As our fair city continues its emergence from the gun-metal grey depths of winter, it's remarkable how quickly things seem to "green up" around our little metropolis.
As a native of Michigan, I witnessed firsthand there how misguided it was to equate the concepts of April and Spring-time. Even the month of May can be a dicey proposition up in those climes. Just four hours away in Cincinnati, however, being at the extreme northern limit of the humid subtropical climate, is a completely different story. That's right dear readers, 'tis now Spring, and, as such, a not-so-young columnist's thoughts turn to…well, our humble city's amazing
park system.
One of the things that struck me when I first arrived in Cincinnati was the wealth of well-maintained and attractive parks in and around the urban core. From Eden Park to Burnett Woods, Yeatman's Cove, Sawyer Point, Ted Berry International Friendship Park and beyond, the city has historically taken great pride and care in its city parks system. The attention to detail, not to mention maintenance, is striking and in stark contrast to what I saw in my previous home in Detroit. Even something as small as the planters on Ft. Washington Way are meticulously cultivated and attended to from Spring to Fall.
Moreover, the Park Board is not content to simply rest on its laurels, as it has embarked on several highly anticipated projects opening within the ensuing year. While
Washington Park has generated major kudos and acclaim for its soon-to-be stunning reconstruction (opening next Spring), what many might fail to realize is that the
Cincinnati Riverfront Park ("CRP" ) is rapidly posed to come online in a little over a month. Two huge parks projects less than a mile from each other in the heart of the urban core. These are the kind of assets which really enhance the attractiveness and livability of our rapidly evolving downtown.
Perhaps initially overlooked in the monolithic hubbub that is the
Banks Project, not to mention the full-throated mania directed at the Reds games at nearby Great American Ball Park, is that CRP's Phase 1 is moving at breakneck speed in order to have the Schmidlapp Event Lawn open and ready to go for planned
events on May 24 and 25. We were recently privy to a tour of the site from the obviously knowledgeable and erudite project manager, Dave Prather. It's truly amazing what they have been able to accomplish on a site which was essentially a barren and desolate mud pit just a short time ago.
As we donned our attractively stylish yellow safety helmets and green vests at the corner of Mehring and Main, it was already evident how much had been accomplished. The newly configured Mehring Way is integrated seamlessly into the park and its new route arcs to the North while dipping discretely under the Roebling Suspension Bridge. Following there we climbed the steps to the site of the
Moerlein Lager House. After sitting dormant for a rather lengthy period of time, it was good to see construction of the Lager House finally under way. Indeed, even the outline of the "Moer to Go" carryout window was evident on the West wall near the future location of the Moerlein Biergarten.
With elaborate waterproofing largely complete, the event lawn is currently receiving the four feet of dirt necessary to fill its entire basin. In two weeks, grass should be ready to go. Large trees [read: not the meek saplings that were planted in the re-done Fountain Square] such as Red Maples, Sycamores and a Kentucky Coffee Tree are arriving next Friday. The lower portions of the park are currently out for construction bids, site prep is ongoing and work should begin August 1. By Mid-November, the lower phase (let's call it "Phase 1-B) should have many of its features largely completed.
Some of the more interesting attractions are both the elaborate Walnut Street Fountain and Steps, scheduled for completion next Spring, and the
Bike Mobility Center. The bike center, currently scheduled to open this Fall, will feature space for 160 bikes, rentals, locker rooms for men and women, showers and other assorted accoutrements for the urban cyclist. Indeed, project manager Prather will no doubt be a frequent user, seeing as how he bikes to work every day from his home in Wyoming. The steps, meanwhile, are an elaborate focal point of the park, situated as they are at the axis of Walnut Street and Mehring Way, and are intended to really be Cincinnati's version of Rome's famed Spanish Steps. With various cascading pools, walkways, terraces and other elements, they will really be one of the focal points of the entire park
Great pride is also taken in the head house in front of the Lager House site. This is one of the main access steps to parking below, and also contains the audio/visual control room for the event lawn. It's obvious that much thought went into the head house, from the attractive raw materials to its au courant "green" roof. Indeed, it was apparently dubbed the "Taj Ma-Head House" by one of the Bank's developers, an ironic comment considering the type of materials used in their product. I always thought the placement of the head house seemed a bit obtuse, considering it is smack dab in front of the Northern façade of the Lager House. Nevertheless it is certainly an impressive head house (for those that actually keep track of such things).
What's impressive is that all of this comes amidst a time of great uncertainty and budget cuts on our city's parks system. Finding its budget cut by a third, the Parks Board is going to have some difficult decisions to make in the future related to park maintenance and other services (e.g. the planters on Ft. Washington Way). Hopefully, some of the slack will be picked up by volunteer groups in the city. Additionally, the beauty of the CRP is that it is a revenue generating device via both the Lager House rental payments as well as the event lawn.
In 1907, famed landscape architect George Kessler laid out his master plan for Cincinnati Parks. Although not entirely realized, much of our park system today owes a debt to Kessler's plan. One criticism noted in the plan, however, was that "in the past no attention has been paid to the matter of rescuing river front property within the city," concluding that "for the present at least the reclamation of the river seems out of the question." With CRP now joining Yeatman's Cove, Sawyer Point and the Ted Berry parks in a ribbon of park space on the riverfront, Kessler would no doubt be pleased.
Photography by Scott Beseler.
Casey Coston and Dave Prather on site of the Banks project
Theodore Berry International Friendship Park
Rendering of a future water feature at Cincinnati Riverfront Park
"Taj Ma-Head House"
The Banks housing units
Saywer Point