Success is forged in the most incendiary of failures. Or, to put it another way, "if at first you don't succeed, try, try again."
Yes, that's right, there's nothing like kicking off a column with one of the most shopworn clichés in the repertoire. But never fear, dear readers, while despite the conversational aspect of this opening, your humble Soapdish scrivener has no intention of inundating you with a cavalcade of folksy aphorisms and homey anecdotes masquerading as a syndicated newspaper column. No…the cliché cited above is most apt under the circumstances, as the intent here is to survey five real-life failures in our fair region--some of which you may not be familiar, others all too familiar - and demonstrate how failure, ultimately, can lead to even greater success down the road. But perhaps "failure" is too strong a word. Let's just call it a "less than optimum outcome."
It is difficult to imagine
the Contemporary Arts Center inhabiting any location other than Zaha Hadid's architectural icon at 6th and Main. However, as many of you know, prior to moving into the chic new digs in 1993, the
CAC previously occupied a now rather dated (and vacant) space located just East of 5th and Walnut. The 10,000 square foot space (the ground floor level of which is currently rumored to be a future brewpub) was at the Northern end of a two story arcade.
Back in the early 1990's, the CAC, on a year-to year lease and enduring some growing pains, was casting about for possible new locations. According to name benefactor/philanthropist Dick Rosenthal, one of those spaces was the then-empty Emery Building on Central Parkway. The CAC decided to move forward with an "annex" gallery on the first floor, a space formerly used as a machine shop for the Ohio Mechanic's Institute/College of Applied Sciences, the former long-time occupant of the building. Discussions ensued as to relocating the CAC permanently to the building, as well as consolidating ALL of the city and regional arts organizations (at least the administrative portions thereof) under the Emery's roof. Committees and sub-committees were no doubt tasked with investigating ad nauseum the feasibility of such a move.
Ultimately, the CAC's annex gallery proved to be less than successful, while the conversion of the Emery, after in-depth analysis and exploration, was determined to be too costly. The ultimate outcome, however, yielded what Rosenthal referred to as a "win/win" scenario. The CAC ends up in an acclaimed facility which reenergized downtown; the Emery converts to
a successful apartment complex rejuvenating downtown with residents; while the former annex gallery becomes the Coffee Emporium, providing those residents with necessary caffeine, sustenance and an invaluable "third place" in the neighborhood.
Next up -
Cincinnati's Union Terminal. While many oooh and ahhh at the stunning architecture and design of this streamlined Art Deco masterpiece, it is notable to recognize that the current Museum Center's success was borne out of some rather dicey failures in the past. Beginning on October 28, 1972, when the last Amtrak train pulled out, numerous plans came and fizzled in the hope of saving the historic structure. In the interim, the Southern Railway Company bought the station for $10 million, ultimately tearing down the concourses (although the classic Winhold Reiss mosaic murals were removed and, ironically enough, installed at the airport). Nevertheless, a number of proposals were feverishly hatched (and dismissed), including a bus terminal as well as a relocation of the School for Performing and Creative Arts.
Ultimately, the City purchased the structure for the tidy sum of $2, plus $1 million for the land, and subsequently leased it in 1977 to a Columbus-based mall developer. The new "mall" was to be called "Oz." In hindsight, it's not hard to see where this one is going, but the mall opened to much fanfare on August 4, 1980, with over 20,000 shoppers that first day. The mall featured an F.A.O. Schwartz toy store, Loehmann's discount clothing store, a Doubleday book store, a diamond exchange (?) and a variety of boutiques.
The mall lost most of its tenants by 1984. But despite the failure of the mall, a glimmer of hope was on the horizon. In 1984 Verner E. Johnson, a museum planning firm in Boston, started a site survey to determine the best location for a joint new home for the Cincinnati Historical Society and the Cincinnati Museum of Natural History. The firm looked at five sites in depth, concluding that Union Terminal was the best location. In May of 1986 the voters of Hamilton County approved a bond issue that covered most of the costs to renovate Union Terminal for the new museum center. The
Museum Center opened to the public in November 1990, and will celebrate its 20th Anniversary this fall.
And while it's certainly no Loehman's, 1.4 million visitors a year come to Union Terminal. It is being used 353 days a year for millions of families and thousands of schools, teachers, children and community groups. It is a national historic landmark, and has received
the nation's highest honor for museums given by the Institute of Museum & Library Services.
Broadway Commons. Back in 1996 or so, two sites emerged as front-runners for the new Reds stadium - the current site on the riverfront, and Broadway Commons. For over a year officials debated which location would be best for a ballpark, most preferring the riverfront. Among those agitating (and rightfully so) for Broadway Commons were current candidate for Hamilton County Commissioner Jim Tarbell and then-Mayor Roxanne Qualls. In November of 1998, citizens ended the question of where the ballpark would be built, voting to have it constructed along the riverfront.
While Broadway Commons is sometimes referred to by some as the "most popular ballpark that never was," events have since transpired to yield a more fulsome and symbiotic success on all counts.
The Banks is now rising quickly next to the ballpark, complimented perfectly by the
Central Riverfront Park. In the meantime, while citizens have had to endure an additional seven years of unsightly blight-style surface parking, the Broadway Commons site will soon be transformed into (what developers hope to be) the first successfully integrated "urban casino."
Skywalks. In the late 1950's, wunderkind urban planners came up with a series of proposals to ease the impending downtown conflict between plebian pedestrians and their auto-overlords. One of these was a network of second story skywalks. While the original plan also included familiar urban planning failures of the 1970's such as pedestrian urban malls, arcades and subterranean walkways, the skywalks were the only ones to see the light of day. Opening in 1971, the city ultimately constructed 21 sections at a cost of $16 million-- although the toll on the urban streetscape was far greater. By removing the pedestrians and abdicating the ground floor to cars and streets, foot traffic….the lifeblood of any urban core...seemingly dissipated. Street level merchants lost business as shoppers were sucked up into the second floor corridors, like hamsters in their $16 million urban habitrail tubes.
Enter now the relatively recent $42 million
Fountain Square reconstruction. One of the first orders of business in reconfiguring the Square was to demolish the elevated eyesores which both provided an unsightly Eastern-Bloc-esque aesthetic barrier as well as sucked the life out of the square's streetscape. A well-designed Fountain Square, bereft of the ill-conceived Skywalks, has now found renewed life both on and around the Square. The vibe, aided in part from the restaurants and bars surrounding the Square, is palpable. Once again, success emerges out of failure. Now let's get rid of the rest of the Skywalks.
Finally,
the Olympics. Back in 2000, Cincinnati made a bid for the 2012 Olympics. Many audibly scoffed at the audacious nature of this plucky upstart, looking to go toe to toe with other, supposedly "superior world class cities." Spearheaded by PR consultant Nick Vehr, the 800+ page glossy proposal was a watershed moment in true regional cooperation. With sites stretching from sailing on Lake Erie, to basketball in Indiana fieldhouses, to equestrian games in Kentucky, the proposal enveloped a number of local and regional institutions and corporations and more than 200 hard working individuals. By way of example, no less than seven university presidents alone co-chaired the Cultural Committee. As then-President of the Cinergy Foundation and chair of the Olympic Committee Joe Hale noted, "We've built alliances that haven't been built before."
While the Olympics were ultimately awarded to London, the type of regional cooperation, alliances and aspirational thinking embodied in the failed Olympic bid have yielded successes down the road. If anything, leaders and citizens recognized that Cincinnati could indeed "think big" on the global stage, in the process avoiding the provincial malaise that so often afflicts our regional vision. This ability to think big is exemplified best in two major events coming to the region in the next few years--the
World Equestrian Games coming this September and the
World Choir Games in 2012. These are by no means small events: the Equestrian Games will have an estimated economic impact in excess of $150 million, with 57 countries represented by more than 800 athletes; the Choir Games will have 5,000 choirs from more than 90 countries worldwide, and more than 220,000 participants.
As noted above, these are no small events. And the type of visionary thinking and cooperation necessary to formulate the Olympic bid, a process that some may have scoffed at as foolhardy, no doubt laid the foundation for the later, ultimately successful bids.
As the Irish critic and poet Edward Dowden observed, "sometimes a noble failure serves the world as faithfully as a distinguished success." While the failures above may stray a bit from noble to ignoble, there can be no quibbling with the success that has eventually come to the fore.
Photography by Scott BeselerOld CACNew CACUnion Terminal interiorBroadway CommonsSkywalkEquestrian (photo by Tiffani Fisher)