Townhouses in Cincinnati's Over-the-Rhine ("OTR") neighborhood were the subject of two recent posts, and last week we had a random chance to visit Cincinnati. To say that we were impressed would be an understatement. The photos have been added to the Flickr pool, but they tell only a small part of the story. OTR has a vast collection of townhouses built by German immigrants in the 19th century, about which travel writer Arthur Frommer said in 1993: "In all of America, there is no more promising an urban area for revitalization than your own Over-the-Rhine. When I look at that remarkably untouched, expansive section of architecturally uniform structures...I see in my mind the possibility for a revived district that literally could rival similar prosperous and heavily visited areas." Thanks to a partnership among the Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation and neighborhood stakeholders, OTR's buildings are being revitalized and filled with small businesses like Iris Book Cafe, Lavomatic cafe, and Skirtz & Johnston pastries, arts groups like No No Knots and Project Cincinnatus, and most importantly all kinds of residents!
Part 2 coming soon: More specific preservation and redevelopment efforts.