We need to fight for the streetcars!!

As expected, there are already efforts being made by opponents to the streetcar system to block our city from getting any state funding for the project. As highlighted in THIS ARTICLE, our "wonderful" republican lawmakers are trying to stomp out this project as any good conservatively minded politician would. Its time to step up to the plate and fight for the future of our city. It is absolutely critical that we not let this project slip through the cracks and be stomped out by unjustified opposition from people who have no interest in the future of our city. If we just sit back and let them make such ignorant statments ["It has zero support at present" (Ohio Sen. Bill Seitz)] then we could lose the whole project before we even realize it.
My first suggestion is that we start by writing our Congressmen and demanding support for our system. Our city is asking for very little when you compare it to how much is spent annually on other forms of transportation such as highways. They want to make it seem like there is no support for the system. WE NEED TO SHOW THEM THAT THEY ARE WRONG! Please send emails, letters, and even make phone calls on a daily basis if you want to see this project happen. These politicians are capable of putting up a good fight, but we can easily out number them if we truly try. We have to move fast! Don't let them stomp us out before we even have a say!
Here is all the contact information you need:
Info on how to contact them: HERE and HERE
Example of how to address your letters:
The Honorable ___________
Ohio House of Representatives
77 South High Street
Columbus, Ohio 43215-6111
Rep. Michelle Schneider
Sen. Bill Seitz
The rest of your Senators
The rest of your Representatives
Please write me or respond in the comments section with any other suggestions for how we can organize and make a difference.

***Another thing I wanted to add is that I seem to notice a lot of confusion as to what exactly is meant by the term "Streetcar." It seems as if many people assume we're talking about tiny, little "trolley's" like you would see on Mr. Roger's. This is not what the streetcars will be like at all! They will essentially look like small subway trains, exactly like the ones seen in Portland, OR and throughout Europe. CLICK HERE to watch a video of what a modern day streetcar system looks like in operation. This is what Cincinnati is planning on bringing to our town!

New Blog: The Banks Blog

This looks like it will be a great way to keep up to date on whats happening with the Banks project. What a great idea! Check it out...THE BANKS BLOG

The Streetcars Have Passed!

According to people here who actually attended the finance meeting this morning, it looks like the streetcars have passed unanimously. This is great news. Now we all wait in suspense for the 2pm general council meeting that will have the final say with the "go ahead" for the project. I will update this post as I learn more.

***Update***
The streetcars have passed!
Enquirer Article

Streetcars: Email City Council Today!

Word on the street is that the streetcars go before the Finance commitee Wednesday (tomorrow) at 9am. If it passes that morning, it could also pass before the entire council that same afternoon.
Please email the council members and urge them not to delay this vote any longer! Tell them how much you want to see streetcars downtown now! Your emails can make a big difference!
Here's the proof its going to be discussed:
Notice of Meeting
Enquirer Article
Here are their addresses, including Mayor Mallory:
mark.mallory@cincinnati-oh.gov
david.crowley@cincinnati-oh.gov
laketa.cole@cincinnati-oh.gov
jeff.berding@cincinnati-oh.gov
chris.bortz@cincinnati-oh.gov
john.cranley@cincinnati-oh.gov
leslie.ghiz@cincinnati-oh.gov
chris.monzel@cincinnati-oh.gov
roxanne.qualls@cincinnati-oh.gov
cecil.thomas@cincinnati-oh.gov

Spring on Orchard Street

Spring time in Over the Rhine sure is a nice sight to see!
Here are a couple of pictures taken on Orchard St., right off Main. Our good friends Mandy and Pete are moving here and I just had to showcase how nice their new street is. If you didn't know any better you might think that this was somewhere in NYC. They're so lucky!

Streetcar Vote Today Finally...

Enquirer Article

This could be the day we finally hear some confirmative information from City Council. Keep your fingers crossed!

***Update***
Well, looks like they didn't vote on it after all! I don't know why they keep dragging their feet on this issue, but its getting pretty ridiculous. They said they only needed 2 more weeks to "come up with the language" necessary to get the streetcars in motion, but that was 4 weeks ago now! Come on City Council, lets get something done with this!
Remember to write your council members reminding them that you want to see results now. See my post below for the council members email addresses.

New Link added: PROJECTMILL

In this post I'd like to introduce everyone to a relatively new creative organization that Cincinnati is certainly lucky to have. Its called PROJECTMILL.
Here's what its all about:
"PROJECTMILL is, more or less, a creative collective of all types of
artists. It's not a club, it's not a company. But it's a network.
The point of it is to be an outlet and an opportunity for artists
(presently just in Cincinnati, but it could expand) to be able to
bring a "project" to the table and seek help, guidance, advice,
support, opinions, equipment, or whatever else from all the other
"projectors" (that's what PROJECTMILL members are called) in the
network. We want productive people encouraging productive people to
be productive so that cool stuff gets made.
PROJECTMILL promotes collective creativity. It is an umbrella under
which a whole bunch of different creative people can stand. It's an
institution, like a university, and all these people have different
majors and different interests and different friends, but everyone's
diploma says PROJECTMILL."
PROJECTMILL is currently made up of the following members: Mandy Levy, Pete Ohs, Joshua Mattie, Kevin Bayer. They've already come up with a very impressive collection of videos, mostly showcasing various bands that they came across at the SXSW music festival. There's lots of great stuff on the site already and I'm told that there will be tons more in the near future.
I highly recommend checking out their site. If you have any questions or would like to get in touch with the projectors themselves feel free to post in the comments section or go to their site for contact info.
On a side note, I'd also like to mention that Mandy and Pete are going to be moving to OTR in the next couple of weeks. So, now OTR will have two new awesome creative minds walking the streets. Additionally, I've been told there may be some videos promoting OTR and its history coming out in the near future. Keep your eyes open for that!

New Link and Event this weekend

Cincinnati Locavore has been added to my blogroll and I wanted to take a minute to direct you over to their site for a look at their post about this weekend's "Findlay Market Farmshed Spring Kick-off" going on this Saturday, April 19.
Check out the post here

Brewery Tour Photos

Sunday I had the opportunity to attend the Prohibition Resistance Tour in Over the Rhine's Brewery District. I can assure everyone that it was well worth the money for what turned out to be an awesome day of touring Over the Rhine, visiting breweries, and sampling beer at Findlay Market. The opportunity to see the sub-basement of the former Kauffman Brewery, now called the Guild Haus, was by far the most amazing part. I have way too many pictures to post them all here. However, I've posted a few below to show a glimpse of some of the sights we got to see on Sunday. I've also added many of the photos to my photo section. I highly recommend this tour the next time they offer it.
Enjoy!
Here's a shot of the Guild Haus from Vine St.

Here is the hole in the floor of the basement leading to the sub-basement

Here's what it looks like 40-50 feet below street level!


It was really an incredible sight to see. It felt like we were on an expedition to dig up Egyptian tombs or something! Instead, we were exploring a part of Cincinnati's past that very few people even know exists. We were all shocked at how enormous the structures underground are. There were at least 3 rooms the size of the one pictured and many more smaller rooms connecting. There was also a passage way shown in the photo section that was originally a connection to another building on the other side of the street. The tunnels are still intact and accessible.
The size of the structures really speaks volumes about the huge amount of beer this city used to consume. Its really exciting to think that there could be many more underground facilities like this under the streets of Over the Rhine just waiting to be found. This weekend really renewed my astonishment of the rich history that Over the Rhine possesses. Hopefully the efforts of the Over the Rhine Brewery District and other historical preservation organizations will continue to uncover more about Over the Rhine's history and use it to promote the neighborhood and enlighten everyone about Cincinnati's past.

This is an old "upscale" bar that would have probably been known as an "opera house" when it was in its prime. This was a building worthy of taking a date to.

Former Christian Morlein Buildings, future site of the Cincinnati Beer Co.

The new Clyffside Lofts building!

Brewery District Events this weekend

This weekend is a big weekend for the OTR Brewery District.

-First, they will be holding the Prohibition Resistance Tour which was rescheduled due to weather from back in March.

-The unveiling of a new Ohio Historical Marker that honors Cincinnati’s brewing history is scheduled for friday at 3pm.

-Shortly after, the Clyffside Development Company and Comey & Shepard will hold the groundbreaking for “The Clyffside”, which is a new condo development project in Over-the-Rhine’s Brewery District.

-Finally, the Brewery District is reopening the doors of the Moerlein OTR Ale Haus from Saturday, April 12th through Sunday the 13th, 2008. New beers will be unveiled along with old favorites being served. Information can be found HERE.

This should be an exciting weekend. I'll be posting pictures of the Prohibition resistance tour next week along with any other shots I get over the weekend.

The Streetcars Need Your Help

This Monday April 7, 2008 is the next date for the City Council to vote to move ahead with the Streetcar project. As reported on March 25, council members decided they needed two more weeks to gather their thoughts and finalize their decisions on the Streetcar project. Monday is that 2 week date and it could potentially be the last step needed to make the streetcars a reality for Cincinnati. Please take the time this weekend to send the council members your thoughts and urge them to move forward with the streetcars. It is absolutely imperative that they stop delaying this any longer and vote to move forward now. If you let them know that you are tired of delays and you want to see action it can really make a difference. I've made emailing them easy for everyone. The council members' email addresses are listed below. Simply copy and paste them into your email. Monday morning their email boxes will be full of support for the streetcars and they will go into the meeting remembering that! Thanks for your help, you will be helping to make a difference in Cincinnati!

david.crowley@cincinnati-oh.gov
laketa.cole@cincinnati-oh.gov
jeff.berding@cincinnati-oh.gov
chris.bortz@cincinnati-oh.gov
john.cranley@cincinnati-oh.gov
leslie.ghiz@cincinnati-oh.gov
chris.monzel@cincinnati-oh.gov
roxanne.qualls@cincinnati-oh.gov
cecil.thomas@cincinnati-oh.gov

New Stores to Open in Over the Rhine: "Outside" and Rookwood Pottery!

"Outside" will be the newest addition to the Gateway Quarter's line up of retail stores in Over the Rhine. The store will carry a collection of unique and hard to find outdoor decor. The owner reports that he is not only targeting Urban dwellers, but also people from outside the city. I hope this store does become a regional destination as he suspects because it will really help draw more and more positive attention to the Over the Rhine neighborhood. Its also interesting to note that the owner originally had plans to open in Covington until he found out about all the great stuff going on in Over the Rhine. This is great news for Cincinnati. We are now able to attract new businesses that in years past wouldn't have even considered Cincinnati. Welcome to the neighborhood!
Enquirer Article: Outside

Also, another very exciting announcement: The Rookwood Pottery Co. is moving its central headquarters to a building near Findlay Market! It plans on moving as early as July of this year. Apparently they have been searching for a new place for the last couple of years. Luckily with the streetcars coming and the buildings proximity to findlay market, the owners saw a very smart opportunity to move to a great location with lots of potential for growth. Again this is great news for Over the Rhine and the City of Cincinnati. This is absolute proof that a streetcar line is a very worthwhile investment. We already have businesses moving to the area for the streetcars and the streetcars aren't even in yet!
Enquirer Article: Rookwood

Vintage Union Terminal Documentary

This is a must see documentary made in 1980 called "Died Young." Its kind of a depressing title for a film about such an amazing piece of art deco architecture, but the film itself is not depressing at all. In fact its overall message is quite positive. I really enjoyed watching this. Theres tons of old footage from when it was first built all the way up to when it was shut down. Also, it has a good narrative that tells the history of the terminal quite well. It really seems like a much older documentary then it really is I think in part because the narrator talks in a very 1940s news reel style. Its definitely fun to watch, check it out!
Union Terminal Documentary

More on the Union Terminal's 75th

I've already posted about this once, but its something I feel strongly enough about that there's probably going to be many more posts to come on this subject. The Cincinnati Enquirer has set up a very nice interactive website/special section that you can view HERE
There's tons of information, articles, pictures, and videos all about my favorite Cincinnati building. One feature I thought was especially nice was the video section they posted. They asked various people to tell stories about their memories of the Union Terminal and many of them are really neat to hear. I highly recommend checking them all out, especially the ones from people who actually remember riding the trains and even working at the terminal.
There are lots of awesome opportunities to tour the building and see parts of it not currently on display throughout the spring and summer. More to come soon.

Union Terminal 75th

The Banks Project Groundbreaking Today

This is an event that a lot of people said would never happen. I'm happy to see that the project is finally underway. Cincinnati can now look forward to competing with Newport for its Riverfront attractions. There's even a nice aerial photo in the article below from the 1940s...No I-75, no ugly stadiums, and you can still see how extensive "the bottoms" area of the city was. There's a nice narrative in the article below that describes the history of the area very nicely. Definitely worth reading.
Enquirer Article

The Overhead Wire Link Added

I've added a great new link to "The Overhead Wire" blog in the streetcar links section and blogroll. This site is packed full of all sorts of great info. Check them out!
The Overhead Wire