Architecture : For Good

ReSource redistributed products to assist 330 local charities last year, and it has the potential to be able to reach even more organizations this year through its two new programs, which the nonprofit will unveil at its May 15 Launch Party in Sharonville. 

For more than 20 years, ReSource has collected surplus donations from corporations, and then made items like office furniture and personal care products available to nonprofits for pennies on the dollar. 

“We’re the connector to the nonprofit organizations,” says Development Director Martha Steier. She says ReSource’s ability to bring businesses together has broadened her ability to make an impact in the community. 

Steier says the organization’s mission is to help build stronger nonprofits, so ReSource provides warehouse space for member organizations to come shop for what they need.

“So much we have here with a little creativity and a little open-mindedness can be put together for reuse,” Steier says. 

In addition to offering needed items for low-cost purchase, ReSource will now offer items for rental with its Event Décor Rentals program.

“We’ve had—for about five or six years—a fall fundraiser, as many nonprofits do, and we have a decorations committee who is responsible for decorating tables and making invitations,” Steier says. “And we’ve had several board members that do these same events for other nonprofits, and everyone borrows from everybody else, or they go and buy things and end up storing them in their basements.” 

Rather than buying things and getting limited use from them, ReSource had the idea to get donations for décor, store the items in the warehouse space and then make them available for rental. This allows nonprofits to save money, which they can instead put toward serving the community, Steier says. 

In addition to the Event Décor Rentals program, ReSource will launch its room makeover program, which already has two clients: the YWCA Clermont County women’s shelter and the Lower Price Hill Community School.

ReSource has several architects on its board with the skill and talent to show rather than tell community members the benefits of the nonprofit. 
 
With an all-volunteer design team, ReSource will create specifications to transform rooms within area nonprofits so that they are more useable and conducive to serving the organization’s mission. 

For example, ReSource will replace ripped carpet and make the YWCA’s living room more inviting for women and children. The organization will also renovate a 50-year-old annex within the LPHCS so that it can serve as a classroom for individuals enrolled in the Cincinnati State Technical and Community College’s Bridge program.

“It’s sometimes hard to explain our story,” Steier says. “We really want to be able to show everyone what nonprofits can do with the corporate donations.” 

Ben Eilerman says he realized his love of architecture during his adolescent years at Covington Catholic High School. 

As a professional in the field at Hub+Weber, he has the opportunity to engage in educational outreach with other students who have that same appreciation for art at the same age he did.

Hub+Weber’s latest venture, which not only engaged students in artmaking but also gave them real-world experience, involved Holmes High School’s graffiti club and visual communications class. 

Located in Covington since the firm’s founding nearly 40 years ago, Hub+Weber relocated for the first time last year. Though it maintained its roots in the area, the firm moved from its old home on Greenup Street to the city’s former train station on Pike Street. 

“Behind it are the old passenger stairs up to an elevated rail line, and that area is largely abandoned,” Eilerman says. “[It had] that kind of urban decaying aesthetic to it that we were drawn to, and we wanted to use that space and address it from our standpoint, and then also to start to make the city aware of it.” 

So Hub+Weber reached out to the Center for Great Neighborhoods, who put the firm in touch with Donny Roundtree, the visual communications teacher at Holmes. 

“We talked to him and saw that this was a great opportunity to bring his students down and do a real-life project and build it into something bigger, as far as his curriculum goes,” Eilerman says. 

So the two joined forces to provide students with the opportunity to create an eight-foot by 16-foot graffiti art mural. 

“The students explored different techniques so each of the panels read as an individual panel, and as it draws into the center, it starts to be defined more as a singular mural,” Eilerman says. “It has the background of the Covington skyline across the back, and then it has two trains coming out of the center from a tunnel with the word ‘Pike’ in the middle.” 

Eilerman says the area surrounding Pike has undergone a renaissance over the past few years, so the firm wanted to find a way to contribute by livening up the area while also reaching out to a local school district. 

The mural is currently on display inside the building, and a week ago, the students showed off their work at a gallery opening hosted by Hub+Weber. They received feedback from local designers who gave advice about what it means to “take the arts into a profession,” Eilerman says. 

This month, the mural will inhabit its permanent home—below the underpass where it will be visible from the sidewalk and street for all to see. 

“They spent about six months or so on this,” Eilerman says. “We really acted as a client—they brought the sketches and they talked about what their vision was, and we talked about what ours was, and they had to mesh that. They had to provide a proposal for their work—and I think it was a big benefit to the students.” 

Do Good: 

• Support the arts in your local school district. 

• Support Holmes High School's Nordheim Gallery.

• Like Hub+Weber on Facebook. 

By Brittany York

Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia. 

From organizing events involving beer and historic churches to providing affordable housing and jobs to those who have struggled to attain them in the past, the Over-the-Rhine Foundation does a little bit of everything. And it's all for the purpose of reinventing and celebrating a diverse, historically-rooted community.

At the beginning of February, Kevin Pape, who’s lived in Cincinnati his whole life and who grew up with a fondness for the OTR community, stepped up to the role of president of the foundation. 

OTR has been a part of Pape’s family history for multiple generations, so he’s someone who understands what the community has to offer. 

His grandparents lived in OTR and operated a business there until 1935, though it was actually started back in 1850. Pape lived in the community himself for about four years in the 1970s, and his office at Gray & Pape—a cultural resource management and historic preservation consulting firm—just celebrated 23 years at its Main Street location.

Pape says because of his background, he deals with the renovation of historic buildings all the time, but his vision for OTR contains much more than the preservation of buildings.

“I think my interest really is in community-building,” Pape says. “The message is that it’s really all about putting people back into historic buildings and finding ways to do that in a meaningful way.” 

One way Pape and the OTRF plan to build on that vision is through their strategic plan, which entails owner-occupied redevelopment, historic preservation and the goal of making OTR the greenest historic neighborhood in the country. 

“We also want to encourage people who are investing in the neighborhood to seek ways to provide meaningful employment and jobs for people that live in the neighborhood who may not have had access to opportunities before,” Pape says. 

While working to show that “green buildings, sustainable buildings, LEED certification and historic preservation are actually compatible,” the OTRF also helps organize events like Bockfest, which Pape says showcases what’s good and great about the community.

This year, the nonprofit, in conjunction with American Legacy Tours, is offering historic church tours, which will highlight the architecture and stories of four different 19th century landmarks within the community.

 “When you think about the size of OTR and the number of churches, it gives you a good sense about the density of people and the diversity even at that time that would have such a population to support a variety of churches,” says Pape.   

It’s that diversity that has withstood the test of time, and which Pape says the community embraces at all levels.  

“Socioeconomic, racial, ethnic, you name it,” Pape says. “It provides residential density that allows people to share ideas and celebrate those differences in being able to all live in a compact place at one time. It’s about not only economic vitality, but residential vitality.” 

Uptown Consortium, an organization dedicated to building up and revitalizing the neighborhoods of uptown Cincinnati, currently has about $700 million worth of development that has been completed, is underway or will be completed in the next 12 months, says Beth Robinson, president and CEO of the nonprofit. 

“We were looking for a way we could reach out to the residents and make sure they’re participating in the economic and development boom here in Uptown,” Robinson says. 

So the organization partnered with the Urban League of Greater Cincinnati to sponsor and modify sections of its SOAR Program and Construction Connections apprenticeship. 

Robinson says the Urban League’s programs are a perfect fit because they have high job-placement rates for their graduates and are also located in Uptown. 

“A few years ago, we did some work in this area and did a session with HR representatives from the big institutions up here—an informational session—and from that, we learned job readiness is something that our residents here who are out of work could really benefit from," she says.

To help address that issue, SOAR, which is a three-week program that provides training in areas like resume writing, interviewing and employer expectations, will help to prepare Uptown residents and then help them gain employment.

Once participants complete SOAR, they are encouraged to take part in the Construction Connections program if they show an interest in the trade. Through the eight-week program, participants learn the basic skills needed to secure employment. “Urban League is great because they have working relationships for job placement with all the big construction companies in town,” Robinson says. 

Uptown Consortium is looking at its sponsorship of the two programs as a pilot project, but Robinson says she’s confident that it will be successful. If all goes as planned, about 25 Uptown residents will go from unemployed to employed in the coming months, with 15 of those residents working on the construction and developments in their community that will improve livability and promote place-making. 

“We’re really excited,” Robinson says. “We feel like it really adds value for Uptown residents.”

Do Good: 

• Learn more about SOAR and similar programs by visiting the Urban League of Greater Cincinnati's website.

• Keep up with all the news from Uptown Cincinnati by liking its page on Facebook.

• Be a part of community building in Uptown by checking out the events happening in the area.

By Brittany York

Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia. 

Kyle Campbell remembers designing his first house when he was home sick from school in the fourth grade. 

“Ever since then, going through high school, while most people would go out and do things, I would actually build models of houses I designed just for fun,” he says. “Coming into architecture was sort of a long time coming.” 

Campbell, who currently serves as the Architectural Foundation of Cincinnati’s board member for the Architecture by Children program, did not initially make the decision to major in architecture, but he says the built environment has always had a huge impact on him. 

“I was a huge LEGO nerd,” says Campbell. “So the thought of building space and constructing things and designing things has always been a big part of who I am.” 

Now Campbell is sharing his childhood love with others in the ABC program. Jointly sponsored by the AFC and a local chapter of the American Institute of Architects, the program aims to teach architectural principles to students through hands-on projects, as explained by volunteer architects. 
 
Campbell is one of those volunteers, but he’s also working to evaluate the program by matching it with the Ohio Department of Education's academic content standards to ensure that it has a lasting educational impact. 

“The AFC, as of this year, has decided that we want to take a more invested role in how the program unfolds because essentially, what we’ve been in the past is a donor of money,” Campbell says. “We’d like to be able to provide more manpower and more resources to help it be more successful.” 

The program currently reaches about 60 schools and 1,100 students, with ideally one architect assigned to each school. Participating students are tasked with a new project each year. This year, they are designing a museum of their choice for a space at 12th and Vine streets downtown. 

One seventh grade student has envisioned a nature museum with a river running throughout and a grand staircase with water flowing from the roof to simulate a waterfall that flows into an outdoor pond the public can enjoy. Her museum also contains a fountain enclosed in glass so people who are not inside the museum can interact with it.

“It’s just amazing coming from a seventh grader because those are the things I’d dream to do in a real-world project,” Campbell says. “The most important thing is to keep the kids understanding that it’s okay to be creative and to think outside the box.”

Campbell says he’s proud of the architecture this city has to offer, and he’s made it a personal goal to help the AFC achieve its mission of “educating the greater community of Cincinnati on the built environment.” 

“Most people don’t realize that Cincinnati has a fantastic history in architecture; it’s actually one of the most historical cities in the development of modern architecture,” Campbell says. “I want to be able to use the AFC as a way of educating the general public on those kinds of things.” 

Do Good: 

• View ABC student projects at the downtown branch of the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County during the week of April 13-20. 

• Contact the AFC if you live in a home or know of a historically significant building that you'd like to share or learn more about. 

• Attend the AFC's exhibit,  ENVISION CINCINNATI. 

By Brittany York

Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.

While Over-the-Rhine makes weekly headlines with its redevelopment renaissance, the neighborhood remains the home base for thousands of residents, many of whom can’t afford to be patrons of new restaurants and businesses. Over-the-Rhine Community Housing seeks to sustain an inclusive and diverse neighborhood, where longtime residents feel comfortable and confident that they will always have a home in OTR, even if their community continues to draw more and more people to the area.
 
Since 1960, the population of OTR has steadily decreased, falling from 30,000 to just shy of 5,000 residents. However, between the years of 2007 and 2010, the population increased by about 40 percent. That shift does more than fill apartments and condos. With a rising population comes higher property values and higher real estate taxes, all of which makes it more difficult to provide affordable housing to those who can’t afford market prices, says Mary Burke, executive director of OTRCH.
 
“Do we charge higher rent, or how do we close that even larger gap?” Burke asks. “So we want others—decision makers, power brokers—to work with us to figure that out. How do we maintain affordability in this neighborhood so that it can remain diverse going forward? It really will take some creative thinking and creative strategies.”
 
OTRCH currently provides safe, affordable housing to residents—half of whom earn less than $10,000 per year.
 
“Shelter is a basic human thing that people need, and being able to help an organization create more affordable places to live and be a part of is why it’s important,” says Brittany Skelton, OTRCH volunteer coordinator. “In Cincinnati, we have 300,000 people in our city limits, and about 100,000 live in poverty, and there isn’t enough affordable housing to go around.”
 
If there isn’t enough affordable housing to go around, the question remains: where will residents go if they can’t afford a place to live?
 
“People have low wages," Burke says. "Where are they going to rent that’s safe and decent and where they can build a community? If we close the door of OTR to affordable housing, where are people going to go? There’s an opportunity here to demonstrate that low-income, middle-income, high-income [individuals] can live together—not that they all have to be best friends and that there won’t be some disagreement now and then—but that it can work. Property values increase, people get along. There’s an opportunity.”
 
Moving forward, OTRCH will need community support, but Burke is confident that OTR can be a welcoming and inclusive community for all individuals. She’s already seen that happen as a result of the Washington Park renovations.
 
“The programming has made it feel like everyone’s welcome, and it’s not for some kind of separate culture or community,” she says.
 
Burke’s hope is that the urban redevelopments of OTR do not have to lead to the displacement of the community’s long-time residents. They shouldn’t feel pushed out, she says.
 
“It would be like any of us who have roots somewhere," says Burke. "You just love it and want to stay there. I’d like the new folks moving in to appreciate that. There’s just a value in living with difference and extending your world to include diversity.” 

Do Good: 

• Get involved with OTRCH by volunteering to renovate houses or research grant information.

• Donate money or items to help OTRCH continue to promote and fulfill its mission.

• Like the organization on Facebook, and share its page with your friends. 

By Brittany York

Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati and a teacher at the Regional Institute of Torah and Secular Studies. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia. 

What better way to experience the beauty and diversity of Cincinnati’s historic architecture than within the walls of its oldest brick house?  

Forward Into the Past, an art exhibit custom-tailored to its venue, will open at the historic Betts House on Jan. 12. 
Photographer Jens Rosenkrantz, Jr,. combines a variety of historic and contemporary materials to reveal long-ago places and scenes, which remind viewers “that in a city like Cincinnati, the past is ever present through the historic architecture and streetscapes we encounter daily,” says Julie Carpenter, executive director of Betts House.

Rosenkrantz, local artist, entrepreneur and partial owner of Clifton’s La Poste Eatery and Django Western Taco in Northside, uses a variety of techniques to recreate century-old views of the city.  

Finding old maps at the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, he overlaid them with historic photographs for an aerial and street-view of 19^th century Cincinnati. In other photographic landscapes, the artist removed reminders of modern life—telephone lines, stop lights—and reveals the unadulterated historic authenticity that many of the city’s streetscapes still process, viewed from behind the frames of old windows salvaged from Building Value. 

“We spend most of our time living in a house or working in a building, but we seldom think about the built environment,” says Carpenter. “A great way to think about that is from an artist’s perspective.”   

This show is the final exhibit in the Betts House’s 2012-2013 series, The Art of the Built Environment, supported by a Project Support Grant from ArtsWave.

The Betts House, built in 1804 and located in the Betts-Longworth Historic District near downtown, is the only local museum that explores the history of the built environment through architecture, building trades and materials, construction technologies and historic preservation.  

Do Good:

• Visit Forward Into the Past, which will run from Jan. 12-Feb. 28 at the Betts House, two blocks west of Music Hall at 416 Clark St.

• Donate time or funds. Historic homes require regular maintenance and upkeep; consider a donation to the Betts House or help with its house tours or public programs. 

• Stop by Jens Rosenkrantz’s studio at The Pendleton Art Center to see his work, which ranges from history-inspired pieces to abstract and contemporary material.

By Becky Johnson

Emanuel Community Center has entered into an agreement to sell its historic Over-the-Rhine building and operate an urban squash program to teach children the racquet sport more commonly associated with Ivy League universities than inner city neighborhoods. 

Emanuel, which has struggled financially for the past several years, will sell the 141-year-old building at 1308 Race Street to Grandin Properties, a Hyde-Park based real estate management company, says Emanuel Board Chairman Russ Naber. 
Grandin plans to convert the building into office space targeted at budding entrepreneurs to grow the area’s burgeoning startup community, says President and CEO Peg Wyant.

The agreement comes just weeks after Emanuel abruptly shut its doors, let its staff go, dismantled its daycare and early learning center and notified its handful of tenants they had to relocate. The move shocked many as the board said it was reviewing several options, which included evaluating if Emanuel would continue to exist.

The purchase price was not disclosed; however Wyant estimated the total cost—including renovations—will be near $4 million. Neither Naber nor Wyant would disclose how much will be paid to Emanuel.

Naber says the deal will allow Emanuel to resolve its debt and become financially stable. The nonprofit listed liabilities totaling nearly $600,000 in 2010—including a $150,000 personal loan made by Naber, according to Emanuel’s tax return. Naber said the nonprofit had not yet paid back that loan. More recent tax returns were not available.

But the agreement does call for Emanuel to lease back—at $1 a year—8,000-square-feet for the next 25 years, a value estimated at about $2.5 million. The 37,672-square-foot building and equipment were valued at nearly $2.6 million in 2010, according to the tax return.

Plans call for Emanuel to convert the building’s existing gym into squash courts and to fund the racquet program, Wyant says, adding that she is hopeful that “Emanuel’s attractive donor list will be positively influenced by this’’ and those donors will help to fund the gym’s conversion to squash courts.

Wyant approached Emanuel in August when she said she heard they were looking at possibly selling the building. Naber calls that meeting serendipity.

“What they brought to us was unique. It was truly distinct,’’ he says. “It is what is best for Emanuel and the community.”
Naber says details of the agreement need to be worked out, but adds that the Grandin plan meets the nonprofit’s three criteria.

“It allows us to continue as a nonprofit, it lets us stay in our current location, which is very emotional for us, and it puts us in a stronger financial place,’’ he says. “Financial stability was key to us.”

In addition to the office spaces, which Wyant says she foresees serving as a “hub of entrepreneurial activity,” she hopes to add a restaurant and rooftop gardens, including some that could be used as teaching gardens. The renovation timetable has yet to be finalized, but she says she hopes the work can be completed in six to 12 months, with the squash program up and running in 12 to 18 months.

Wyant says several companies have expressed interest in potential office space and at least two have visited the building.
“The Brandery and Cintrifuse are interested,’’ she says. The business and innovation incubators on nearby Vine Street will likely need more space to house startup companies they launch in the future. Many want to remain in Over-the-Rhine, she says.   

Wyant founded Grandin Properties nearly 25 years ago with a keen eye toward historic preservation and says she has been interested in Over-The-Rhine for nearly 20 years. She says she has been looking for the right building to develop as well as the right opportunity to combine her family’s love of squash with their commitment to giving back to the community.

The squash program Emanuel will operate will be modeled after urban programs endorsed by the National Urban Squash and Education Association, co-founded by Wyant’s son, Tim, in 2005. The organization operates 12 programs in 11 cities, including CitySquash in the Bronx and METROsquash in Chicago. 

Wyant’s other three adult children are heavily involved in the sport as is her husband, Jack Wyant, who is founder and managing director of Blue Chip Venture Co.

Missy Wyant Smit is on the board of directors of SquashDrive. Jack Wyant is head coach of the University of Pennsylvania’s men’s and women’s squash teams. He has also coached the United States Junior Women’s World Championship teams and competed on the professional Squash Association.  The youngest sibling, Chris Wyant, is an avide squash player but is not as invovlved in the game, said brother Tim Wyant. 

“We have watched these youth squash programs for years and we know they work,’’ Peg Wyant says. “Not all of these programs work for kids, but these do. We’ve witnessed it. We wanted to bring this to Cincinnati.

“Jack and I are committed to Cincinnati and squash—and this program—is something we know about,’’ she adds. “Squash is the hook, but education is really the goal.”

Tim Wyant says he has worked with his mother for at least 12 years looking for the right builidng in the right neighborhood to house a nonprofit squash program, which combines academic, athletic and community service for students starting in the third grade. Wyant, who operates the Bronx program and lives in New York, visited Emanuel first in August and again when he was back for the Thanksgiving holiday. 

"It's an amazing building,'' he says. "This is really an ideal situation.''

Wyant who speaks passionately about the program readily admits that some may see the game as elitist. That is not a bad thing, he adds.

"What this does is introduce students to a community very different than their own,'' he says. "Squash is a culture that values education. And the ultimate goal is to have these students go onto college and end the cycle of poverty for themselves and their families."

He estimates the programs have collectively sent between 300 and 400 students not only to college, but to very good universities including Harvard, Cornell, Wesleyan and Amherst. Most students were awarded scholarships.

"This is really an inch wide and a mile deep program. We really want to transform the lives of the kids,'' says Wyant, who adds many students are involved a minimum of three times a week and many participate five to six days a week in both the sport and educational programs. 

Wyant said he was unsure the cost of coverting the gym into squash courts, but estimated first year operating costs to be between $150 to $200,000. In later years, operating costs could reach between $500,000 to $750,000.  

"We and the Emanual board have a lot of work to get done on how this will all get done,'' he says.

Peg Wyant and Naber both say that another residual outcome of putting the squash program inside an office building with young, talented, smart, engaged and educated entrepreneurs is that they will serve as mentors and role models to the kids in the program.

Naber says he hopes the program will serve 70 to 100 children a year and they hope to work with area schools and other programs.

Jean St. John, founder and operator of My Nose Turns Red, the youth circus nonprofit that was housed at the Emanuel Community Center, says she is continuing to search for a new space to call home.

“We are very sad about the change," St. John says. "There are many successful youth circus programs around the country with a similar focus and I wish they had approached us to explore expansion."

They moved to Emanuel as a startup company and she said she expected their rent to grow as it had in the past from $150 per month to $250 per month. “I think they had the right idea under their noses all along and sorry that they never worked with the companies that were already there,’’ she says.

Kelly Leon, who used the gym for her OTR Jazzercise classes for the past four years, is also looking for a new space that will let people of all income levels work out together.

“There were so many bonds created there,’’ says Leon. “It was a very special group.”

Naber says the options facing Emanuel were dire.

“These are never easy choices. But at some point we had to put our business hats on. We were draining money and we had to do something to fix it.”

The building is not Emanuel, he says. It is what the nonprofit has done and will continue to do in the future that is its reason for being.

“To me, this is a good thing for the city," he says. "You have to step away and assess it. In the end it will help the children and youth reach their potential and be a success in life. That is what we are all really passionate about. This sustains that.”

Do Good
·        Contact my Nose Turns Red nonprofit teaching circus if you know of a suitable space where they might relocate.
·        OTR Jazzercise is also looking for a gym or workout area in or around Over-the-Rhine.  Drop them a message on their Facebook account.
·        Track ongoing developments on Emanuel Community Center’s web site.
·        Contribute to the National Urban Squash Education Association.

By Chris Graves
Chris Graves is the assistant vice president of digital and social media at the Powers Agency.

Many hands make light work.

The Arts Center at Dunham knows the meaning of that old saying well. Last Saturday, 60 volunteers from Procter & Gamble, GE Aviation, and Sunset Players descended upon the structure with paint and polish.  Now, the Art Deco building is ready for its re-opening as a community art center after it was closed for repairs several years ago.

The building has a deep and personal history within the Price Hill community. 

Once, it was part of the large Dunham Tuberculosis Hospital, the first municipally-owned tuberculosis sanatorium in the country. Opened in 1897, it was renamed after its long-time medical director, Dr. Henry Kennon Dunham, who served the hospital, without pay, from 1909-1940.

Samuel Hannaford and Sons, the preeminent architectural firm in Cincinnati during the 1920s known for the design of Music Hall and City Hall, designed the Art Deco building for occupational and entertainment needs, including a movie theatre for residents confined to the grounds.  

After the hospital closed in the early 1970s, Cincinnati reopened the complex as a recreational center. Most of the hospital buildings were torn down, but this building was kept as a center for arts programming. 

Beth Andriacco is community engagement coordinator for Price Hill Will, one of the groups behind the effort to reclaim the building for community arts.  

“Most of us who grew up in the area took classes there, like pottery and cooking,” she recalls.

The Sunset Players, a community theater group, made the Dunham Art Center its home, so when a leaky roof closed the building, the Players kept performing in other venues while raising money to fix its structural problems and work towards a long-term lease of the building.  

Partnering with the City of Cincinnati, the Cincinnati Recreation Center, the West Price Hill Civic Club, Price Hill Will and the Dunham Advisory Board, the Sunset Players were joined by volunteers from local industry for this last push to re-open the building.  When the center opens, it will offer art programming and studio space, as well as theater productions.    

“P&G and GE Aviation wanted to do a large volunteer project…and contacted Price Hill Will,” says Andriacco.  This project was the perfect fit.  

Do Good:

• Attend: the first Sunset Players production in the new center, a Playhouse in the Park “Off the Hill” production for families called Accidental Friends, Sept. 29 at 7pm.

• Visit: the Sunset Players online, as the company celebrates its 30 years of community performances and offers a link to join the group or help with the art center.

• Like: the Arts Center at Dunham on Facebook to stay current on the landmark's latest news.

By Becky Johnson

As Cincinnati’s “home for art,” the Taft Museum of Art has stood stalwart for generations as a unique cultural institution, housing an extensive art collection that encompasses both American and international works in a grand yet intimate setting.

As the museum celebrates its 80th year, the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County presents a series of six talks highlighting the unique history, art and families that have influenced the repository’s longevity.

The talks are designed to bring a piece of the Taft Museum to new audiences.

David Siders, popular library manager for the Public Library of Cincinnati, and Nancy Huth, curator of education for the Taft Museum of Art, developed and planned the 80th anniversary talk series.

“The Taft showcases a couples’ art collection in a domestic setting and in a way that encourages engagement with the artwork,” Huth says. “It is truly a Cincinnati gem.”

Siders couldn’t be more pleased with the collaboration. Not only does the library serve as a centralized setting for the talks, it also houses books, multimedia and research databases for further exploration of art history and Cincinnati itself.

The partnership between the library and the Taft Museum extends beyond the summer series. The library also provides books and DVDs to the Taft Museum to be viewed on site.

“This provides opportunities for museum goers to learn more about the art featured at the Taft exhibitions,” Siders says.

Huth presents the first talk tonight, July 17, at the Main Library’s Reading Garden Lounge.

She will focus on the history of the Baum-Longworth-Sinton-Taft House, an impressive piece of Federal style architecture.

Other topics include: “Open Lawn and Secret Garden: The Gardens of the Taft Museum of Art,” and “Style and Substance: Taft Family Portraits.”

For more information, call 513.369.6919 or go online.


Do Good:

•    Head to the Public Library downtown July 17 to hear “A Federal Mansion for Cincinnati: The History of the Baum-Longworth-Sinton-Taft House.”

•    Explore the library’s online resources.

•    Visit the Taft Museum of Art.

By Deidra Wiley Necco

While you never get a second chance to make a first impression, sometimes you do get a second chance at funding an innovative project that could transform a community, beginning with its storefronts.

The CoSign project is just that. What started as a broader grant application to ArtPlace America for several city neighborhoods became more personal for Northsiders after the city-wide application went unfunded.

Undaunted, partners in Northside and the American Sign Museum, with funding from the Haile/US Bank Foundation, are moving ahead with the project.

What better way to draw shoppers to Northside’s eclectic streetscape than creative, coordinated signage?

As part of CoSign, local businesses, visual artists from across Cincinnati and professional sign fabricators will design and install a critical mass of new signage along Hamilton Avenue, with an expected launch date of Nov. 23, this year’s Black Friday.  

CoSign will fund most of the costs for commissioning, permitting, fabricating and installing the signage.  
Eric Avner, vice president and senior program manager with the Haile/US Bank Foundation, explains the appeal of supporting business/artist collaborations.  

“We wanted to do multiple things at once,” Avner says. “Help the sign museum, help local business districts gain vitality; and give the creative sector of Cincinnati more opportunities to make a living.”  

Northside’s business district and enthusiastic community support made it a logical pilot location.

As the primary grant recipient and fiscal sponsor, the American Sign Museum will provide content specialists by staffing two training workshops in August for artists and business owners. The project also pulls from the organizational talents of ArtWorks, which will help coordinate the artists and their work.

The museum will also assemble a judging panel to review and decide upon the best signage proposals from business/artist teams. The brand-new sign museum space at 1330 Monmouth Street will house the new signage before it is hung on Hamilton Avenue.  

Little Things Labs, a social/cultural innovation idea laboratory that problem-solves with municipalities to create better places to live and work, is assisting the Haile Foundation with CoSign’s development.  

Josh McManus, lead inventor at the lab, sees the Sign Museum as an integral partner.

“Our hope is not just 10 signs but a newfound attention to the benefits of great signage,” McManus says. “That’s why the American Sign Museum is such a perfect partner to work with on this project.”

CoSign will be documented so other communities can replicate it and broadcast their own creativity and collaborative spirit through signage.  

Do Good:

• Look: For a call for artists to participate in this project; contact ArtWorks for more information.

• Visit: The American Sign Museum and enjoy its new space and interactive signage displays. 

• Like Northside on Facebook to keep up with the project and other activities in the neighborhood.

By Becky Johnson

From a health clinic in Tanzania to contemporary modern homes, architects in Cincinnati help “build the world,” the title and focus of the latest exhibit at the Architectural Foundation of Cincinnati’s gallery space downtown.

In the village of Roche in Tanzania, health care needs seemed overwhelming. Chris Lewis, MD, who founded the NGO Village Life Outreach, looked to design partners at the University of Cincinnati for ideas. The design team at UC, led by architect and assistant professor Michael Zaretzy, researched, designed and built the Roche Health Center, which opened last spring.

The environmentally conscious design laid the groundwork for continued building and outreach in Tanzania, cementing a partnership that enriches lives and educational opportunities, according to Village Life Outreach Executive Director Richard Elliott.

Other firms and designers with work in the AFC’s latest exhibit include Jose Garcia Design, Kolar Design, A359 Partners in Architecture, FRCH Design Worldwide and SFA Architects.

Do Good:

• Attend the opening reception. Visit the gallery at 811 Race St., June 26, from 6-8 pm. The exhibit runs through Aug. 16.

• Learn more. Find out the history and the current work of the Architectural Foundation of Cincinnati.

• Shop the AFC online store, where you’ll find books and information about Architreks’ tours.

By Elissa Yancey
Follow Elissa on Twitter.

Spring is in full bloom at the Cincinnati Zoo with a slew of upcoming exhibits, renovations and successful sustainability efforts.

Among some of the new features the zoo is showcasing this season are the opening of Cat Canyon – a display allowing visitors to come face to face through glass with Malayan tigers – and a drive to raise funds to finish the Africa exhibit, which, once completed, will be the largest exhibit in zoo history.

The zoo’s Reptile House will also have a new look, as renovations to the building’s exterior will replace deteriorating mortar and return the roof to its original red. A new welcome center featuring Smartboard technology informing guests of daily events and offering a map of the zoo is another addition.

Sustainability efforts at the zoo, such as a Sustainable Shopper mobile phone application, Earth Day electronic waste recycling, storm water management and the solar canopy project are kicking into high gear as well, says Sofia Cifuentes, the zoo’s sustainability coordinator.

“The impact that the Zoo’s operations have seen since implementing aggressive sustainability measures has been tremendous,” Cifuentes says. “In just six years, we have invested $1.5 million in utilities and have saved over $3.3 million.”

Part of that savings can be attributed to the zoo cutting its water usage by more than half – from 220 million to 90 million gallons per year – and decreasing its energy usage by 11 percent, both results of the zoo’s solar canopy project, water usage and storm water management program, Cifuentes says.

“The solar canopy project that was installed (in 2011) gave us the largest urban, publicly accessible array in the nation at 1.56 megawatts, and provided the Zoo with 20 percent of its energy needs,” Cifuentes says. “On days when it is sunny and cool, we are completely off the grid.”

The zoo’s sustainability efforts, however, don’t stop at the Zoo’s gates, Cifuentes says.

“We also have a strong involvement with our community and helping them be as green as they can be through community gardens, green space, home weatherization projects and other green classes,” Cifuentes says.

Do Good:
• Donate to the Africa Exhibit fundraising drive. Contact Russell Doyle, (513) 487-3324, for details.

• Check out the Zoo’s new education initiative, Eat Like An Animal, which educates families on the health benefits of eating like an animal.

• Use the zoo’s Sustainable Shopper mobile phone application to choose products made with Certified Sustainable Palm Oil and help protect wildlife.

By James Sprague