Disappointment - Cincinnati: is this really it? (North College Hill, Cheviot: section 8, safe neighborhoods)

[motorman]

Originally Posted by rrtechno

Visited briefly (during an elevator ride in the hotel) with a couple who had spent Friday night downtown, staying at a hotel downtown. They came to town for the Reds game and took in some other attractions on Saturday while there. This was their first trip to Cincinnati and they commented on how impressed they were with the entire Cincinnati area. Said they hoped they were able to return again soon.

Thanks for sharing this refreshing observation about Cincinnati--the perfect anecdote to counter all the hostile bantering that preceded it. (my own included)

[flashes1]

I stayed downtown Saturday night for the Reds-Tigers game, and the whole area was buzzed with excitement. It didn't hurt that there were a ton of Tigers' fans in town for the game, but there was just a whole lot of fun going on. At 1:00 Saturday afternoon, the Lagerhouse was jammed pack for the 4:10 game-----so we went to the Holy Grail for pregame festivities.....the inside was jammed and the outside was probably at 75% capacity. Fountain Square as humming after the game----they had a hip-hop concert that attracted a lot of younger people. Toby Keiths was filled Saturday night, the only place that wasn't busy was Crave (maybe too fancy for The Banks?)----which surprised me because it's new and it looks very nice inside. Anyone have the scoop on Crave?

I don't get out as much as I used to, but the 20 something girls were dressed up a lot more than they did in my day-----a lot of them wearing cocktail dresses----while I'm not complaining---I'm just curious if that's a one-off thing is it what girls wear out nowadays?

[kjbrill]

Originally Posted by rrtechno

Visited briefly (during an elevator ride in the hotel) with a couple who had spent Friday night downtown, staying at a hotel downtown. They came to town for the Reds game and took in some other attractions on Saturday while there. This was their first trip to Cincinnati and they commented on how impressed they were with the entire Cincinnati area. Said they hoped they were able to return again soon.

Thanks for relating this. It is good to see people new to the area having a favorable impression of Cincinnati. It indicates a lot of things are going right, particularly downtown.

[CinciFan]

Originally Posted by flashes1

Anyone have the scoop on Crave?

Crave's official opening wasn't until today.

[TomJones123]

With the amount of people who frequent The Banks, Crave should do just fine.

[flashes1]

Originally Posted by CinciFan

Crave's official opening wasn't until today.

That would probably explain why there weren't that many people there Saturday! It looked nice inside. The location is great, and it's a step up from the Lagerhouse in terms of dining atmostphere----I love the Lagerhouse but it's definetely a micro-brewery that serves food---whereas Crave looks like a nice restaurant.

[Butchie Boy]

I've never been to Baltimore,but I have been to the Natti....and I like it a lot!! I think it has a lot of "old city" character and charm;from the Stroebling suspension bridge to the intimate back streets of Over the Rhine. OTR puts me in the mind of Harlem...somewhat intimidating,yet alluring! I love the vibe of the area,ie "Findley Market"and "Music Hall". I love the chocked,intimate skyline accented by its many eclectic bridges. I think it's one of the most beautiful cities in the country bar none!! My only regrets for Cincy is it didn't get that subway finished that it started in the early part of the 20th century.The tunnels and stations are still there....just waiting to be finished? I think it would be a boon to the city if that could be pulled off! I know...it's all about politics and funding. With that said;I've only been to Baltimore by way of pics,videos,and google maps and from what I can glean from them I like what I see and I'm looking forward to going there someday.I think Cincy and Baltimore are two old and unique cities with lots to offer.That's my two cents!!

[kjbrill]

Butchie Boy...

I believe you have things relatively in the right order. Both Baltimore and Cincinnati have a lot of history. Baltimore, being older, larger, and also east coast, developed I believe a higher degree of urban blight (polite word for slums). Baltimore has some rejuvenation but in my opinion far more to go compared to Cincinnati.

Cincinnati is fortunate in that its footprint was constrained by the hills along the river. So the downtown which is being rejuvenated now is frankly not all that large. So there is a smaller land mass to have to reconstruct. But it is also the reason why there is a disconnect between the downtown core and the inner neighborhoods up on the hills surrounding it.

The one suburb, and yes I consider it a suburb even though just a Cincinnati neighborhood is Hyde Park. Even though so close to downtown, it is miles away in character. There is a reason why so many keep referencing it as a place to live for transplants.

The eastern neighborhoods have hung on pretty well. Some, like Pleasant Ridge I believe have actually improved recently. Others, like Madisonville need major transfusions. Mt Washington also seems to be fading. This was one of the finest neighborhoods in Cincinnati when I was a young man (think 1960s). So it disturbs me whenever I hear areas there have become rough (crime-ridden).

But my biggest concern is for the west side neighborhoods. Places like Price Hill, College Hill, Westwood, and the like. They were the stalwarts of the blue-collar neighborhoods of Cincinnati. Solid people working at good jobs at places like P&G plus dozens more across Cincinnati.

P&G was a soft industry. How much more soft can soap and toilet paper be, as they always advertise those attributes? Something which a lot of people use. Barney Kroger and his wagon fit right in there, most of us like to eat something daily.

Our hard industries have had a much harder row to hoe. Cincinnati was once the machine tool capital of the world. We also had Ford Fairfax, Ford Batavia, and Ford Sharonville as major auto plants, providing quite a few thousand well paying jobs. Add to that GM Fischer Body in Norwood, a major car body assembly plant. As these factories disappear we have a much tougher job providing what was the middle class of America.

We keep hearing that healthcare is the growth area. It is also the strangulation industry, strangling such things as Medicare and our senior citizens, strangling the health care costs of our private businesses, strangling the country as a whole. If the government simply exited the health care business there would be a totally different dynamic involved with it. The healthcare industry simply cannot exist without huge government subsidies.

[Rikishi me]

True story...my husband and i were being relocated to cincinnatinfrom another Midwest town. Company had realtor call me and ask me what my qualifications were...standard 4 bedroom 3 bath blah blah blah home.... She called me back and faxed me back listings in our price range to come and look at and come see... What was interesting was these homes were only on the east side.... The only prerequisite I forgot to mention was we were born and raised on the west side and had every intent of having our son attend a certain high shool on the west side. At that point she said "I can't help you". She refused to show us homes on the west side because it 1 she did not know the market and 2 why in the world would we want to move there?

She didn't understand that the high school thing is a component of some ofmournhistory.... It is not a status social economic thing that some have spoke if...it is a connection to the community ...past, present and future. It is a connection that is all... A start of a conversation.... It doesn't define us but becomes a start....

We moved to the westnside after having a home built.... And living downtown for a year while thatnhomemwas being built. We will be moving back downtown when we become empty nesters in the near future.

Don't discount the west side..... Many roots are there that you see in 'older' cities on the coast.....
Just a thought

[neilworms2]

(I'm going to be a bit harsh here, this is an aspect of Cincy culture that I never really understood.)

^- You could also argue its very provincial. What place that has a more cosmopolitan population cares about High School? To cite Chicago, only the areas that are the old line neighborhoods, like Bridgeport, Franklin Park and Beverly care, I never have been asked that since I moved away from Cincy. Also, high school really isn't that important in today's world, College is a much better guage of ones educational background and even then that doesn't really translate into things like ability or talent.

I never really understood the aversion to getting out of the west side either, live a little, see life from a different perspective is my philosophy - being a stick in the mud only due to tradition is not good. While tradition is a wonderful thing that defines culture, it also can be a crutch that hurts people from accepting different perspectives (or at least hearing them out). Tradition should be celebrated and honored, as a part of people's definition of who they are and what makes them and their city unique and how it is an attractive place for others not as a small minded "we're from here you are not" mentality. Its weird because I feel Cincy could use a bit more of the "celebrate our heritage and let everyone know about it" mindset and a lot less of the "our heritage makes live where we live and will always live and never change" mindset.