I was all over the place this past Thursday and Friday…and I made sure to take my camera along. As a result you’re able to enjoy some of my favorites from the two days of random photography.
Neighborhoods represented in this slideshow include: Downtown, Over-the-Rhine, Clifton Heights, Hyde Park, The Heights, Columbia Tusculum, East Walnut Hills, Corryville, and Mariemont.
Vitality Over-the-Rhine is a non-profit group that came into existence in the Fall of 2006. They are dedicated to making resident/business driven initiatives reality in Over-the-Rhine.
Currently they are embarking on a new Volunteer Ambassador Program. You need not be a resident of OTR to apply. You don’t even need to be familiar with the neighborhood. If you are simply looking for a way to get involved and make an impact then this is for you.
All ambassadors will be provided with a map, a list of neighborhood contacts, and a T-shirt to wear whenever they’re in Over-the-Rhine for any reason (additional resources will be provided as needed). Several Over-the-Rhine businesses will be providing drinks and restrooms for ambassadors to use.
Volunteers will not be required to check in, record hours or maintain a certain route, though volunteers can opt to have their time logged for any service requirements that they need to fulfill. While the structure of the program is fairly laid back, Vitality Over-the-Rhine asks that ambassadors not get drunk or cross over into the CBD while in service (to avoid confusion with the DCI Ambassadors Downtown).
This effort will continue as long as there is interest from volunteers. Fortunately enough for UrbanCincy readers…I’m organizing this whole effort. You can contact me for more information and details.
Randy A. Simes | Vitality Over-the-Rhine
Volunteer Ambassador Coordinator
VitalityOTR@gmail.com
You may or may not have heard, but another gem in Over-the-Rhine is at risk of being demolished. The building is around 15th & Vine on the NE corner. There is however a twist in this story…an effort is underway to raise private money as a sign of good faith to save the building from the wrecking ball.
The hope is that enough private money is raised to show a level of commitment that could go a long way in saving the building. This financial commitment could then help to leverage $100,000 the City has for restoration and $150,000 that 3CDC has for potential use on the building.
If you’re interested in helping, please check out www.pledgebank.com/Over-the-Rhine, or www.pledgebank.com/1500Vine (different pledge levels).
Image Credit:
Cincinnati Preservation Association, Margo Warminski
Last Friday (4/11) was a great day for Over-the-Rhine, and especially the Brewery District. There was the debut of a new Ohio Historical Marker for the Brewery District…and the Clyffside building kicked off its renovation process with a ‘wall knocking’ by council members Chris Bortz and Roxanne Qualls.
Brewery District people spoke, the two council members, and many others saw this as a chance to voice their support for the Cincinnati Streetcar. At one point the audience was instructed to look out the window and notice where the Northern end of the Streetcar will eventually be (1.5 blocks away or so). Needless to say, people were excited about the historical honor and the announcement of a renovation project that will bring 19 new units to OTR ranging from the low 100’s to the mid-200’s. Oh yeah, and the free Christian Moerlein was great too.
You can view the rest of my photos from the Clyffside ribbon cutting, historical marker, and building tour HERE.
View from The Clyffside units (Randy Simes)
This week has been pretty amazing for the City of Cincinnati and OTR:
Rendering of Booty’s, Produced by Jeff Ruby – Image Provided