From The Archives: Surf Cincinnati on 35mm

Jul 3

Surf Cincinnati was the place where I first indulged in a curiosity of exploring abandoned locales, the place that turned a childhood interest with photography into a passion. I loved “Surf” as a 90s kid when it was alive just as much as I loved wandering through its derelict state later in life. The park has always stuck with me, a subject that still shines influence on my writing and photography to this day. I’ve visited the history of this 1980’s style waterpark extensively here on QC/D before. Even after it was demolished, I kept going back and looking for any remnants. Aside from what’s already been covered, though, there’s not much left. Actually, as I write this out now, maybe it’s safe to say I feel more nostalgic about the abandoned Surf Cincinnati than the active one? Maybe I miss the days spent walking across the dry, weed choked pools more than I do swimming in them when they were clear and filled with chlorine? Either way, here I am writing about this place once more.

- The wave pool.

I started shooting 35mm film regularly again in 2018. I love it, but I won’t pretend to be above modern technological convenience. These days I can get the quality/look/feel of film via the vintage cameras I revere with the help of a remote lab. I rewind the film, mail it off, someone else develops it, and then it’s sent to me as digital scans. There’s probably something to be said for doing your own development, several of my friends swear by it, but I haven’t hit that point yet. In fact, the only time I’ve ever developed my own film was with a high school photography club in either 2005 or 2006 (maybe 2007, but I don’t think so). From one of those rolls of black-and-white shot through (I think) a Minolta Maxxum 7000, there were some frames of Surf Cincinnati. I had jumped over the fence once again on what I recall being a cold, gray afternoon to make these images. In the days after, Mrs. Palmer taught me how to develop and print. The original prints are probably either long lost or sitting in the bottom of a box in the back of a storage locker. The only digital scans I can find were the ones seen here, stored on an old hard drive at pitiful resolutions. Ironically, I got the idea to look for these shots because I had swung by the area recently just to see what was up.

Because for some reason, despite what little is left, I keep going back there.

- The mega church that replaced Surf Cincinnati as seen on 35mm shot in the Spring of 2020.

So, here’s another look at Surf Cincinnati, back when it was abandoned, back when it still existed—a few years after it was closed and left for dead. Circa 2005 or 2006.

Want to know more about the park? Check out all of the previous posts.

- Forgotten pool chair.

- Wave pool walkway.

- Go-kart track.

- Mural painted on the building constructed for the relocation of Caddy's, a once-popular Downtown Cincinnati nightclub that had a brief run on Surf Cincinnati's property after the original location was demolished for the Bengal's Paul Brown Stadium.