5th Annual Over-the-Rhine home tour
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5th Annual Over-the-Rhine home tour | American Legacy Tours
August 23, 2. How Cincinnati guide Sherry went from army rebel to city expert For you history buffs out there: To relax Across the street from gorgeous Music Hall is Washington Park, which is the perfect place to chill out for a day. To eat OTR is by far the place to go for foodies. Best waffles in town Photo by Sherry Hopkins. Would you like a Stoned Businessman? Photo by Sherry Hopkins.
How to have a golden era star-studded day in LA. Christine 1 September 16, Questions linger, such as how is all the aforementioned remaining work going to be completed, and at what cost—this is still, in some areas very visibly, a poor neighborhood, one that not very long ago was by some metrics considered to be one of the most dangerous in the nation. In addition, it is not entirely unclear what role the residents who stuck it out will play in this new, more prosperous Over-The-Rhine. For now, however, celebrating a most improbable comeback feels like the right thing to do, and you will likely not be surprised to learn that a lot of the turnaround has to do with the growth of the local food scene.
Cincinnati has always had one of those, and a proper exploration will lead you all over the city, into rustic chili parlors and sparkling downtown dining rooms, out into the hills and across the river to Kentucky, but there is so much going on right here in Over-The-Rhine at the moment, complimenting the market and the other classic spots that held on tight through it all, that a thorough investigation of the neighborhood is all but required.
With your two feet, the city's Red Bike program and the Bell Connector light rail, a whirlwind day in this fascinating neighborhood is easily accomplished, all without the aid of a car. Here's how you do it.
A short, now mostly appealing walk from most downtown hotels, the lower bit of Over-The-Rhine—that is to say, the part between Central Parkway and Liberty Street—is where you'll find much of what's new and noteworthy. This is also the part of the neighborhood most ready for primetime, and of the two thriving main drags in this section, Vine Street and Main Street, Main feels the most like the organic heart of the sort of neighborhood we all seem to want to be living in, nowadays.
It's a small room, and you'll hear everything. Can't make it all the way here without your morning jolt? The barbershop is still as it was, but now you'll immediately spot a handsome little La Marzocco machine through the window, right as you walk up; brothers Tony and Austin Ferrari, both with years of industry experience in San Francisco under their belt, have chosen this as their first project back home.
You're going to be eating a proper breakfast soon enough, but it wouldn't be wise to pass up the pastry at the fashionable Brown Bear Bakery , a relatively new arrival that has quickly become a favorite morning hangout for the neighborhood. Not so much about the new, hot thing? On Vine Street, local donut king Holtman's maintains a cheerful, modern shop, bridging the divide between the classic and the nouveau, all while keeping prices reasonable.
Back when the pickings were slim in Over-The-Rhine, there was Tucker's —if you're hungry for the kind of breakfast that will fill you up for just a few bucks in some cases, including a generous tip , here's where you come. Located not far from the Findlay Market area, you're now in the part of Over-The-Rhine that looks a lot like the entire neighborhood used to look, which is to say more than a little shabby, but soldier on, anyway.
For something more traditionally glamorous, walk all the way up to the market, where on a prominent corner facing the main hall, you'll find French Crust. Part of a mini-empire belonging to local industry vet Jean-Robert de Cavel, this bright, camera-ready spot is all sparkle, but the menu is pretty much classic.
Navigation menu
Go European with a carbs and caffeine breakfast, or splash out for an omelet, or even pancakes with maple butter. Say, did you eat yet? The first thing to know about Findlay Market is that it's really a neighborhood, with a long shed running down the middle of the central square; what's around the enclosed, operated year-round hall is just as important as what's inside, and for a clear demonstration, find your way to Eckerlin Meats. On a side street just to the north of the square, this classic butcher shop since !
Look for the guy in the corner, who will fry up some of the housemade goetta it's a Cincinnati thing, a scrapple-like meat mush, but with oats—slightly funky, and incredibly delicious and serve it on a soft roll with egg and cheese. In , the government required German men who had not become naturalized citizens to register as alien enemies. Some businesses with German names changed them to survive the anti-war sentiment.
Although the effort to gain Prohibition of alcohol had long been part of late nineteenth-century reform movements, during the war it became associated with anti-German sentiment. People who opposed Prohibition were accused of being "pro-German". Most saloons and breweries tried to serve and brew " near beer " and soft drinks, but few survived.
By the end of the s, the demise of the Cincinnati brewing industry was virtually complete, and the city's three most prominent breweries were permanently closed—Moerlein, Hauck, and Windisch-Muhlhauser. The Miami and Erie canal became obsolete as a means of transportation, and was abandoned by the city in Central Parkway, which follows the path of the canal, runs over top of the subway system's tunnels. Construction of the subway stalled halfway through the project, as the city was overcome by unexpected inflation following World War I. Distractions by the Great Depression , World War II, and subsequent popularity of the automobile prevented the city from ever gaining enough local support to finish it.
Starting in the s, the city government decided to take drastic efforts to revitalize Cincinnati.
This Midwest Neighborhood Is Home to One of the Country's Most Promising Food Scenes
The city intended to clear older buildings and homes which had fallen into disrepair. In the s some attempts were made to secure business loans for the clearance of the West End and Over-the-Rhine, but all failed due to the lack of local financing. In the s the booming war-stimulated industrial economy had drawn hundreds of thousands of migrants from Appalachia to cities such as Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, and Cincinnati.
In the s the "mountaineers" were so prevalent that the city had plans to use Over-the-Rhine as a "port of entry" for all white Appalachian migrants. During the s and s the city constructed the Mill Creek Expressway , now part of I , to accommodate the vastly increased use of cars. Its construction, along with the Queensgate industrial development and various public housing projects, meant the destruction of the West End , a historically black neighborhood.
Many moved into housing vacancies in nearby Over-the-Rhine, where they lived among the poor and working-class white Appalachians. The conversion of Over-the-Rhine into a black neighborhood was a result of " white flight " to the suburbs. Newer housing and more space was available, new highways made commuting easier, and some jobs shifted to the suburbs.
In Over-the-Rhine some buildings still didn't have running water. The suburbs were also perceived as much safer. The Cincinnati Strangler , a black man who raped and murdered six white women in the mids, aggravated racist phobias. The black population peaked at about 7, in , but was still relatively small compared to the 27, whites who had occupied the neighborhood just 20 years earlier. From to Over-the-Rhine lost both black and white residents, but lost white residents at a higher rate. In , an unemployed artist took a local newsroom hostage after murdering his girlfriend in his Over-the-Rhine apartment.
In the s and s, the city created many social service facilities in Over-the-Rhine, but concentrated redevelopment projects in the central business district. Buddy Gray , the Drop Inn Center homeless shelter owner [64] was known in City Hall for an "in-your-face, shout-them-down style of confrontation".
Why you should visit Over-the-Rhine
It also supported mixed-income and private development in Over-the-Rhine, but only if policies were put in place to protect the current residents from being pushed out. Historic preservationists saw Over-the-Rhine as an "irreplaceable architectural and historic resource" and wanted it added to the National Register of Historic Places to help protect it.
He asserted this would lead to displacement of the poor. In , at the public hearing for Over-the-Rhine's nomination to the National Register of Historic Places , Buddy Gray rallied some protesters to the event. Gray and his allies forced a three-year delay on the Register's decision. Buddy Gray vowed to make the expansion of low-income housing in Over-the-Rhine his top priority.
Jim Tarbell , "the most adamant and voluble opponent" of Gray's plan, [88] warned that it guaranteed the persistence of Over-the-Rhine as "a predominantly black enclave of poverty and despair", but City Council ignored him, believing the plan was a compromise. Over the next seven years the plan failed to produce balance in its residential population, nor did it attract commercial or industrial initiatives.
