28 January 2011

Garage Under Construction

 


From 3CDC Washington Park Update

10 comments:

Dave said...

This parking garage project provides an opportunity to glimpse into what some expect to unfold in the future.

On the one hand I do hope the garage plays a big role in preserving the treasure that the Music Hall is.

But I also wonder what transformations the parking garage will experience in the next 50 years if the personal automobile ceases to be the dominant mode of transport.

Is anyone else documenting the construction for research archives?

Anonymous said...

Yes, yes, Music Hall is a treasure that should be preserved, and I also agree, it's hard to imagine the car remaining king -- but
to me, this photo is more than anything else, a glimpse of what's unfolding now, everywhere:

The have-nots having what little they have (in this case, a pool and a school) commandeered so that the have-mores can have even more (in this case, convenient parking). It's a visual metaphor for the completely pernacious direction of our economy.

Blue Ash Mom

Anonymous said...

have not's? Did you ever actually go to washington park? They had plenty. Beer, wine,crack, whores. Living off government checks. Seems to me that the have not's have been living like Roman aristocrats and the have's, they actually have to work.

Anonymous said...

When I was at the Washington Park pool -- admittedly 2+ decades ago, sigh -- I saw children. I have no reason to think that changed over the years.

I can only assume Anon, that you are middle-class -- because ours is the class that pays taxes. And yes, we probably pay more than we should.

That is because the Haves, the top smidgen of the top 1%, does not pay their fair share. We are being robbed by them!

But our paths do not cross -- the ultrawealthy live very far apart from the rest of us. The poor, we do see.

In short, you are right to be angry, though your anger is misdirected. But something tells me you are not ready to see this.

Blue Ash Mom

Anonymous said...

don't get your patties in a bunch. I'm only tired of people commenting that progress is a attack on the poor, when in fact it should be looked at as inspiration to the children in the area. Why should poor children be surround by broken down playgrounds and alcoholics, drug dealers, prostitutes? Don't they deserve nice neighborhoods to live in? I'm not angry I'm concerned that the suburbanites like yourself feel the urge to comment on things they seem to know nothing about. Let's inspire, improve, teach, leaving things the way they are will only lead to fear, hate, and worst of all ignorance.

Anonymous said...

Yes, poor children deserve better. For one thing, they shouldn't be so poor! We are the richest nation ever and one-fifth of our children live in poverty. It's a disgrace, and a reflection of the economic trends I complained about in my first comment.

That said, I fail to see how any child in OTR's life will be enriched by having a parking lot used by people from other areas dropping by to run into a building across the street for a few hours, then running back to their cars and driving away. I mean really, does an underground parking lot inspire anything in anybody? At a pool, you see people having fun, learning how to swim, doing daring dives. That's inspiring.

Finally, while it is true I live in the suburbs now (see my nom de net), it's only been for the most recent portion of my life. You may be interested to know that among other things, I spent the first nine years of my life in a city housing project in The Bronx, and my first six years in Cincinnati (back in the 1980s) without a car. In other words, taking the bus. So please don't assume I know nothing about the topics discussed at this site.

Blue Ash Mom

Anonymous said...

This is going to be really neat when it's all done.
The parking garage under the park is a great use of space - like Lytle Park on top of the expressway - you would never realize it is there.
Since Music Hall servers a wider geographical range than just the blocks surrounding it, more parking makes sense (and who parks as far away as they can from the entrance of where they are going), especially since more attendees assure its continued existence. Maybe someday there will be mass transit from the suburbs but currently, they drive,
even from Anderson.
Kids, it's always the poor kids. The new park design is not eliminating places to play - it is still going to remain a park. And it will still have water features that they can't drown in. Books and one to one human interaction does more for anyone than a giant bath tub.

- Green Maple Dad

Anonymous said...

Where is all that dirt going???

Anonymous said...

Yes, Green Maple Dad, that's why all the suburbs like mine built water spray parks instead of big deep water pools, and why there are private tennis and water spray clubs in places like North Avondale and Clifton.

And you're right, there's no one-to-one interaction in a pool. I mean, it's not like there are swimming lessons where teachers talk to the kids, or swim teams, or just spontaneous games that just pop up. No one ever says, "Hey, watch me do this!" and no one ever turns to look.

It's a big park. They could have put the parking lot on the other side and left the pool alone.

What is wrong with this picture? The person with the name "Blue Ash Mom" is the only one defending innercity recreation on a site about downtown living.

Blue Ash Mom

Anonymous said...

And let's all remember it is't as though there was no parking for Music Hall before -- there's parking in the garage behind Music Hall and a pedestrian skywalk bridge connecting the two, and there used to be parking behind Washington Park School -- and let's also remember that there aren't gazillions of urban parks without parking lots that are successful on their own. Some examples: Central and Prospect Parks in NYC, Burnet Woods here. Other parks manage perfectly well with rather small surface lots.

I'm sorry, but no one is going to convince me that removing that pool was anything short of a travesty.

Blue Ash Mom