Not long after I first arrived here in Cincinnati, a newly christened, quasi-private, non-profit entity known by the implausibly catchy acronym of
3CDC (i.e. the "Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation") embarked on its noble mission to "strategically revitalize downtown Cincinnati's urban core," connecting Fountain Square, the Central Business District and Over-the-Rhine. Since 2004, under the watchful eye of President and CEO Stephen Leeper, over $197 million has been invested in these three districts.
Armed with an array of private and public funds and tax credits, 3CDC's first splashy project was the $48.9 million renovation and reconstruction of
Fountain Square and the problematic parking garage underneath (note, only $4 million of that total was from public funds). During my first summer here, I recall assessing my limited lunch options, grabbing a pedestrian lunch of mediocrity at Subway, and heading to the Square, which, at the time, was a brutalist slab of neo-Soviet assembly-style architecture with all the charm of, surprisingly enough, a cement plaza in the heart of the city. Its saving grace, however, was its namesake, the glorious, splendiferous fountain known as the "Genius of Water."
To howls of criticism, most of which boiled down to the "I-used-to-be-able-to-see-the-fountain-while-driving-by-in-my-car-and-now-they're-going-to-move-it-and-I-don't-want-to-get-out-of-my-car" variety, the 2006 reconstruction of the Square (and concomitant northward relocation of said fountain), facilitated a wholesale revitalization of the square. Like ripples in a pond, concentric waves of investment to the tune of $125+ million and still counting spread outward from the epicenter known as the Genius of Water. Suffice it to say, lunch options have also increased exponentially.
The ensuing blitz of Square programming, headed up by 3CDC Square svengali, Bill Donabedian, resulted in a potpourri of year-round events, both day and night. To this day, Donabedian and team continue to refine and tweak the programming mix, while record crowds brave heat stroke in the summer and frostbite in the winter in order to partake of the Square's multitude of activities and concerts.
In short, it's been a huge success.
Turning our steely gaze northward, to Over-the-Rhine, we spy 3CDC's much-documented (in these pages and elsewhere)
Gateway Quarter project yielding similar concentric ripples of investment.
Moving a few blocks to the West, however, lies
Washington Park. The nearly six acre park, once used as Presbyterian, German Protestant, United Methodist and Episcopal burying grounds, now serves as an often garbage-strewn hangout for area residents, dog walkers, drug dealers, the homeless and the activists who use them for their own glorification and personal agendas. Last week, 3CDC initiated what is expected to be an 18-month reconstruction of the park (as well as an underground parking garage), cordoning off a two acre site in the northern half, encompassing the former playground and pool, and signaling the commencement of this ambitious, $47.3 million project. The project will create an estimated 920 construction jobs, and is already spurring spinoff projects at 14th and Race, including the Saengerhalle office building, Westfalen Lofts and Phase II of City Homes, all under the auspices of 3CDC.
Although it has come not without some level of controversy (the aforementioned grandstanding homeless activists, concerned neighbors, tree-lovers, basketball and deep water swimming aficionados), the project has a litany of oft-described amenities that will greatly enhance the park's usefulness as a vibrant focal point in Over-the-Rhine. The dog park, a state of the art playground, interactive water features, bandstand, performance stages and an expansive lawn the size of a football field - all of this will make the (soon to be) eight acre park an invaluable resource to both the neighborhood, the city and the region. With
Music Hall soon to embark on its own $92.5 million (!) renovation plan, coupled with the just opened
School for the Creative and Performing Arts across the street to the South, not to mention the streetcar bookending the park on both Race, Elm and possibly 12th, Washington Park stands to become one of the major gathering points in the basin, rivaling Sawyer Point and Fountain Square in the process.
All told, it's looking like 18 months to the finish line, and excavation has just now begun. Peering over the fence last week, the scene looked like a mini-Indiana Jones dig, as archeological consultants from
Gray & Pape sifted dirt and dug meticulous little, tent-covered trenches so as to carefully disinter and catalog whatever remains still lie in the ground from the park's former use as a cemetery. Back in 1855, city officials were worried that "miasmas" - vapors rising from the corpses - were a public health menace, so they bought the land for the park and moved the bodies to
Spring Grove Cemetery. Obviously, they missed a few bodies, as workers were uncovering parts of a toe, hand, foot, and…as of Thursday, a skull and rib cage. We can only hope no miasmas were released in the process.
As far as programming is concerned, it will be interesting to see how the 3CDC crew utilizes the resources at Washington Park vis-à-vis Fountain Square. In discussing the topic with Donabedian, he observed that the Park will be more nostalgic, more neighborhood oriented and more family-friendly. "Where Fountain Square is like email, Washington Park is like snail mail," he noted. In this sense, while they may show movies on Friday or even Sunday, the movies will be more in the vein of classic films, in stark contrast to the more blockbuster-oriented fare shown on the Square. Other opportunities include those festivals that will most likely outgrow Fountain Square (the newly relocated
Celtic Fest and the rapidly growing
Beerfest come to mind). In addition, the expansive permanent stage and vast, football field-sized lawn area provide for a much wider array of concert and performance options, perhaps in conjunction with the Symphony, SCPA and other arts-related organizations.
Donabedian also pointed to other areas of the park which would be suitable for smaller-scale options - small ensembles or piano players in the bandstand while patrons lounged on benches under strings of Tivoli lights; childrens' shows in the playground; even the dog park for…um….dog concerts. Obviously the options in the park are far more prevalent than the Square. And the lawn…that lawn…that great, big 37,000 square foot expanse of (soon to be) green outside Music Hall's front door - the lawn could be programmed for a variety of events, in every season. Where Fountain Square has winter broomball leagues, the Washington Park lawn could have winter flag football leagues; spring soccer; summer wiffleball; kickball; kick the can…whatever. The possibilities are endless (might I suggest a "MiasmaFest" at Halloween?). Donabedian even suggested the possibility of a winter Christkindlesmarkt, a traditional German holiday market, which would take place in a massive tent featuring traditional gift kiosks, an indoor skating rink, perhaps even a train encircling the space.
Barring any Poltergeist-like obstacles ("do NOT go into the light, Stephen Leeper!"), look for the grand opening of Washington Park to be in spring, 2012. The concentric ripples of investment surrounding it, however, have already begun. With a streetcar also slated to start running in 2012, this section of Over the Rhine should be ready to roll.
Photography by Scott Beseler
Over the Rhine model
Fountain Square
Memorial Hall by way of Washington Park
Worker uncovers skeletal remains
Excavation at Washington Park