Mid-century Reading Road (Cincinnati, Montgomery, Deer Park: coupon, designers, rich)

[mike1003]

Originally Posted by Gerri Ann

What about Denny's? Loved the pizza omelet at 3 am after the bars closed...

25-30 years ago, when our kids were young, we took a vacation somewhere. No money, so we ate at Dennys. I got food poisoning.

I have NEVER been able to eat at a Dennys since then. It's a head thing. (Same thing happened at Subway a few years ago during a drive and dine, I can't look at a Subway without getting queezy)

[goyguy]

Thanks for sharing...yeah, right! Hahaha You'd be happy to know that the former Denny's on Reading Rd is now a bar/nightclub called Vito's. I don't know whether they serve food, let alone Italian, but it does have a "mob" feel due to the occasional shooting! A bouncer took a bullet recently for kicking someone out, and now and then the patrons have been known to get unruly. That place along with several on Seymour contribute a lot toward the bad rap Roselawn gets now. It's sometimes forgotten here that there've always been sketchy watering holes thereabouts, going all the way back to when there were no Interstates and Reading Rd was one of THE main routes north. Spots such as the "Why Not Lounge" did a brisk business with truckers, some of whom then and now are out to cut loose by way of knocking back a few drinks and starting trouble (when not procuring "companionship.")

[a_fortress_mighty]

Hi Middle Cincy-folks!

I was on family vacation when the August '69 tornado hit the Carousel Inn. I was just four and a half years old, but I have VERY vivid memories of the sliding glass doors bowing dangerously and the pool furniture spinning around like it was being steered by invisible drivers!

My sister and I were with our grandma eating dinner at the Frisch's across the street when the sky turned dark green and we lost electric. Our parents, aunt, uncles and cousins all were down at Crosley Field watching the Reds. I seem to remember it took them a LONG time to get through National Guard checkpoints and back to the hotel.

Can anyone tell me more about what happened to the Carousel when the tornado hit? For some reason, I think there were fatalities, but I'm not sure. My sister, who is eight years my senior, has totally blocked out the entire incident!

I remember the tennis court poles twisted like pretzels, and chunks of the roof were in the pool. Would love to hear other recollections of this storm.

Thanks so much!

[jferdyk]

one question: does anyone else remember the barber shop in Swifton Village having a Frederick Remington-type sculpture of a cowboy on a horse? In my memory it is large - maybe 2 or 3 feet long, hard dark iron, and very exciting for a five year-old boy waiting for his haircut while his mother does her grocery shopping.

[BWAGS]

I believe the Carousel was used as a medical/police base after the tornado hit. I lived on Stillwell Rd., which ran parallel to Reading Rd. Reading Road was closed off between Summit and Galbraith. Hundreds of cars went on Stillwell , down Don Rich, around Debonair and back on Stillwell thinking they could get on Galbraith and back on I-75 ! No such luck. It was like a moving parking lot. I don't think there were any deaths @ the Carousel. Our house had little damage but the house across the street (Casuto) had their roof blown off as did many on Stillwell, and Debonair.

[goyguy]

There are separate threads which have recollections of the 1969 tornado posted to them, including the lesser cousin to this one (Mid-Century Vine St.) Although there was considerable damage around the Reading/Galbraith intersection, the only casualties were in Hartwell - to the west, Arlington Hts - immediately northwest, and the Lakeshore Apartments about a quarter-mile east. That of course doesn't include victims who might've died later from injuries. One or two persons at the ill-fated McIntosh's Restaurant on Galbraith may have perished also.
The Carousel weathered, so to speak, the event with relatively minor damage. But the years haven't been kind. For quite some time it proudly promoted itself as "Ohio's Only Five-Star Motel." Its La Ronde Room restaurant was an "occasion" place, where I first encountered the "Jackets Required for Gentlemen after 6 PM" rule that no dining spot seems to have any more. Following the tornado, the Carousel Cinema (later "twinned") opened across the street to compete with the Valley Theater about a mile down Reading Rd. Both moviehouses have long since gone dark. The Inn itself has gone through numerous ownership changes, at one point being divvied up between Ramada Inn and Days Inn. Lately it's regained its name, but none of its luster. In place of the ornate, carousel-adorned neon sign in front there now stands a plain backlit sign announcing "Carousel Inn and Suites." The front office gets robbed every once in a while. Neighboring hostelries (the Drake Motel and the Sycamore Hotel) cater more to shady characters than to families on vacation, but from travel reviews I read the Carousel seems to have developed somewhat of a reputation as a decent place to stay for folks on a limited budget. Those travelers, unfortunately, don't have the range of dining-out options which was once available in the vicinity. The La Ronde is long gone, as is the Perkins "Cake n' Steak" opposite. Frisch's shut down their Reading Rd location a few months ago. Even the local Burger King (humble replacement for the fondly-remembered Wishing Well), in part maybe due to lacking space for a drive-through window, couldn't stay in business. It's a neighborhood not to be lingered in after dark unless you're "up to no good."
There are also separate threads which delve into Swifton Shopping Center and Swifton Village in great (and enjoyable) depth.

[a_fortress_mighty]

to know it has gone largely by the wayside. Despite the tornado, earlier parts of that particular vacation are recalled with great fondness!

I was raised northeast of Cincy in Ross County. Cincinnati always was the perfect half-point meeting place for our extended family, which stretched down toward Louisville, Kentucky.

As a college student at U.C., I remember driving around looking at the area, but even then (early 80s) it seemed like it wasn't a safe place to linger anymore.

Thanks for trying to help me find some of the missing pieces.

[Gerri Ann]

Thanks for your kind references to the Wishing Well. It broke both my Mom's and my heart the day the Well was razed for a Burger King. One quirky note, when it was torn down by the next owner for the Burger King, $10,000 in cash was found inside a chimney - jeez, if we had only known it was there!!! But as to the current comments on the Carousel, I would only stay there if I had an armed guard - and lots of bug spray! Sadly, most of our old area looks like a bombing took place....

[MiddleCincinnati]

I am planning to be in Cincinnati next week and hope to devote a few
hours looking at old CIty Directories in the downtown library. If anyone
has questions related to this thread that they think might be answered
by consulting directories from the 1950's and 1960's, I will probably
have time to answer a few. Just post questions to this thread and
I will see what I can do.

[MiddleCincinnati]

Does anyone recall a branch of Esther Price that was on Reading Rd.?

According to the 1960 City Directory, there was a branch just south
of Meadowbrook, not far from where Empress Chili and furrier
Stanley Rich had stores later in the decade. I cannot place it -
in fact, the store on Montgomery is the only one that comes to mind.