"Swifton Shopping Center" (Cincinnati, Dayton: middle-class, apartment complex, rental)

[Dick Gose]

I moved to Cincinnati, Bond Hill, 200 yards from the entrance to Swifton Shopping Center in July ,1956. The shopping Center opened in October, 1956. Since I went to Woodward High School I walked thru the shopping center every day on the way to school.

The name of the dept. store that was the anchor on the West side of the Center was "Rollmans". It in later years it became Mabley & Carew. May have later became Pogues. My girlfriend at the time worked there & was to later become my wife.

I worked for 1-2 years at Liberal Markets on the other end of the mall ,bagging groceries as a teenager. My memory is there was also a Kroger in the mall, very near Liberal.

My memories are very definitive on this subject & believe I could answer any questions on the subject, as I lived 100- 300 Yards from Swifton Shopping Center from 1956-1965.

Dick Gose Southport, North Carolina

[goyguy]

This ground has already been covered pretty extensively - just do a "Swifton" search and see the other threads. There's one question yet unanswered: What was on that big parcel of land before the shopping center was built? One person said the "Swift mansion" was there, which would explain the name "Swifton." Others believed that an old farm had occupied the space, with a barn and vineyard the last remnants to disappear. (That, in turn, would explain how Langdon Farm Rd got its name.)

Swifton was constructed before I was made (lol) but I have lots of childhood memories of being dragged there, not only for shopping trips. (Filling a prescribed number of Top Value stamp books was always fun, since it meant an excursion to the redemption center to get stuff for "free." Whatever happened to trading stamps like TV, and S & H Green Stamps, anyway?) Pogue's was too snooty of a store to open in - humph - middle-class Swifton; Rollman's became Mabley & Carew until the early-to-mid-70s, then the Dayton chain Elder-Beerman took over the space. By the time the shopping center's second incarnation as "Swifton Commons" was in its death throes, the store was an Elder-Beerman outlet. It's funny what stays stuck in your brain. What I recall most about Mabley's is how high the ceilings were. It was also THE place to go for breakfasts with Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. On the Saturday closest to those Christian holidays, the main floor was transformed into a dining room with long rows of tables. Parents plunked down a set fee for their kids to be fed bacon and eggs and toast, then be photographed with the seasonal character. Well do I recollect the hype that used to start around mid-November for Santa's arrival by helicopter. I thought that'd be the coolest thing to see, but my folks never took me. That's part of what made me the serial sociopath I am today

But seriously, it's interesting to see the suburban shopping experience evolving away from gigantic enclosed malls and back to a style closer to Swifton's. Once more the in thing to do is drive to a "collection" (it's actually called that) of clustered stores with outdoor entrances. Who'da thunk it.

No one has brought up what Swifton has become in its third life. Cincinnati's Allen Temple AME Church purchased the whole thing a few years ago, and has rechristened it Jordan Crossing - in honor of its pastor, but man do I love the symbolism in that name. A portion of the mall has been converted to a "worship center" complete with church sanctuary and meeting/function rooms. Following some years away after having abandoned Swifton, Kroger's returned to set up shop across Seymour Ave and is contemplating a move into the former shopping center so as to be able to increase their floor space. There are doubtlessly other retailers on the premises or planning to be, but I plead ignorance on any further details since I no longer live in the Cincinnati area and haven't visited while on return trips.

Not only did the church invest in Swifton itself, it was the catalyst for the radical transformation of the immediate area. What was once the sprawling Swifton Village complex of brick apartment buildings is now what some Cincinnatians dub a "Dreesville," houses built in a recognizable style commonly thought of as the trademark of the Drees construction company. The development is called "Villages of Daybreak," and the hope is that it can draw middle-class homeowners to help stabilize and perhaps "turn around" an area that's seen better times. If there are enough people out there willing to roll the dice and relocate to a neighborhood more notorious of late for its high school of last resort and some shady nightspots, it just might work. After all, Cincinnati Gardens and the Maketewah Country Club stayed put through good and less-than-good times. Other "jewels" in Bond Hill and Roselawn are there to be enjoyed, too, and one thing which has never changed is that location central to "everything."

[MiddleCincinnati]

Originally Posted by goyguy

This ground has already been covered pretty extensively - just do a "Swifton" search and see the other threads. There's one question yet unanswered: What was on that big parcel of land before the shopping center was built? One person said the "Swift mansion" was there, which would explain the name "Swifton." Others believed that an old farm had occupied the space, with a barn and vineyard the last remnants to disappear. (That, in turn, would explain how Langdon Farm Rd got its name.)

My mother recalls visiting that property in order to ice-skate on a pond that
would freeze during the winter. She places these memories in the early
years of WWII. This would not conflict with either a farm or a mansion
having been nearby.

[jeffkern1]

Donald Trump got his start in the HUD properties surrounding Swifton, he and his father had lunch at Mak Country Club

[Mikey1003]

I remember that it was a farm..No idea of name. There were lots of trees cut down before Swifton construction started. I don't remember a farm house but somewhere in the deep dark recesses of my rapidly failing mind I think that I do remember a barn.

As stated in another thread, I watched the shopping center being built.

The land on the SE side of the center was an auxiliary parking lot for the center. It is now a large church.

[Albedo]

Was that the mall that had no roof?

[Mikey1003]

Originally Posted by Albedo

Was that the mall that had no roof?

Yes

[Albedo]

^ Thanks

[Box2565]

Hi,

I lived Swifton Village (5972 Rhode Island #4) with my mother from 1970 to 1975. The rental office for the apartment complex was just down the block from our apartment at the corner of Yorktown Road & Rhode Island.

Most months I was given the rent check and walked it down to the office. On the wall of the room where you paid the rent the was a very large (roughly 6' X 6') aerial photo showing the area from Langdon Farm Road to Seymour Avenue to Reading Road. There was a large Victorian style house and a few other smaller buildings on the property along with quite a few trees.

The house and many of the trees were on a hilltop that would have been roughly where the large wall was erected on the east side of the shopping center and lined up with Yorktown Road. The grove of trees extended over towards about where the Gentry Shop was located.

I was always fascinated with that photo and I would stop and look at it every time I was in the office. My guess is that picture might have bitten the dust along with the apartment complex – but I sure wish I owned it!

Steve

[MiddleCincinnati]

Originally Posted by Box2565

I was always fascinated with that photo and I would stop and look at it every time I was in the office. My guess is that picture might have bitten the dust along with the apartment complex – but I sure wish I owned it!

Me too ... That picture belongs in the Historical Society.