A Blimp in the Sky.
My head hurt from a long day of drinking and a long week of working as our designated driver drove us out of the comfort of downtown to the the typical suburban bar that we usually gather at after work. A beer there, some excedrin from the gas station next door and we eventually found ourselves near the Indiana border and I-74 at a party filled with high school kids. A "solid bro" named Ray wanted to fight me for making out with his cousin. I wasn't familiar with Ray or his cousin, nor had I made out with anybody.
Surf Cincinnati.
Once an iconic Cincinnati amusement park, the wave pool's been shut off and the lazy river is dried up.
Fun Spot (Former) Amusement Park and Zoo
An abandoned amusement park in northern Indiana brings back childhood memories.
Where have you been? What were you doing? What's the plan? Where do you go from here?
I seem to make this excuse every summer, but again I've fallen behind on updating QCD.
Crooked Lake - Angola, Indiana
After spending the night in Ft. Wayne, Jeff and I woke up early to head out to Angola, Indiana—a place that held many childhood memories for us.
The Postcard View from WLWT
I don't really watch any of the local news stations, but if I had to pick my favorite: The winner would be Channel 5 WLWT, simply because of their studio's postcard view of the Queen City.
The Clifton Friars Club
Summer was approaching and I realized I hadn't gone out and explored anything in awhile. I made it one of my goals to get out more during the coming break from class. As I walked out of my art history final, summer officially began for me at 4:43 that afternoon. I hadn't even been five minutes into my vacation when The Boy Scout called me with a plan. With no time to waste I grabbed my gear and met him in Clifton. It was time for our first exploration of the summer: The Clifton Friars Club Building.
Porkopolis Square
Towers of steel and concrete, architectural traditions that symbolized Americana and became milestones of culture and history. Porkopolis Square began rising where a parking garage once stood. Destined to become the city's tallest skyscraper, it would soon surpass the iconic Carew Tower in height. Anxiously, the citizens and passersby watched from various vantage points as the tower began rising.
Ruins, Revitalization and Rust on the Riverfront.
A collection of photographs from an afternoon on the Cincinnati Riverfront with references to 1988 and 1993.
Opening Day 2010
Last year's opening day the visiting New York Mets shalacked Aaron Harang and the Reds in the 38 degree rain. This year the weather was much better, but Harang got shalacked again and the pitchers who followed him didn't really help anything. Despite being alive and living in the Cincinnati area since one year before the last Reds World Series victory and attending a few opening day games, I've never been to the Findlay Market Parade. This year I changed that.
"Live to Skate, Skate to Live"
This past Saturday the Cincinnati Rollergirls opened their fifth season at the legendary Cincinnati Gardens.
The Invasion of Spring, The Invasion of Shepard Fairey
Right before I started typing this I was outside where the temperature had dropped to 37 degrees and rain was coming down like a monsoon, meanwhile Channel 5 just warned me that a "light dusting of snow" is possible tomorrow. However, last week it was 70 degrees and Sawyer Point was packed with people enjoying the beautiful spring weather right as the river crested just below flood stage. Spring's invasion of Cincinnati had begun.
Back From the Future
Close to a year ago I came across a thread on UrbanOhio.com which featured some photographs of Cincinnati from 1987. The thread was nearly two years old at the time and I wasn't sure if the user who posted them was still active on the message board, but I knew I needed to contact him. Why? Because I had a project in mind.
23 days, 560 hours and 33,601 minutes until Reds Opening Day 2010
...at least that's how long it was from the time I started writing this post.
Cincinnati's Subway
It was a good thing we were packing. We had our high powered flashlights and then some extras. It was pretty dark as we stepped onto the station platform. It seemed almost as if the power had gone out or if there weren't any lights installed at all. We traded jokes and conversation as we waited for our train. Cincinnati isn't really known for its subways. The stations are dark, cold and covered in dust and frankly the service is terrible. We waited on the platform for forever and not one single train ever came.
An Afternoon in the Rust Belt
Unlike upriver sister city, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati wasn't a center of America's steel production and doesn't really fit into the geographical region known as the "Rust Belt." However, the Queen City certainly has its share of shuttered and forgotten factories, former centers of industry and manufacturing. One of the most historical, and often documented, of these locations is the former Crosley Radio Factory.
The Clyffside and Kauffman Breweries
Steve had been kind enough to invite us along for more secret tunnels and forgotten breweries. A couple weeks ago he let me tag along while he and a group of volunteers worked on preparing the former Crown Brewery for this years Prohibition Resistance Tour. This week, Seicer and I were meeting up with him and his crew outside the former Clyffside Brewery in the heart of Over-The-Rhine.
How Things Came to Be - Part 2: The Ballad of Ben, The Birth of Queen City Disco(very)
Part 2 of QC/D's Urban Exploration origin story.
How Things Came to Be - Part 1: Valentines Day 2006, Surf Cincinnati
Part 1 in QC/D's urban exploration origin story.
The Cincinnati North Hotel
"Awful Hotel. Stayed here two nights on a business trip. The hotel was horrible! It was dirty, old, broken down, and the shower was moldy! Will not return!!"
Those comments echoed so many other negative ones in the online review section of a hotel that had a "100% Do not recommend" rating on "TripAdvisor.com." I couldn't tell you from personal experience as that cold winter evening when Venkman, Lance Delune and myself ventured to the Cincinnati North Hotel was the first night I ever spent in the place. My only other memories were vague childhood thoughts of a ten-story hotel that is now a modern ruin towering over the Cincinnati suburb of Springdale, Ohio.