Rude Preachers and Private Tents

Situation #1:
Should a preacher be allowed to preach in a public park?

Sure.

Can he use a loudspeaker? Without any kind of permit? How loud can he be? Can he curse all the people in the park to Hell? Can he play obnoxious music and sing a really bad version of "We Are the World"?

How would you like it, if in the public park by your house, this guy came every Saturday of the year and broadcast his message so loud so as not only to make the park unusable, but to wake your kids at bedtime?

That is the situation in Washington Park. Nothing deters this preacher. His response to complaints is that the park is his church, and the people in the park are his congregation.

I understand that during special events, the park may be filled with loud music and that this can be disruptive to those who live nearby. I can even understand that a festival for example can be held in the park, and that during that event, the park is not fully usable by the public. In my view it is the combination of the loudness and the ubiquitousness of his use, that makes him rude.

Situation #2:
Should a wedding party be allowed to rent a pavilion in a public park?

Of course. Many pavilions in neighborhood parks are specifically built for such use. A few years ago we attended a wedding at the pavilion in Ault Park, and it is used for such events throughout the summer. Of course the public is not invited to such events.

Situation #3:
Fountain Square:

 

This was an event for the organizers of the Flying Pig marathon. The general public was kept out of the tent. But, this is Fountain Square, not a neighborhood park. It should not be rented out like a pavilion at a neighborhood park.

However, this was for an event that is obviously beneficial for the city. I don't think a private business can fill the square with a tent (or can they)? This has become a contentious issue in NYC's Bryant Park.

In my opinion, private parties should be held in an adjacent hotel ballroom. Either that, or make it a public celebration in which everyone is invited.

I don't want to get into discussion about the First Amendment and Free Speech and Assembly, I just think that the key point of a public square, is that it is open to the public! People who use this public square must stay civil (relatively quiet) and events must be open to the general public. Tenting, or fencing-off areas for ticket-holders only, or holding events that are very loud, should be rare and should be minimally intrusive to the other users of the space.

Old Pool Photo

A photo of the old pool in Washington Park. I estimate the photo is from the 40's.

 

Interesting that there is no fence around the pool.

Shot of the same area earlier this year:

 

Underground Parking

3CDC is investigating the possibility of underground parking at Washington Park instead of a new parking garage to the south of Music Hall that was to be called Music Hall Square. I think there are several reasons for this, including the constricted site south of Music Hall, the required purchase of property south of Music Hall, the mis-alignment of the garage floors with Music Hall floors, and the fact that fewer and fewer people enter Music Hall from the front anymore. Also many people questioned the modern design of the proposed parking structure.

There also may be some benefits to underground parking in Washington Park such as: a place to put pumps for fountains and other equipment and people will then enter the front of Music Hall. The negatives would be the costs of going underground (added ventilation and sprinklers), the entrances could look ugly and mess up the park design, and it would limit the trees allowed in this part of the park.

I'm undecided whether going underground is the best choice. I will be interested in seeing the proposed entrance locations and design.

Not to keep bringing Portland up, but when there, I saw an underground parking lot being constructed, and a park was being built on top. A developer we met with said that underground parking like this cost them $50k per parking space!

Banner reads: "Build paradise, tear up a parking lot":

 

 

 

Parking Lot at Site of School Demo

It is very strange to have this large barren parking lot in the middle of our neighborhood where Washington Park Elementary recently stood.

View towards 14th and Race Street:

 

View towards 14th and Elm:

 

The lot is not good for riding bikes either, because it is uneven and mostly gravel.

Previous post of photos during the demolition.

Old and New Foundations at SCPA

 

Partial old stone foundation in the foreground, near the sidewalk and the new concrete foundations for the basement classrooms of the new SCPA.

I have met many older people who said they went to school at a building on this corner. I think the old school was torn down in the 1950's.

I don't like how much wasted space there is between the new basement wall and the sidewalk. City buildings should generally come right up to the sidewalk IMO.

UPDATE:
Below are two drawings of the SCPA under construction. First is a roof top view site plan which demonstrates that the design turns away from the park and fronts both the school entry and the theater entry on Central Parkway. However not only is the north side ruined, notice also that a parking lot is located at 12th and Race and a very wide loading dock driveway and door is located on the Elm Street side, thus ruining 3 out of the four sides.

 

The beautiful view the new SCPA offers people at 12th and Race:

 

This design just makes me want to cry.

Washington Park School Historic Photo

Below is a photo that I retrieved, courtesy of the Cincinnati Enquirer, that shows the in-progress demolition of more than 30 buildings in preparation for the construction of Washington Park Elementary School.

 

Same view today after school removed:

 

Here is a map of the area:

 

A closer view of Race Street at 14th, shows 4 storefronts and two buildings that are now gone (1326 and 1330-32). Also note that there are no wires as Race Street has underground electric and the intersection is a 4-way stop sign:

 

If you click on the pictures, you should be able to see more detail.

Today, showing the two missing building lots:

 

Here is a closeup of a grand house front steps, wrought iron fence and tree in the front yard:

 

Here is a closeup of the old-pool house. The old pool was to the south. Also, you can see the rear of the last house standing on the block, and the remains of the southernmost portion of Pleasant Street, which ended at the pool building:

 

The pool area today, with the "controversial" basketball hoop:

 

A photo from 14th street looking out at the new view of Music Hall. Notice the vacant lot on the left, where a corner furniture store is located in the historic photo:

 

Frozen Fountain Historic Photo

 

I found this photo at the Cincinnati Historical Society, and it shows the fountain, about 90 years ago, in the center of Washington Park, where the gazebo is now. Seems like they would have installed a valve on the water supply so they could turn it off in cold weather. The photo is looking east towards Race Street.

Washington Park Meeting Review

I only heard half the meeting because I was taking turns with my wife watching the kids, but the presentation on the new Washington Park Design was very emotional and contentious. Many pool users and pool supporters were there. Our lifeguard, Audrey was there to speak about how important the swim team is to the neighborhood and how the basketball court is in demand. There were some very angry people. A lot of this anger could have been avoided if the pool issue had been honestly debated last year when this process started.

And much of the anger could still be resolved if the Recreation Commission would step up to the plate and say "yes, OTR will have an outdoor deepwater pool, somewhere". Seems so simple. However I talked with several people from the CRC and they flatly say that this will not happen (even though a CRC representative stated that Ziegler would be converted to a deepwater pool at the second public presentation about the design of the park).

So here we are, a year into the design process, and we are just now finding out that not only is the Washington Park Pool proposed to be removed, but so is Ziegler Pool and Inwood Pool (halfway up Vine), Mt. Adams Pool and Fairview Pool. Also the Concourse Fountain is proposed to be drained and made into an automated sprayground without lifeguards. These decisions were made a few months ago by the Recreation Commission and will result in no place to have swim team or diving boards in the downtown/OTR neighborhoods. The only public diving boards in the entire basin area will be the two at Lincoln Pool in the West End. And while 5 pools citywide will be demolished, and 10 functioning pools turned into automated spray grounds, other neighborhoods for some reason get to keep their pools.

One good piece of information that I picked up on is that the Washington Park Pool will remain as it is and will operate for at least two more years, perhaps longer depending on if they ever get funding for the renovations and for the Music Hall Parking garage. By then maybe my family will be out of debt and able to afford a private pool membership.

Tough luck poor kids, only sprinklers for you.

A New View of Music Hall

From Race and 14th. I'm sure we'll be seeing this straight-on shot of Music Hall a lot now that there are no buildings across the street.

 

It is impressive, but I still like the compressed view closer in, from Elm Street.
[Where: 1241 Elm Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202]

Unusual Views around Music Hall

The south side:

 

From the rear parking garage:

 

The rear of Elm Street buildings seen from behind Memorial Hall:

 

OTR seen from Music Hall Parking Lot, Queen City Radio:

 

From same spot as shot above, but looking West. Turret building:

 

More Washington Park Elementary Demo

On Thanksgiving morning, the demolition crew was busy taking down the very last section of classrooms. By the end of the day, only the gymnasium was left standing.

 

See the blackboard still on the wall:

 

Viewed from 14th Street:

 

Viewed from Music Hall:

 

Autumn City Park Photo

 

Washington Park Meeting Nov 27

 

Storm Drain Pipe Photo

Washington Park Elementary is just beging to be demolished. The black corrugated plastic pipe is for storm water detention under the parking lots for SCPA. They are putting the pipes in the ground at the corner of 12th adn Race, which tells me this is where the parking lot is going to be. It was an bad decision to put the parking facing the park in my opinion.

 

Washington Park Trees Photo

 

Found Item - Hansy's Place

 

My dad picked this can opener up at a flea market. The address 1250 Elm Street, would place it directly across from Music Hall, where Washington Park Elementary now sits. I have no idea if Hansy's Place was a beer hall or car repair shop.

Washington Park Alternatives with Pool

The Cincinnati Park Board has been developing plans to expand Washington Park into the location of the current Washington Park Elementary. This is a project with immense potential, and I am very excited by it. However, I have posted many times about the importance of swimming pools in Over-the-Rhine, and feel that the existing pool should either remain or a new one be integrated into the design. The Park Board has developed a design for the park that they hope to present to the public sometime this fall. The presentation has been delayed apparently for the following reasons:

- Community Council request to add pool and basketball or similar recreation.
- Cincinnati Recreation Commission is finalizing their city-wide plan for pools in the city. When this is ready for public consumption, it may address the deepwater pool issue in OTR. However all indications are that CRC is proposing to remove all deepwater pools that are not part of a Community Center, and OTR's Community Center is landlocked and probably cannot fit an outdoor pool.
- Controversy over the proposed temporary parking lot to serve as staging for the SCPA and for temporary parking for Music Hall until an additional garage is built.

A group of Miami Architecture Students in collaboration with some Over-the-Rhine neighbors have been researching recreation options in the OTR parks. I am not part of this group, but I have been trying to keep abreast of their work. They have researched pool operating costs. They have compared new pool costs to rehabbing old pools and they have researched minimum sizes and attendance figures. They have also consulted with the Community Council about their desires for the parks.

In response to their research a petition has been started requesting that Washington Park be designed to have neighborhood recreation, including basketball and pools. I think they have over 400 signatures already on their petition.

The following is their statement and some presentation drawings.

The Cincinnati Park Board is in the process of redesigning Washington Park. We appreciate improvements to the park but the new design lacks play spaces for older children and teenagers. For the park design to be a successful family oriented park, it must accommodate diverse ages and interests. The current draft design removes the deep-water pool and basketball court.

With our design, we hope to illustrate how a deep-water pool and basketball court could fit into the future Washington Park plan.

B. Drapac, S. Palmer, M. Kirby, and L. Mettler
Miami University Center for Community Engagement
1300 Vine Street

Typical Drawing showing the Student Proposals:

 

Diagram of Proposed Park Design:

 

Drawing showing existing plan, and some proposed option with a full-sized pool:

 

What I think is interesting about the park plans is how little space the pool actually occupies in such a large park.

Biking in Washington Park

Video - Should this pool be removed?

By the way, this was a clear video, but it seems to get mangled as it is uploaded to google video. If anyone has any advice on how to do this better, I would appreciate it. Thanks.

Soon to be gone