Cincinnati Park Nursery

I happened upon this nursery and greenhouse yesterday. It is owned by Cincinnati Park Board and they raise plants for the Cincinnati Parks. I never knew this existed, and it is in a very odd location. Can any reader guess it's name/location?

UPDATE:
Yes, as a reader guessed, this is the Warder Nursery, located in Finneytown, but owned by the City. I did find some info:

A 1998 Cincinnati Enquirer Article says:

Warder Nursery will be developed into a park, with both recreational and green space, after the Cincinnati Park Board agreed Thursday to sell or lease the area to the township.

The park board passed a resolution at its meeting that allows the township, where Warder is located, to either buy it outright or lease it for 10 years.

The primary stipulation is that the area not be developed into something other than a park. The township has said it would develop the 42 acres into both playing fields and green space, possibly with hiking trails.

The trustees were pleased with the outcome of deliberations that began more than a year ago, as were township residents who had been behind a grass-roots effort to preserve the area more than two years ago.

...Warder Nursery is in the southern part of the township, just north of the Cincinnati city limits. The 49.6 acres have long belonged to Cincinnati and in recent years, the park board has maintained greenhouses on the property, where they propagate plants for Krohn Conservatory and floral displays throughout the city.

Under the agreement, Cincinnati will keep and maintain the greenhouses and about 10 acres of the property.

Since most of the acreage is unused, the park board had been approached in recent years by housing developers expressing an interest in buying the property.

That prompted the civic association and township residents to explore ways of purchasing the property and keeping it out of developers' hands.

The trustees have said they will soon decide whether to buy the property outright for about $720,000 or lease it over 10 years for about $920,000.

Proposed
Design for Warder Park
 

Here is the site on Google Maps

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Garfield Then and Now

Etching of Garfield Statue from 1890 City Directory

Garfield Today
 

West Half of Mt Airy Forest

I've been meaning to take some hikes with my son on the western side of Mt Airy park, for a while. It is an interesting area, because it seems like it is somewhat forgotten. For example, if you go to the Cincinnati Park's website you will see that west of I-74 they show no trails:

And whereas the eastern side has a nature center, an arboretum, a treehouse, marked trails and lots of picnic shelters, the western side is hardly marked. I've hiked much of the eastern side, and one interesting loop is the one that follows close to the highway described here. here are some good photos of the eastern side

The western side of the park has several access points on Westwood Northern Boulevard including a very nice Maple Ridge Lodge on Lucas Road. The other access points here are the McFarlan Ridge shelter, which has a locked gate, and the popular dog park:

McFarlan Ridge Road, Location in Google Maps

This side of the park is bordered by Montana, Westwood Northern, Diehl, Shepherd Creek and Interstate 74. It is quite a large area, and despite the website showing no trails, there are extensive trails though the area:

There is an old trail map mounted on the Maple Ridge Lodge if you feel you need it, and here is a website that describes trail "E".

Here are some photos from our hike:

Typical trail with fallen trees and mostly dry creek below trail

son finds a hollow Sycamore

old trail marker

orange blazes mark one of the trails:

Lower trail, the creek is flowing. This is one reason it is good to go in the late winter or early spring. In the summer, all this could be dry, and less exciting for a kid, although when dry there is good fossil hunting in the stream bed:

On the northern edge of the park, along Diehl Road, Green township is developing a huge new park with more structured activities. The new park, called Bicentennial Park has been under construction for the past year or so and should open soon. The old house on Diehl in which Marge Unnewehr lived before she became Marge Schott, is actually a very early farmhouse built by pioneer farmer Peter Diehl in 1835. Green Township has rehabbed the house and will offer it for rental use.

In the map below you can see the old farmhouse and how a few years ago, it was surrounded by woods:

In a more recent aerial, you can see how much earth must be moved to create some flat playing fields in this very hilly area. The Diehl house is in the upper center of construction, along the road:

Seymour Nature Preserve

About a week ago my son and I took another hike. I randomly picked a green spot on the map that we haven't visited before and set off. The chosen site was Seymour Creek Nature Preserve. At first we couldn't figure out how to access the site and weren't even sure if there were trails at all. Eventually we parked in a private parking lot at 6250 Este Avenue 45232. From this spot you can easily access a paved trail either downstream to the Millcreek River or upstream to a steep valley. This area is mostly reclaimed industrial or military land. It is apparent that someone has been stabilizing the area, clearing honeysuckle and making trails. The lower trail connects with the in-progress Millcreek trail that the Millcreek Restoration Project is developing in sections along the whole length. It now connects upstream to the nearby Caldwell Park , which is a more established park with a nature center, more mature trees and a playground and pool.

A topo map of area:
 

It doesn't look like you are in the middle of a heavy industrial area does it? This is the Millcreek!!
 

Looking downstream
 

"Rapids" of the Mill Creek, with stabilized and restored banks
 

The gravel along parts of the path are recycled materials, which son searched through
 

Seymour Creek full of snow melt as it enters the Mill Creek
 

typical second growth trees of the upper valley, with Seymour creek to left
 

 

mushrooms and moss
 

There are several bridges over the upper branch of creek:
 

deer skull?
 

Google Map of area:

View Larger Map

Overall it was an enjoyable trek. While in the woods you will hear trains and highway traffic sounds, but also water and birds. I cannot wait until they finish more sections of the bike trail along the Millcreek so that we can bike to places like this.

Does Anything Beat Sled Riding?

Weekend Photos

Mailboxes
 

Old Mailboxes on a Hart Realty building
 

old attic
 

Porch needs some attention
 

Hike in woods with son, we saw 4 turkeys walking in a line through the woods
 

Lamp post in the middle of the woods. I thought we might be in Narnia
 

church at 13th and Republic
 

shutter
 

this wall needs attention soon
 

alley
 

Ginkos
 

Ginko and Oak leaves
 

Prince of Peace and vacant lots
 

Bang's porches
 

Snack Carts and Sand Play

Sunday, after the Reds game, we rode our bikes over to Sawyer Point Park and the kids played a bit at the 1,000 hands playground. The shade of this playground under the Big Mac bridge is a welcome relief from the sweltering sun.

I have written before about how seldom concession stands are open in the Cincinnati Parks. The big concession stand was still closed, but they have this golf cart going around selling shaved ice and cold drinks:

At a meeting last week, I did get a better understanding of the playground proposal for Washington Park. One feature that is planned is a sandbox. If you are observant, you would have noticed that there are no sandboxes in Cincinnati Parks. They were common years ago, but they require a certain degree of attention and maintenance that we as a city, apparently could not muster. I find it encouraging that they are willing to try installing a new sandbox because it tells me that they are going to staff and maintain the park after construction.

At Sawyer Point Park, there is an accidental sandbox in the Volleyball Courts. The sandbox creates instant friends who collaborate in building tunnels and castles:

Temple of Love at Mt Storm

While my son was playing some pickup soccer, daughter and I walked over to the Mt Storm Playground. As usual, she made some new friends. We also watched some young women practice fire-eating, climbed some trees and looked in vain for an open toilet. Why does the Park Board tease us so?

As we walked back to the soccer field, we stopped at this structure, which, like a shiny beacon seems to attract wayward hikers. It's had a scaffold around it for many months, and I'm begining to wonder if anyone is really repairing it:
 

 

From the Cincinnati Park webpage:
Clifton’s 57-acre Mt. Storm is the site of the 19th-century estate of Robert Bowler. The Temple of Love gazebo-pavilion is all that remains of Bowler’s once grand homestead; it was designed in 1850 by Adolph Strauch, former supervisor of the Imperial Gardens in Vienna and designer of Spring Grove cemetery. In his magnificent home (razed in 1917) Bowler entertained the Prince of Wales, Charles Dickens and other 19th-century celebrities.

Picture I took in 2007:
 

And finally, photo of my grandmother here a long time ago:

Good Park Report

I'm sitting her in Ziegler park with a dozen happy children running
around playing tag. The air is cool and the sky is deep blue. The
sun warms me and the other parents as we sit around on this lazy
Saturday evening.

It is a pretty dramatic contrast from the report of drinking at
Washington Park a few days ago.

Since or son was 3, he has called this the "spongy ground" playground
because the AstroTurf under the playset is extra rubbery.

No one is drinking here this evening. Ther is a lively basketball
game inthe block south, about 50 yards away, and there are 3 or 4
groups of adults sitting around the perimeter of the park chatting and
laughing while the kids play.

There was some kind of film crew here filming actors walking down the
street, while kids followed.

We don't come over to this playground that often, so we don't know any
of the kids. But after a few minutes both of them have made new
friends. My daughter will pick out a girl that she thinks she will
like and walk right up to her and ask to be friends. My son is not so
direct and will try to ease into a game of some kind.

It is a gorgeous evening, most idylic, with birds singing, new green
on the trees, all with a golden glow of the setting sun.

Ther are no fights, no anger, no drugs, no sirens, no loud music, very
little traffic noise, and even a sweet smell in the air that is the
mixture of a barbecue grille, blossoms, perfume and a distant
cigarette all mixed in the fresh spring air.

Time to finish this phone blog post and gather kids for a walk home, supper and hot bath.

walking to park
 

music video filming
 

spongy ground