I put this together as a way to focus on the city I was born in, raised in, and had a long family connection to throughout the years.
My great-grandfather worked as a janitor at St Xavier, his son, my grandfather,worked for many of the local breweries, and my father worked as a police officer for the Cincinnati Police. I wanted to find out the personality of the city, and if I could ever leave the city behind.
I was able to explore the city over the course of a whole year. 366 days (leap year), and one week each to spend in every city neighborhood. 52 neighborhoods in 52 weeks. I went through all of them and some did not give me anything to work with during my visits. I was left with a very unbalanced finished project of the city. It did not answer any of my questions and it did not show off anything I was trying to communicate. So I left the project in the dirt upon completion.
After working on another project I decided to come back and clean up what I left behind. Cutting, re-editing, writing, and abandoning the neighborhood theme made for a much more honest story. This is the one I wanted to tell. It took some time and fighting, but I would not expect anything less from my hometown.
Well, I hope you enjoy this.
Michael McKeown
Welcome to the queen city
A river city that was built on pork, beer, and soap. Cincinnati is the crown jewel east of the Mississippi River. The city is sharp on business and creativity. Cincinnati is weird and one has to get under the surface to see why. Over the years Cincinnati has made one misstep after another. A failed subway system with tunnels in perfect working order, leaning on boats instead of rails as the future of transportation, and letting the city's most iconic neighborhoods become wastelands before deciding to lend support. There are also many positives the city has seen over the years. One example is the Mapplethorpe exhibit at the Contemporary Arts Center. The exhibit that no other city wanted came to the most conservative city in the USA. A museum championed against censorship and free speech and won. In the Queen City, one never knows what to expect and why it happens when it does.
Southeast
Athenaeum of Ohio, Mt St Mary Seminary
Located in the neighborhood furthest east from downtown, Mount Washington. It is currently home to Mt St Mary's Seminary. The building was constructed in 1929 and inside the building there are rare works of art, including six mosaics produced by the Vatican Studios and paintings by Juan de Roelas and Benjamin Joesph Haydon. Visitors stop by to see these art pieces of residence. Presently as academics move forward one of the country's first lay ministry programs, the Lay Pastoral Ministry Program (LPMP) has many lay men and women enrolled to train lay Catholics in the various ministries of the present-day Catholic Church.
Starting in the southeast corner of the neighborhood California, there is empty land familiar with the edge of any U.S. American city. This part of the city is aesthetically much different. Architecture and layout vary from typical Cincinnati style. Most people who can afford to live elsewhere have chosen to do so. It is not until pulling away from the rivers that financial comfort and quality appear. Lunken Airport is located between where the Little Miami and Ohio Rivers meet. One time, long ago, this airport was the biggest in the country. Constant flooding of the two rivers kept Lunken from growing. The airport is small and unremarkable by today's standards.
The wealthiest neighborhoods reside in the higher elevated areas of the southeast. Hyde Park and Mt. Lookout are the considered the posh neighborhoods of Cincinnati.
The neighborhood between the wealth and poor is Columbia-Tusculum, Cincinnati's oldest. Established by the original Cincinnati settlers, flooding kept the area from itself as becoming the city center.
Living behind the times
east
Walking around the streets in the eastern region of the city, the neighborhoods are noticeably bigger and more spread out. Most people tend to drive to their destinations than walk.
Some Interesting art pops up in this area, whether it is underground graffiti, mural, or an art center, the eastern portion of Cincinnati gleams with creative and artistic types usually hiding in plain sight.
Moving Forward
Goodbye Gardens
Northeast
Abandoned buildings and empty parking lots dot the northeast section of the city. What once was busy neighborhoods has become desolate and shades of their former glory. The Cincinnati Gardens was demolished, the neighborhoods of Hartwell and Carthage hold an abundance of used car lots, and shopping in Roselawn has long since left. Over in Bond Hill there is a section of the neighborhood that has become crime ridden. Walking around in this area, a sense of the city not concerning itself with the well-being of the conditions fells very apparent.
Northwest
A mix of heavy industry and one of the city's biggest and lushest parks reside in the northwest portion of the city. Navigating through the area may cause one to feel disconnected with the city. The metro and rural interchange frequently, and yield interesting results. One example is land designated for Mt. Airy Forest reside only a handful of miles from the heavy industrialized area of the old Procter and Gamble factory. The people reflect this odd landscape. Some of Cincinnati's roughest streets reside here, as well as the city's remaining farmers.
West SIde
The southwest slice of the city is known more commonly as just "the west side" to Cincinnatians. The look of the area is strongly presented by the German heritage that came two centuries ago.
Southwest
Railroads and river transportation merge on the southwest side of Cincinnati. To access the west side one has to drive across a viaduct It presents a feeling of isolation from the rest of the city. Trains ride along the river picking up cargo from the barges. A harmony that exists primarily in the neighborhood of Riverside.
East and Lower Price Hill sit on the edge of the inner city.
Central west
Cincinnati's inner city goes from South Fairmount through North Fairmount, Millvale, East Westwood, Village of Roll Hill, English Woods, and up to South Cumminsville. The author started calling it "The Beekman District." The city has a lack of compassion for those living in this area, leaving derelict factories as a shield for passerby passengers along the interstate. The sense of distrust and hopelessness permeates the area.
Camp Washington and Northside are possibly the two most eclectic neighborhoods in Cincinnati
central
Clifton, which sits in the valley of Clifton Avenue is often confused with the CUF (Clifton Heights, University Heights, and Fairview) and Corryville neighborhoods. The whole area covers most of the housing for the University of Cincinnati. All three neighborhoods are within close proximity to the university. Neighborhood residents have started to make improvements in the area to provide a safer experience for the college students.
central
Avondale, North Avondale, and Paddock Hils look fantastic. Even in the sections where the areas are rough, it is not hard to see that this was where the money used to belong.
North Avondale has remained a very striking neighborhood, despite the chaos surrounding the area.
central south
Europe in Cincinnati is the observation made through the area of the Central South part of the city. Evanston was once the location of the historic King Records and is the home of Xavier University. East Walnut Hills and Walnut Hills have had revitalizations recently and bring to life the Western European aesthetic. Eden Park sits on the doorstep of Mt Adams and gives many coming to the park a glimpse of the change occurring in the area.
central hilltop
Mt Adams was once a vineyard before becoming an area where the Irish of the city lived. it was slowly transformed into a quaint neighborhood over the passing decades. Accessibility can be daunting up the hill along the one way streets that inhabit Mt. Adams.
Sitting on the next hill is Mt Auburn. The roads twist and bend around the curves of the hill. Parts of the neighborhood are run down and safety remains a concern but renovations have slowly crept up the hill.
Pendleton sits at the bottom of the hill and it is the home to many of the city's artists.
Where did my old neighbor go?
The revitalized or as some say, gentrified, Over-the-Rhine neighborhood has taken many years to transform to its current state. Home of the city riots of 2000, it now contains world class restaurants and top notch shopping.
city center
The northern half of the neighborhood can still be unsafe. Some feel that it is two different names, OTR in the south and Over-the-Rhine in the north.
central southwest
The West End neighborhood is beaten up. An old community where workers could have lunch in the same pub as their boss. Dayton Street was once known as "Millionaires Row" and sits next to an unused subway tunnel. The money has since gone up the hill and left only the failing businesses and their workers behind.
Many today are discovering that under the dirt there is a beautiful neighborhood.
Queensgate is a fairly new neighborhood that came about after the interstates came along. Formerly known as Kenyon-Barr, the area was razed and property was wiped out. Most of what was originally planned in Queensgate has either never lifted off the ground or has since closed.
downtown
Fountain Square is the city's centerpiece and public celebratory gathering spot.
2015 MLB All-Star Game
The Major League Baseball All-Star game came to the Queen City during the 2015 season and was played at Great American Ballpark in downtown. Former Cincinnati Reds players, such as Eric Davis could be spotted walking around and signing autographs
2015 Taste of Cincinnati
The Taste of Cincinnati is the nation's longest running culinary arts festival. A yearly event that takes place every Memorial Day weekend. The event brings people from all corners of the city and beyond.
One last thing before leaving. I used the official city neighborhood map to draw out where the neighborhoods are located. At least 4 other sources gave me different answers. 3 of those sources listed 52 neighborhoods, 2, including the city map, listed 51 neighborhoods. It has become a fixation to figure out the correct and current neighborhood count and their boundaries.
Also, Cincinnati, please stop changing the boundary lines and neighborhood count. Seriously, the residents of the area are fickle about where they are from and where they are currently.