Cincinnati's first "suburb" sprung up when downtown and Over-the-Rhine dwellers began to crawl out of the once sooty basin seeking the fresh country air of the surrounding hillsides. At Mt. Auburn's base, homes in the eclectic Prospect Hill Historic District cling to the swift rising slope (stop in at Milton's Prospect Hill Tavern if the climb up Sycamore Street proves too much) providing gorgeous, panoramic views of downtown, Mt. Adams and Northern Kentucky. At the top of the hill, the Flatiron Café anchors the southern edge of the business district, once a Mt. Auburn millionaire's row, now home to medical offices and organizations along modern day Auburn Avenue (including the birth home of bathtub-bursting U.S. President and Supreme Court Justice William Howard Taft). Home to Christ Hospital, one of the oldest medical facilities in Cincinnati and a perennial national contender for top heart hospital, and three city parks and tennis courts, you're sure to keep your ticker in tip top shape here. This diverse community offers multiple, affordable living options including single family historic homes, student apartment housing and gorgeous Italianate mansions.
Mention Cincinnati sports and the conversation can span from the Red's fabled history to the off-field exploits of the Bengals. But there's another sports scene that is capturing national attention - even drawing a pre-Olympics qualifying event to the city next month - that everyone will be talking about soon: amateur boxing.
A group of residents from several Cincinnati neighborhoods spoke at the June 7 meeting of Cincinnati City Council's Quality of Life Subcommittee. Their subject? A recently closed railroad spur and a proposal to change it into a 6.5-mile cycling and walking path."This could really serve as an important connector for the many [multiuse path] projects Cincinnati has going on," said project advocate Jay Andress.The proposed project would convert a Norfolk Southern Railroad spur into a path that would connect with the Little Miami bike trail in Newtown and run into the heart of downtown. Advocates at Tuesday's meeting pointed out that the path would only cross seven roads in its entire length, making it a true rarity: a nearly uninterrupted trail running through several neighborhoods in a major urban area.But beyond the health benefits and transportation options that the path could provide, some residents at the meeting brought up another point: building the path could resolve a growing problem with the semi-abandoned line.Hyde Park Neighborhood Council President Anne Gerwin said the point where the line crosses Wasson Road has been a maintenance and safety issue for years. "We struggle many times each year to have the city and railroad maintain it," she said. The neighborhood's council passed a resolution supporting the project.Likewise, Hyde Park resident Lindsay Felder, who said her home is within sight of the track, said there's been a visible deterioration of it - and an uptick in people loitering along the weedy path - since it became inactive in 2009."We've always wondered about the tracks," she said, explaining that she began going door to door to drum up local support after meeting Andress and learning about the proposed project."We see it as a great upcycling of existing property that is underutilized," she said.Subcommittee chair Laure Quinlivan said there are a number of details to clarify before the project moves further forward, such as determining if Norfolk Southern has future plans for the line, and if an arrangement can be made that would allow the city to adapt the path into light rail if that becomes a future transit option."This is really a great proposal," she said. "The best ideas don't always come out of City Hall. If we could make this happen, it would be such a great asset to so many residents."Story: Matt CunninghamPhoto: Wasson Way Project
Cincinnati may be home to some famous ice cream brands, but nothing quite captures summer fun and youth like a popsicle. One Mt. Auburn entrepreneur has just turned her passion for the icy treat into a gourmet, small batch popsicle business called streetpops.Sarah Bornick is debuting the pops this summer at events and venues across downtown and Over-The-Rhine. She creates the recipes and produces the pops herself, with some help from a friend, in an area commercial kitchen. Bornick, who said she "loves the portability" of popsicles, came up with the idea about six months ago. Initially, she wanted to open a gourmet ice cream store, but decided to try something a little different. There is less competition in the popsicle space, and by selling in small batches at events, she keeps costs manageable."If this goes well, hopefully down the road I can open a storefront," she said.Bornick makes small batches of 50 or 60 popsicles at a time. Flavors run the gamut from the familiar to the adventurous, including strawberry mint, peanut butter, blueberry lemon thyme, avocado and chocolate chili pepper.Bornick is also a freelance graphic designer, which came in handy in designing the packaging, web site and t-shirts she'll use to promote the business.Starting this month you can find streetpops at some of Cincinnati's most popular events, including Second Sunday on Main, and Paddlefest at Sawyer Point on June 25. She will also be at Findlay Market on Saturdays and Sundays and at The City Flea, a new, open air urban flea market that kicked off June 4. She's talking with several local business and coffee shops who are interested in carrying Streetpops."The response so far has been really encouraging," she said.Bornick's treats are also available for office parties, family outing, weddings, baby showers, church festival or other events. You can reach Bornick through her Facebook page.Writer: Feoshia HendersonSource: Sara Bornick, founder streetpops
In a former church in Forest Park, children from Guatemala, Mexico and El Salvador gather after school for free help with their homework. Their parents often stay nearby, hoping to pick up new lessons of their own in their work to adjust to a new nation and a new way of life.The outreach effort by the Latino Ministry Commission of the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Ohio in the former Holy Spirit Church continues to grow, offering support and encouragement to immigrant students, their families and the native English speakers who work with them in schools, hospitals and businesses. Carlos de Jesus chairs the Commission and also provides conversational Spanish training for first responders in Forest Park and Fairfield. The Episcopal Diocese of Southern Ohio, with offices downtown, also includes one of fewer than 10 designated bi-lingual Spanish/English parishes in the country, at the Church of Our Savior in Mt. Auburn.In the Forest Park space, English classes for native Spanish speakers and Spanish classes for native English speakers overlap every week, allowing teachers to talk to parents, nurses to chat with potential patients, and employers to have conversations with workers."If we can just give them confidence to communicate with their neighbors, bosses and at the store," says de Jesus, an energetic GE retiree. He spearheads the all-volunteer effort of the Episcopal Diocese with an eye toward creating a model for other cities, and expanding the homework club as well. Do Good:• Have a conversation. E-mail Carlos de Jesus to volunteer with the homework club or other learning sessions.• Give a tweet. Follow the Southern Ohio Episcopal Diocese on Twitter.• Learn more about Latinos in Greater Cincinnati. Visit the Greater Cincinnati Latino Coalition.By Elissa Yancey
When David Rosenthal decided to host an exhibit of photographer Chris Bucher's work in his Northside gallery, he saw a unique learning opportunity.Bucher's mix of stark black-and-white and complex color photographs includes many that document young boxers at an Indianapolis gym. Rosenthal knew of a similar gym in Cincinnati, the Golden Gloves gym in Mt. Auburn, where boxing legends have both risen to Olympic heights and crashed on city streets.Working with Cincinnati Golden Gloves Police Athletic League (PAL), Rosenthal created a Kid's View photography class to document current trainees and trainers at the gym in the Mt. Auburn Cincinnati Recreation Center. He took a small group of teen photographers-in-training to the gym this winter, and their work will be featured along with Bucher's professional images in "Little Kings, A Solo Exhibit by Chris Bucher and Kid's View: Ringside Seats, a community photography project," starting this Friday, April 15.For Rosenthal, the Golden-Gloves supported project was a natural fit for his gallery, Prairie. "The mission of Prairie is to use photography as a tool to bring art into the world in unique ways," he says. "I'm always looking for opportunities for students to use photography as an expressive tool and learn about something significant in their community at the same time."Cincinnati Golden Gloves Gym was founded by Donald "Buddy" LaRosa to give inner-city kids healthy outlets afterschool. The gym at the Cincinnati Recreation Center in Mt. Auburn doesn't look particularly fancy. Still, the old public school gym retro-fitted with a boxing ring and lots of punching bags attracts boxers from around the city and the region. It's an inexpensive training gym to be sure. But it also has a rich, storied history.Aaron Pryor trained there. So did Rau'Shee Warren, who made it to the Olympics twice (in 2004 at age 17 and in 2008 at 21). So does Adrien Broner, 21, the undefeated World Boxing Organization Inter-Continental Junior Lightweight champion. Broner, one of the boxers featured in the Kid's View exhibit, has trained at the gym since he was six years old. Kid's View images in the exhibit include portraits of boxers as young as Broner was when he started. Rosenthal also taught his class to capture images of boxers in action in the gym, practicing and sparring and constantly in motion. The results illustrate a group of people, and a place, that is intense, nurturing and, despite its storied history, little known. "I saw this as a way to give a voice to the unique personalities at the boxing gym," Rosenthal says.A collection of the Kid's View images, as well as narratives from the boxers and the photographers, will be available later this year. Do Good:• See the pictures. The exhibit opens April 15 and runs through June 16. • Get on the list. Join the mailing list for Prairie and Kid's View.• Learn about Kid's View. Find out about new classes that team young photographers with community groups. By Elissa YanceyPhoto of Adrien Broner by Owen SonnenbergFull disclosure: Owen Sonnenberg, who participated in the Kid's View project, is the author's son. And yes, she is proud of him.
Graeter's ice cream goes nationwide selling its products in almost 4,000 retail outlets. Graeter's national fans include celebrities such as Oprah, and Harry Connick Jr, and influential food writers such as David Rosengarten.Read the full story here.
American Impressionists didn't have to travel to Europe to find scenes worthy of their loose brushwork. Some followed the masters of the form and visited Giverny and Barcelona. But Lewis Henry Meakin found inspiration in Cincinnati's Mt. Auburn.One of his paintings, Mt. Auburn Above Hunt Street, Cincinnati, is part of a unique supplementary show currently on display at the Taft Museum of Art downtown, American Impressionism from Cincinnati Collections.A supplement of sorts to the museum's featured traveling exhibition, American Impressionists in the Garden, the show of pieces borrowed from local collections reinforces the notion that great works of art can be integral parts of daily living. Collectors from around the region, from Northern Kentucky to Hyde Park, lent pieces for the exhibit. The American Impressionists in the Garden exhibit features 40 works by artists including John Singer Sargeant. The show from Cincinnati collections not only features the Mt. Auburn piece, but also works by Paul Ashbrook and Dixie Selden. Together, the shows tell the story of American artists inspired by European counterparts, but striving to make their own mark on the Impressionist style. Being showcased in the former home of Anna Sinton and Charles Phelps Taft makes the connection with local collectors even more appropriate."This is a nice reminder that there is really great art in people's houses," says Tricia Suit, marketing and communications manager. The show of works from Cincinnati collectors runs through April 24. The American Impressionists in the Garden show runs through May 15. Do Good:• Join the cause. The Taft Museum Facebook cause, that is. You can log on to give time, money or share the beauty of this local treasure with friends from around the world.• Get hip on YouTube. Learn more about the Taft and its programs via the museum's YouTube channel.• Make an origami bunny. Visit the Taft for free April 10, courtesy of ArtsWave, and enjoy a day of programming that includes an origami session from noon until 2 p.m.By Elissa YanceyImage courtesy of the Taft Museum of Art
Just in time for winter, Soapbox Managing Editor, Sean Rhiney, gets audited with the help of the Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance - a non-profit organization that helps Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky homeowners reduce their energy costs - and Seven/Seventy-Nine is there to capture it all on film.
In this week's Soapdish, columnist Casey Coston looks back at some of Cincinnati's urban pioneers who paved the way for neighborhood revitalization and those heeding the call to rehabilitate and reenergize now.
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