[Views of Cincinnati] Elevator Glass

The Big Red Machine used to play nearby, their stadium gone. In its place: new development - a resurgence of the riverfront, an extension of the city. It all looks up to the line of skyscrapers that cut into the sky along with the clouds and contrails of airplanes. The riverfront uprising offers its own jagged edge in the form of glass.






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You may be wondering what this structure is.

The glass walls and ceiling are held together by steel and cover the stairs and elevators that in any other city would appear to go below the streets to the waiting trains of a subway. Not here though, but that's another story. Here, they lead down to a parking garage. That parking garage supports the new street grid and development that has been built in the years since Riverfront Stadium was imploded.

 

"The Banks" development is a status symbol of this city. Seated just below the skyline, the buildings are quickly becoming filled with new restaurants, bars and residencies. It's all a sign that Cincinnati is stronger than ever. The ballpark feels like it's part of a neighborhood now. The streets are packed on the weekends with bargoers. With the weather getting warmer and baseball season soon approaching, The Banks continues to grow at a rapid pace. Cincinnati is stronger than ever and the development on its riverfront doorstep proves that.

 

Even with all that being said, the design has been criticized. The apartments look cheap. The building awnings are tacky. The subway station stairs really lead to a parking garage. That's not a trolley, that's just a bus painted like one.

Does that matter though? This city is headed in the right direction.

I'd rather have a beer at a table under those tacky awnings than at a suburban "Irish pub" any day.

- A road currently to nowhere, eventually to future expansion.

- Anything's better than this view, which is more like the numerous Wal-Mart's in Mason.