Over-the-Rhine

As more visitors discover — and regional residents rediscover — the charms of Over-the-Rhine (aka OTR), most are delighted to find a neighborhood rich in art, history, and community plus plenty of food and drink establishments and independent retailers. Architectural treasures like Music Hall and Memorial Hall sit side by side with the School for Performing Arts and Washington Park in this neighborhood that's been heralded as a national leader in urban transformation. Vine Street, Main Street, Race Street, and Pendleton are the area's hot spots for an eclectic array of restaurants and shops near the Ensemble, Woodward, Cincinnati Shakespeare, and Know theaters. Findlay Market, between Race and Elm Streets north of Liberty Street, is Ohio's oldest continuously-operated public market where you will find locally sourced food, cafes and restaurants as well as the Rhinegeist Brewery taproom. The community's remarkable 19th-century buildings feature one of the country's largest collection of Italianate architecture and provide a dramatic background to the diverse residents that call OTR home.

Design challenge yields implementable ideas

By Evan Wallis

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Architecture + Design

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June 26, 2012

In April, MSA Architects launched The Five Design Challenge, and now, after sorting through more than 40 entries, from as far away as China and Portland, Oregon, the winners have been chosen. The challenge was to choose one of five unused spaces around Cincinnati and come up with an idea to transform the space into something useful. The spaces ranged from empty lots to a space underneath a highway. The entires were judged by Tamara Harkavy of ArtWorks, Chad Munitz of 3CDC, Leah Spurrier of High Street, William Williams of DAAP and City Council member Wendell Young. Nick Dewald and Chris Rohs, employees at MSA, say all the judges picked ideas realistic and implementable. "We don't push the judges in any way," Rohs says. "All the judges seemed to be more interested in the ideas that could actually happen, instead of the pie-in-the-sky sort of stuff." The top prize was split among three entrants: • SEED, Sustained Employment & Entrepreneurship Developmen,t was a proposal for a small business incubator with short-term lease spaces and start-up support services. It used several of the under-utilized spaces in Over-the-Rhine: vacant lots, empty buildings and alleyways. These stereotypically ‘bad’ spaces are reinterpreted to create a 24-hour mixed-use building that serves as a catalyst for the neighborhood, creating local jobs, promoting a start-up culture, and improving perceptions of safety. • Loop Cincy took all five sites and connected them with a bike path and to Cincinnati landmarks and attractions to create a more connected city. The five sites were designed into an outdoor gym, a small park and even a small concert space. • 4Hostel created a hostel on one one of the spaces, which was an empty lot, providing low-cost accommodations for travelers. MSA plans on hosting the competition each year, but changing the theme. "We want to keep the theme pretty broad," Dewald says. "Instead of focusing on one building, like many architectural challenges do, we want to focus on improving Cincinnati in a more general way." By Evan Wallis

Columbus’ clothing store expands to OTR

By Evan Wallis

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Arts + Culture

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June 26, 2012

What started as a web-based clothing store out of a Tennessee home is now opening its second location at 1435 Main Street in Over-the-Rhine. Substance, the clothing store started by Christina Getachew, was founded in 2002 online. When her husband's job took her from Tennessee to Columbus, Ohio, she decided to open up a storefront in the Short North District in 2006. Substance is a women's clothing store that focuses on sustainable and organically manufactured clothing with a mission to show that substance and style can go hand in hand. Substance carries both in-house designed products as well as product lines that have the same sustainable mindset. Getachew and her team even design some products in the store's design lab where they repurpose out-of-season garments. "It's all about repurposing. We use garments from previous years and turn them into something new," Getachew says. "It's a small collection, but we like people to see the creative process so they can appreciate it." Three years ago, Getachew began to think about expanding her business, and when another move landed her in Cincinnati, she began to look for a second storefront. Getachew says that a creative atmosphere is a must for her stores and that Over-the-Rhine reminded her of what the Short North District was like when she opened her first store. She also found the creative, supportive atmosphere she was familiar with in Over-the-Rhine. "It was difficult to find places where business owners understand that the more businesses, the better for everyone," Getachew says. "Main Street was the complete opposite. It was inviting and it seems like the businesses really collaborate and help each other out." Getachew plans on growing her business through franchises once she gets her second store up and running. Substance will have a soft opening June 29, but will plan a bigger grand opening with the introduction of fall products in August. By Evan Wallis

Girl Develop It offers female-friendly tech training

By Newsroom

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Diversity

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June 26, 2012

Quick. Think. Who do you think built this web page? Or, that app on your smart phone? Odds are a man is behind the programming of both. But if it’s up to Erin Kidwell and a group of pink-collared computer programmers from New York to Sydney, Australia, the future will be filled with woman writing HTML, CSS, Python, JavaScript, Ruby, PHP and MySQL. Kidwell, a 29-year-old software developer who lives in Over-The-Rhine, launched a local chapter of Girl Develop It, a series of classes to teach woman how to write computer code. The first four-week course starts July 12 at The Brandery, 1411 Vine St. Total cost is $80. No previous experience is required. Girl Develop It was started by two women programmers two years ago in New York City. Since then, chapters have exploded across the United States offering basic to advanced code courses to women and underrepresented groups. Men are not turned away, but the teaching style is interactive, hands-on and specifically aimed at women and their learning styles, Kidwell says. “This is a supportive environment where you can ask questions without being snickered at,’’ she says. “There is no such thing as a stupid or a silly question.” The coding community nationally is about 90 percent male. The idea behind Girl Develop It is to close the gender gap in programming by providing a place where women can learn at their own pace, and ask “stupid questions,’’ while they learn how to write code in existing web applications to build web sites. And even if a woman doesn’t want to develop software or build websites for a living, more and more employers are demanding some knowledge of web development. Learning the basics can help women in their existing careers or move up in their profession, Kidwell says. “I’ve heard success stories in other cities where it has helped women get promotions,’’ she says. “There was a woman in Philadelphia who owned a catering business and she didn’t want to pay for a web site. She built it herself and tripled her business.” Kidwell says starting a local chapter made sense because of the area’s thriving start-up community, local college and universities’ focus on informatics coupled with the fact that women from Cincinnati and Dayton were traveling to Columbus to take Girl Develop It classes there. Kidwell was also encouraged by one of the founders, who is a personal friend, to launch in Cincinnati. So she did three months ago. She’s been shocked by the outpouring of support, offers to help and enrollment. “Everyone has said: ‘How can we help?’ They’ve offered mentors and tutors. It’s been amazing,” she says. The Brandery has donated the space for the classes, which can accommodate about 25 students. Local university professors, software developers and coders have offered to help. The first classes will be taught by Heather Glenn Rock, who is a software developer at Online Rewards. Teaching assistants will also be available to help students, and Kidwell hopes to host one or two Saturday sessions – which she has dubbed “coffee and coding” – as extra sessions for students who may want or need extra help. Her first success, she says, is that 12 women have signed up. “I thought I’d get about 10 or so.” The students are from various backgrounds, including a woman who blogs and wants to learn how to do more, a couple of women from nonprofit groups and a woman who works in Human Resources who wants to learn about coding to enhance her ability to hire IT professionals. The course, which will first focus on HTML and CSS, assumes students have no technical background. There are no age requirements. Kidwell says the only real requirement is respect and, at this time, a laptop. In the future, Kidwell plans to apply for grants and/or seek sponsorships to be able to offer textbooks, manuals and maybe laptops for women who may not be able to afford them. She also plans to offer more advanced courses. Mostly, she says, she hopes women will feel empowered to continue learn and do more. “I’m not looking to build the next Instagram in Cincinnati,’’ she says. “There’s really nothing you can’t do; just a bunch of stuff you haven’t tried yet.” What: Girl Develop It Cincinnati course in HTML and CSS When: Thursdays from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. July 12 – Aug. 2 Where: The Brandery, 1411 Vine St., second floor Requirements: A laptop (PC or Mac) Sign up: Enrollment and payment is required before the first class. Connect: Facebook and Twitter By Chris Graves

Neons Unplugged named one of best outdoor bars

By Newsroom

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Arts + Culture

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June 26, 2012

This Over-the-Rhine neighborhood establishment makes a day out of drinking a beer. It’s a playground for those looking not only to unplug, but to unwind. Via Travel & Leisure. See the full list here.

Singing the praises of Cincinnati

By Newsroom

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Arts + Culture

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June 26, 2012

From July 4-14, the World Choir Games, also known as "The Olympics of Choir Music," will take place in Ohio's Queen City (derived from its 19th century status as "Queen of the West"). Some 367 choirs from nearly 50 countries will compete in categories that include jazz, pop, folk, barbershop, gospel and show choirs, as popularized by the hit TV show "Glee." Read the full story here.

Cincinnati leaders get ready for World Choir Games

By Newsroom

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Arts + Culture

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June 19, 2012

City officials are trying to make sure Cincinnati will be welcoming, informative and safe as they prepare to host the World Choir Games next month in an event expected to draw tens of thousands of people from around the globe to southwest Ohio. Read the full story here.

What The New York Times forgot: Our innovative parks

By Elissa Yancey

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General

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June 19, 2012

With the Smale Riverfront Park open and Washington Park debuting July 6, we take a closer look at how the Cincinnati Park Board's oft-overlooked innovations move, and in some cases outright push, the city forward.

VFA Fellows excited to move to Cincinnati

By Elissa Yancey

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General

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June 19, 2012

They are young, high-powered, high-achieving, highly skilled professionals with their sights set on the same thing: success in Cincinnati, start-up style. Read where they are working — and why.

Brandery lures young, coastal talents to Cincinnati

By Evan Wallis

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Architecture + Design

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June 19, 2012

What do a former Indian national tennis champion, a former metal band drummer, the founder of DUMBO start-up lab in Brooklyn and three teenagers on leave from MIT, Harvard and Princeton have in common? They’ll all be sharing space at The Brandery in Over-the-Rhine, where they’ll begin 14 weeks of classes, mentoring and accelerated business development this summer. The new Brandery class is more about people than specific ideas, according to Brandery General Manager Mike Bott. He expects their business designs to evolve and clarify through their work in Over-the-Rhine. In all, the class of 11 new start-ups includes entrepreneurs from Chicago, San Francisco, New York City, Seattle and Cleveland. They bring experience from Google/You Tube, Goldman Sachs and Beerology. Go ahead, look it up. Like other Brandery newbies, they’ll get $20,000 and 14 weeks of support, guidance and access to mentors. After they, they’ll have a chance to pitch their business ideas to a room full of investors at Demo Day. Stay tuned for more stories from this new Brandery crew in the weeks and months to come.

Segway store expands downtown

By Evan Wallis

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Development News

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June 19, 2012

Shawn Jenkins opened Segway of Cincinnati on Reds Opening Day in 2008. Jenkins had already been offering Segway Tours in Eden Park for about a year and decided to set up shop on Central Parkway and Vine Street to be able to do more downtown tours, as well as sell and service Segways. After adding electric bikes, several models of Segways, motorized skateboards and other equipment, the small showroom grew cluttered, so Jenkins decided to expand into an adjacent space and offer bike repairs and other services. "We were losing the showroom feel," Jenkins says. "Our hand was kind of forced to get more space, but looking back, I don't know how we managed to run everything out of one space." The new space, The Garage OTR, is next door to the Segway Shop and will repair both electric and traditional bicycles, as well as all Segways. The additional space allows Jenkins to sell more bike and Segway accessories, including locks, helmets and lights, in the showroom, meeting a growing customer demand. Jenkins says without any advertising, the shop has already been busy with bike repairs. "We're not trying to be a bike shop," Jenkins says. "But there are so many bikes in this city right now, we are flying through tubes. We're happy to be here to help the community." While he opened up shop to highlight the Segway as a low-energy transportation option that reduces riders' carbon footprints and is especially practical for urban residents. "Seventy percent of American's trips are three miles or less, and 70 percent of those are one mile or less," Jenkins says. "So if you use any of these types of transportation, in lieu of a car, it can be a big change." By Evan Wallis