Cincinnati's Numbers Game (Kent, Prospect: real estate, crime, brokers)

[aquila]

Originally Posted by HuskerDu

Subway is a run down sh**hole. If you've ever seen the movie Barfly, just imagine a basement version of that bar with the same type of seedy people... only gay.

My how things have changed in 20+ years. Subway used to be a nice, friendly place to play pool, grab a drink, and hang out with some friends. Kinda like a downtown version of Golden Lions for a younger crowd.

Originally Posted by JefferyT

^
From back in the late 1980s nothing, and I mean nothing was as gay-seedy as the "Side Door" off that alley that now runs off Walnut next to Nicholsons (Ruth Lyons or Gano, forget the name). It was supposedly connected to the Subway via some sort of basement tunnel or passage (great gay urban legend)

Never heard of that rumor.....not that it would surprise me. Side Door never really seemed to have much of a crowd. Everyone was at Badlands and then later The Dock or Pipeline.....maybe Spurs. I remember Jacobers, too.....went to a couple of drag shows there. It was "ehh"....nothing special or glitzy. But then again, none of Cincinnati's gay bars were ever glitzy.

I remember the first time I went to the Copa in Fort Lauderdale....or was it Miami? .....anyway, the place was amazing compared to anything in Cincinnati. Multiple bars and rooms inside, several decks outside, glass block everywhere, contemporary/plush decor, lights galore. All Cincinnati had at that time was Badlands, and if any of you were ever in that place, you knew how dull, dark and dingey it was.

[JefferyT]

The Pipeline was more of the gay-yuppie crowd, from what I recall.

The Dock....i was once. What I liked best about the place was the patio directly under the L&N bridge, with the trains moving across the bridge approaches three stories overhead. Just was a neat spot or experience that one spot in the bar.

[aquila]

Yeah, I actually did like that part of The Dock, too. Great place to get away from the noise inside. I also liked the little deck in the front of the building that you accessed from the hallway between the front bar and the dance floor in back. Kinda small, but cozy.

[soozycue520]

The Dock has become more like what The Warehouse in OTR was. They have Goth Night, and is more a dance club with straights & gays, and has become a dive.

I haven't been to On Broadway since they opened. It was kinda nice.

Shooters, during the Christmas season, is decked out to the nines!! It is glitsy and shimmery & shiny. But only during the holiday season.

{And btw, fyi, I am a straight woman. I just like hanging out at a number of different places.}

[Ohiogirl81]

Originally Posted by JefferyT

^
From back in the late 1980s nothing, and I mean nothing was as gay-seedy as the "Side Door" off that alley that now runs off Walnut next to Nicholsons (Ruth Lyons or Gano, forget the name).

Is that the same place that used to house the Metro in the mid-80s? The Metro wasn't necessarily a gay club, but a lot of gays hung out there. The Wednesday night "talent shows" were legendary ... Buncha guys in drag lip-synching Culture Club songs, mostly. But great fun!

One night at the Metro, as I was standing near the stage I noticed a woman standing next to me: Beautiful red hair, fabulous figure, dressed in a black sheath dress, dripping rhinestones, black elbow-length gloves. A few minutes later, she spoke to someone nearby -- a deep, masculine voice. And in that instant, I knew that no matter how much I worked out or how much I weighed, that I would never look that good in that dress.

I have been depressed ever since. LOL.

[aquila]

No, Metro wasn't the same location as Side Door.

The entrance to Side Door was mid-way between Walnut and Ruth Lyons Ln, on the south side of Gano Alley. The entrance to Metro (known one time as the "Alley Cat" in the early 80s) was at the northwest corner at the intersection of Gano and Ruth Lyons.

[JefferyT]

I went to the Metro too, but for the music as I think they had live music there on occasion...punk/alternative stuff. I didn't really know it as a gay club, but i guess it was the first place to do that mixed-gay/str8 scene that you see more of nowadays.

[goyguy]

Originally Posted by restorationconsultant

If you look at cities like Indianapolis and Columbus Oh, they actively market their cities on a number of levels. I think one of the things that hurts Cincinnati is the negative attitude of people who live there about their city. In spite of everyone telling me not to move to the neighborhood we chose, we closed two weeks ago and have begun restoration on our home which we plan on being in by spring. We are moving from Indy. We were told the neighborhood was awful but last weekend we met several of our neighbors and they were residents who had either lived there for years or like us came in to restore a victorian house. I think 'selling" cincinnati to others has to start with the people who already live there. Peopl have no clue about the bargain cincinnati is, Property taxes are dirt cheap compared to Indy and thats a big plus!

This particular subject matter's been "done to death" here but that doesn't make it any less true. The negativity isn't so much toward the city itself as it is toward demographic trends. Various "ism's" are a part of American life in general, but racism and classism have always reared their ugly heads in Cincinnati to a major extent. Neighborhoods which contain Victorian houses and are said by White people to be "terrible" because of their current population include Price Hill, the East End, Hartwell, and Westwood. There are other areas too, but I bet the person I quoted has moved into one of those four. Price Hill got divvied up between "East" and "West" once the average income level on the side closer to downtown got lower. Now that racial/ethnic diversity has arrived the dividing line is more pronounced than ever despite most of the entire area's having become "mixed." As for the East End, it's viewed as a locality to steer clear of because it's always been a home for poor folks, mainly Appalachians since the early 20th Century. Gussying up some old dwellings and warehouses and renaming Eastern Ave "Riverside Drive" doesn't go all that far in changing attitudes. Hartwell, meanwhile, evolved from a middle- to upper-middle-class White enclave with a small "Jim Crow" section to primarily blue-collar Appalachian to its current multi-ethnic composition. And Westwood has gone from almost entirely German Catholic to a racial and religious melting pot. I personally have likes and dislikes about each of those communities and wouldn't discourage any prospective homeowner from settling in any of them. But the "majority" opinion in Cincinnati doesn't follow that.

The reality remains the same when we're talking about stopping and reversing the city's population decline. There has to be a lot less crime, to say nothing of fear of crime, and a drastic improvement in the public schools before the flight to ever-expanding suburbia slows down.

I got my share of raised eyebrows when I moved to the street I've lived on for sixteen years, for all the usual reasons. Then, toward the end of the '90s, the neighborhood suddenly became "hot" and specific street names were used in real-estate ads to help by-then overpriced properties change hands faster. So I applaud the quoted person's move and wish them similar luck to what I've experienced in Massachusetts.

[Ohiogirl81]

Originally Posted by JefferyT

I went to the Metro too, but for the music as I think they had live music there on occasion...punk/alternative stuff.

I saw the Libertines there on a number of occasions. *sigh* Good times.

[jlrosen]

It is amazing how "Cincinnati's Numbers Game" thread turned into the "Cincinnati Shady Gay Bars" thread