Random Photographs, Thoughts and Tales | August and September, 2026
I’ve now been doing these posts of “random photographs” for over ten years and next year will mark 20 years of writing on the internet.
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Millenial mahjong, Fountain Square.
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Eighth St, Cincinnati.
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Went looking for a physical Sudoku book and found that my neighborhood CVS’s news rack now exists only as this sad little thing back by the employee stockroom.
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Completion of the Olympic Valet Garage’s New Sign:
Before I lived in Downtown Cincinnati, I had a job in an office here. My employer kept a few vehicles stashed in the nearby Olympic Valet Garage and whenever you needed one for official business — you called up the number, quickly gave the code, and went to pick up a Chevy sedan from a place that looked straight out of the set of TAXI. In addition to being a longstanding business housed within an historic Art-Deco structure built upon on the site of the former Olympic theatre, the place’s sign is also a local landmark:
While walking the dog one morning back in July, I noticed that the familiar iconography was in the process of being refurbished:
The work was performed by Holthaus Lackner Signs, a company originally founded by Gus Holthaus — one of the city’s prominent sign painters who’s work and story appear frequently in my book, Fading Ads of Cincinnati.
August 2026.
Gus’ work was typically marked with his name in simple, distinct letters. This “signature” is still prominently found on many surviving examples and I was glad to see it also get featured in the Olympic’s new branding (which looks great):
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The Chillicothe Bench of Cincinnati:
While my buddy Dave and I were recently documenting the area around One Lytle Place, we came across this bench stashed beneath the Purple People Bridge by the parks department offices. Initially, I thought it was an old, local bus bench — but all the advertisements are for Chillicothe, Ohio about an hour and a half away.
Top Left: A martial arts school that was led by a Chillicothe original who was known all over the world for his craft.
Top Right: Can’t make out the business name, but it appeared to have been located in the area’s “Central Shopping Center,” a now struggling retail area.
Bottom Left: Sunrush Church of Christ, still operating and still located at the advertised address.
Bottom Right: An autobody shop that’s still open at the faintly seen “Eastern Ave.” address.
Would love to know how this bench got here.
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Mt. Adams, Cincinnati.
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Rollin’ on through the Inane Apocalypse, Cincinnati.
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Egypt at Government Square, Cincinnati.
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4th St, Cincinnati.
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Wright Tower:
Formerly known as Kaden Tower, this 15-story building in suburban Louisville was designed by William Wesley Peters, protégé and son-in-law of Frank Lloyd Wright. Originally built as the headquarters of the Lincoln Income Life Insurance Company in 1966, the building was purchased by the locally-based Texas Roadhouse chain in 2026 who’s corporate offices are nearby. The primary tenant is a Ruth’s Chris Steak House on the top floor which also features an overlook of the surrounding area.
Louisville skyline in the distance.
Surrounding landscape and the Watterson Expressway seen from above.
Texas Roadhouse corporate headquarters as seen from above.
Coincidentally, I won a free “Cactus Blossom”/order of fried pickles (with the purchase of an entree) the day before I made these photographs.
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Cincinnati - September 25:
Walnut St.
Walnut & 8th Streets.
8th St.
7th St.
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Egypt a.k.a. one of the more dramatic dogs I’ve ever met, but also the best friend I’eve ever had.
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Madonna’s is the best dive bar in downtown Cincinnati.
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I’ve got a lot of opinions when it comes to “The Hitman,” but there’s no denying that WCW screwed Bret worse than Vince ever could’ve (and Vince is a horrible human being). Someday, someone may use that whole situation as the premise for an editorial on the decline of western civilization, but the lesson is this: Steve Borden seems to have always been a decent person.
Even when everyone else wasn’t.
Anyways, even if you didn’t care for Bret Hart, you should probably stop in your tracks if you walk past a person blaring the man’s classic theme over a bluetooth speaker. Thanks, Marcus, for talking professional wrestling with me as I was on my way home from the bar on a Tuesday night.
Since 2007, the content of this website (and its former life as Queen City Discovery) has been a huge labor of love.
If you’ve enjoyed stories like The Ghost Ship, abandoned amusement parks, the Cincinnati Subway, Fading Ads, or others over the years—might you consider showing some support for future projects?
