "bad place to stay away from." Roselawn Pharmacy wouldn't be putting up its own building (at Reading Rd and Northwood), and Song Long would've had to move, if that were the case. Although some houses are in deplorable fixer-upper condition, most of the side streets - particularly south of Section Rd - look as nice as ever. And the long-overdue demolition of Swifton Village (I still call it that, so there) and renovation of the former Swifton Shopping Center, now Jordan Crossing, can't help but do good.

[MiddleCincinnati]

Originally Posted by goyguy

And the long-overdue demolition of Swifton Village (I still call it that, so there) and renovation of the former Swifton Shopping Center, now Jordan Crossing, can't help but do good.

What is planned for the old Swifton Village site? Last time in the
Queen City, I noticed that not only the Village, but also the
Swifton Primary school were boarded.

[goyguy]

You wouldn't recognize the place today. All of Swifton Village was demolished (at least some of the buildings by implosion, I think.) What went up in its place is a Dreesville-looking subdivision called "Villages of Daybreak." Some of the old Village streets, such as Yorktown Rd, were used for the development and some new ones were constructed. It's mostly single-family houses, with some duplexes in the mix. The city was offering a fifteen-year tax abatement for buyers. How it's faring I don't know, but it's been open for a couple of years now. With any luck, a higher rate of ownership will help stabilize the community, but actual occupancy by owners makes a major difference.
Cincinnati's Allen AME Church had purchased the entire plot of land, overseen the "Daybreak" construction, and handled the latest makeover of the old shopping center. What was once Rollman's/Mabley's/Elder-Beerman is now an auditorium and meeting-room space for the church. On the Langdon Farm Rd side, the city's newest library has opened, merging the former Roselawn and Bond Hill branches. It's said to be the most heavily-used branch except for the main one downtown. The remainder of the old Swifton is the church's "worship center" as well as some church office space, social-service agencies, and - yes - retail. Speaking of retail, word has it that Kroger's did so well when they returned to the community with a store across Seymour that they may double their space in Jordan Crossing.
No matter what the people who live there look like, I'd love to see that area rebound and be thought of as "nice" once more. The thorn in its side is all those brick-box apartment houses on Losantiville, Summit, etc.

[mike1003]

Originally Posted by goyguy

You wouldn't recognize the place today. All of Swifton Village was demolished (at least some of the buildings by implosion, I think.) What went up in its place is a Dreesville-looking subdivision called "Villages of Daybreak." Some of the old Village streets, such as Yorktown Rd, were used for the development and some new ones were constructed. It's mostly single-family houses, with some duplexes in the mix. The city was offering a fifteen-year tax abatement for buyers. How it's faring I don't know, but it's been open for a couple of years now. With any luck, a higher rate of ownership will help stabilize the community, but actual occupancy by owners makes a major difference.
Cincinnati's Allen AME Church had purchased the entire plot of land, overseen the "Daybreak" construction, and handled the latest makeover of the old shopping center. What was once Rollman's/Mabley's/Elder-Beerman is now an auditorium and meeting-room space for the church. On the Langdon Farm Rd side, the city's newest library has opened, merging the former Roselawn and Bond Hill branches. It's said to be the most heavily-used branch except for the main one downtown. The remainder of the old Swifton is the church's "worship center" as well as some church office space, social-service agencies, and - yes - retail. Speaking of retail, word has it that Kroger's did so well when they returned to the community with a store across Seymour that they may double their space in Jordan Crossing.
No matter what the people who live there look like, I'd love to see that area rebound and be thought of as "nice" once more. The thorn in its side is all those brick-box apartment houses on Losantiville, Summit, etc.

So sad! As a child, we lived at Carrahan and Reading in the appartment that overlooked the, then, empty field . We watched Swifton being built. Mom worked for Rollmans through Elder Beermman and managed to get a whopping 12.00 a month pension. What a cheap company!!!!!!

[jayboydog]

Bond Hill School -- when i was in first grade '66-'67, we'd watch WCET occasionally. at that time, there'd be a clock counting down seconds until the program would start. my family did not have a TV with a UHF tuner until the following year. remember the WCET action auction fundraising? do you remember how many classrooms there were? (i think 18 including the art room and one classroom on the north side of the 2nd floor, plus teachers' lunchroom, also a projection room overlooking the gym, and kindergarden, student lunchroom, principal's office, nurse's room, and a teachers' lounge on the 2nd floor above the front entrance. there might have been a room above the nurse's room--i have a sense i was given a hearing test once in such a room.) the corner stone of the school read 1937.