11 May 2009

Cincinnati Home of the First Cul-de-sac

The first cul-de-sac?

Happened upon this old advertisement which shows Linden Place in Mariemont. This street and houses are still there. (It is a minor road on the left when entering from Cincinnati/Fairfax).

In case you cannot read it, the caption reads:
Gathered about a grassy circle and picturesque garage, with shady lanes leading to street and boulevard, these pretty frame cottages, with rose-covered porches, will be the first to greet people entering Mariemont from Cincinnati by the State Highway, Wooster Pike.

Linden Place is intended to be a typical residence development for people of moderate means. The houses were erected in 1925 by the Company on easily graded, cheap land and therefor approach the lowest cost-ideal consistent with large lots and attractive planting. It is hoped here to demonstrate how a little skillfully placed shrubbery lends charm to the simplest home.

Mariemont 1924, Elzner and Anderson Architects

Articles retrieved from Google date the cul-de-sac a few years later:
Since its early use in 1928 as part of the hierarchical circulation system in the design of Radburn, New Jersey, the cul-de-sac has been the preferred instrument for controlling through traffic.

The town’s structure exemplified the ideal subdivision layout. ... A town ‘for the motor age.’ A town turned outside-in—without any back doors. A town where roads and parks fit together like the fingers of your right and left hands. A town in which children need never dodge motor-trucks on their way to school.”
A couple of things I noticed. First, there is a green lawn in the center of the cul-de-sac as drawn. Also, it is not really a dead-end, because a small lane connects the end to an adjacent street.

4 comments:

VisuaLingual said...

A picturesque garage... You've already made my day!

dave said...

If only we could inform those 1924 homeowners-of-modest-means what lay ahead in Oct 1929....

CityKin said...

Well, if you wait long enough there was a good return on these houses. They sell now for over $250k.

catherine said...

We're number 1! We're number 1! We're number 1!...In cul-de-sacs!