Skating on Fountain Square

Time for the skating rink to open again!

Railing Around Tyler Davidson Fountain

 

The design is fine, but did we really need this?

The City is Family

... and Fountain Square is the Living Room.

I just returned from an outing with family and friends on Fountain Square. It was movie night and after the first movie, I sat and just watched all the interactions happening. It truly is beautiful to see such a wide range of people come and enjoy each other's company. I saw many people greeting each other, some hugging and some sharing a beer. Saw a grampa scolding boys, saw spilt ice-cream, saw girls playing with dolls, saw a dad giving a bottle to his new infant, saw old people falling asleep, saw kids splashing in the water, and much more. There were people coming for the movie, but also many people just passing through from the monster truck show, or heading to a wedding reception.

Every time I go on a Saturday, my kids accidentally meet up with friends, or they make new ones. There were kids everywhere, running around and weaving through the chairs. Off to the side some boys started a ball game:

I saw many familiar faces. Some I just saw across the way but for a few we got together and talked. One family I know that was there have a lot of kids. I'm not even really sure how many but they are probably approaching double digits. A free movie for them could save them a lot of money.

The majority of the crowd come for the event, but I really don't think the free movie is the real reason they come. I know it isn't for me. I mean you can get air conditioning and a better view at a multiplex. Rather it is the chance to come and be amongst your very extended family and relax together. It is just a great thing to have an enjoyable summer evening with a bunch of friends, strangers and fellow citizens. It is reassuring in a time of unemployment and ecological disasters that so many people can come together and have a peaceful time. I mean if you just get your information from the media or from the internet, you might get a pretty pessimistic view of your fellow man.

I've thought about this kind of communal experience a lot. I've experience it in other cities and there was a time when I thought you couldn't really have those kind of relaxed gatherings in downtown Cincinnati. I've been going to Fountain Square regularly for many years, and a lot of those times, say in the 90s, it was pretty empty in the evenings. I can remember many times going to the fountain on a Saturday night and there would be maybe a dozen people, a couple of cops and no open restaurants. It seemed more like a place where you were not allowed to do things. I remember being told several times that bikes were not allowed on the square. Today, they still are not allowed, but why would you even try when it is so crowded?

I think it goes to show that public spaces, especially urban ones, need to be managed. You cannot just pave a square in the center of town, put in a fountain and expect much. People need a reason to come. Make no mistake. People already want to come, but they need that reason, some event that gives them that excuse to come out and gather. And then you need the ambassadors, and the concessions and all the other stuff that makes it possible, down to the clean toilets.

Another great night to come is salsa night. If you haven't been on Fountain Square on salsa night, do yourself a favor and try it. It is amazing, all the laughing and dancing.

Feet in Fountain

 

 

 

Kids Hanging on Fountain Sq

 

Then they made "salad"
 

Fifth Street Closures

 

One of the significant changes to Fountain Square during it's reconstruction was the replacement of a steep wall along Fifth Street with shallow steps. This change opened up the square to Fifth Street. This gave me some concern at the time, because cars can travel pretty fast through this block, and there was no barrier to keep kids or others from walking out into traffic.

But there was a flaw in my logic. The old wall supported the notion that the street is meant for fast cars, and that we the pedestrian must be separated from them at all times. The better approach is to tame the car, not the pedestrian.

To that end, Council has passed an ordinance encouraging the closure of this block on some weekends. I hope this becomes a regular event in the summer, and I hope that other ways of reclaiming our public streets are found.

Qualls’ motion will create pedestrian-friendly Fifth Street

Fifth Street between Walnut and Vine Streets will be closed to through traffic to create a more pedestrian-friendly environment near Fountain Square for two upcoming festivals; if successful, the change could be expanded to include more weekends next summer....

“Streets are really the public living rooms of our communities,” Qualls said. “This will enhance what’s already a great public space in downtown by creating a richer variety of uses and activities in an environment where people feel comfortable, safe, and sociable.”

“Public spaces don’t have to be defined by parks or squares, said Fountain Square Managing Director Bill Donobedian. “The city has so many assets that can be repurposed so we can get more out of them. If we step back and ask ‘what if,’ Cincinnati can be as exciting and dynamic as any city, if not more so.”...

Cities across the United States are working to make public urban spaces with heavy pedestrian traffic more pedestrian-friendly by closing them to vehicular traffic, Qualls said. The most famous successful example is New York City, where Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced in February that the city would make the eight-month-old pedestrian plazas in Times Square and Herald Square permanent. The Broadway closure that created the plazas result in improved pedestrian safety and foot traffic – a 35 percent decline in pedestrian injuries, and a 63 percent reduction in injuries to drivers and passenger; foot traffic in Times Square increased 11 percent and in Herald Square by 6 percent, according to city data. The city banned vehicles on Broadway from 47th to 42nd Streets and from 35th to 33rd Streets...

Crowd Connection

Findlay Market was rocking this past Saturday. It was super crowded, and more kids than usual.

I took a few random pictures:

Bumpy Bar:

Mild Tampa Cubs:

Little Dog and Ball Furniture:

Cigar, Beer and Stroller:

I noticed that lots of people were stopping and studying this proposed transit map. Its inspirational.

Looking at Map 1:

Looking at Map 2:

Looking at Map 3:

Later that afternoon, we were at Fountain Square, and it was absolutely packed for the Guiness Oyster Fest:

However, the dozen or so blocks from about 6th Street to Elder Street (at Findlay Market) were pretty desolate. As you probably already know, some are really desolate. Seems like we have these successful nodes of activity in a few spots downtown and the riverfront, but they are too far apart to generate energy off each other.

Hmmm, If only there was some way to connect these nodes and build some synergy. Seems to me some other cities might have figured out how to do this. Maybe some kind of pedestrian, ( and biker, wheelchair) assistance device that you could roll onto with your stroller, and that would be easy to understand and use. Something comfortable, quiet and maybe electric. Something that supports the nodes of activities, supports the walker, encourages storefront retail and helps enliven the sidewalks in ways that cars and buses don't. We have some good basics here, we just need the connectivity, the walkers, the transit to bring it together.

Family Days on FS

SATURDAY (Tomorrow):

The fourth bigg’s Family Day on Fountain Square presented by Duke Energy will kick the day off at 1pm. This week’s theme is Sports. The University of Cincinnati’s Bearcat will be hanging out, giving free temporary tattoos and Frisbees.

There will also be some football activities and cornhole games along with the usual Family Day events that include art projects, story time and Junior Jazzercise. At 2pm children’s performer Joanie Whittaker takes the stage to get children singing and dancing.

For more information.

Today on Fountain Square

General View 

Privatizing Public Space:

Groom and Groomsmen

water wall

Heads in water wall 

Flag Guns

guns

Baloons

Splashing

Snail and Mushroom

Nature for kids can be found all around us, even in the most urban environments.

Found on Fountain Square:

and here, locust trees in an urban lot: 

[where: 110 West 14th St., Cincinnati, OH 45202]

AJ and Shorty Black Always

Today we had the most beautiful weather. Crisp, very cool air. Not a cloud in the deep blue sky and a strong, hot sun. In the shade, it was so cold you needed a coat, if you were wearing black in the sunlight it was too hot.

They had an Egg Hunt on Fountain Square. I really don't like this trend of having egg hunts in the days and weeks before Easter, but whatever. I noticed this one was not an Easter Egg Hunt, just an plain egg hunt. So we attended for the first time, and saw lots of downtown friends. I introduced myself to Greg Harris, who was with his son next to us at the starting line. Nice guy, but busy with family stuff. They divided the hunt by age, and as each age group ran out onto the square, I would say all the eggs were gone within 20 seconds. Even the three-year old kids were pretty quick, (with assistance from some pushy parents). Not the best run event, and not a lot of good hiding places on the Square. But we had a good time.

Even with the great sunny clear weather, I didn't take many pictures today. I just didn't feel like it. Here is one from the playground at Findlay Market (a place you can often find me on a Saturday afternoon):
 

Skating and Gaza Protest

A few photos from skating Sunday at Fountain Square.

Kids taking a break from skating by sitting on the ice sculpture:

A large group assembled while we were there and held a protest against the Israel bombing of Gaza:

My son read this sign, and was offered warm food by these peacniks. Being in a very contrarian mood, he said that he wanted bombs, not bread. We had to have a long talk after that.

The Menorah That Started It All

This was the trigger of all those KKK crosses and various protests years ago. An banal metal construction with a ripped green blanket over the bottom. It looks so forlorn between the giant tree and the skating rink.

 

 

Not supported with public funds:

 

Temporary Ramp at Fountain Square

This was not here last year. The skating rink covers the ramp, and this gets you down to Graeters..

 

Weird Thing on Fountain Square

 

Some kind of robot toilet paper holder..

Ice Skating

We will be ice-skating on Fountain Square this weekend. Anyone want to join us? We'll probably be there early Saturday and maybe sometime Sunday...

 

Photo found same place as this one.

ADA at Fountain Square

 

UPDATE:

 

Closing Toilets on FS Huge Mistake

 

3CDC's decision to drastically limit the hours that the toilets are open on Fountain Square is a huge mistake. Moving them from their formerly underground dingy location was one of the best parts about the redesign of the square. I saw this story on local TV news last night, and I couldn't believe it! I predict that management will cave under pressure, and re-open them. This is a terrible decision for those of us with little kids.

Iron Giant this Saturday

I have wanted to see this movie for a long time. I just googled it and found out it is based on a novel by Ted Hughes, which I found suprising. I didn't even know he wrote children's stories. Might be worth checking out the rest of his writing.

 

Anyway, we will definitely be attending this movie, and would love to meet other families there. Send and email to mike at citykin dot com if you want to meet-up.

We saw Edward Scissorhands last week. I hadn't seen it since it was originally released in 1990. It was better than I remembered, but a bit too mature for little kids, especially the part where the neighbor tries to seduce Edward. They mostly ignored the film and ran around.
Edward Scissorhands suburban scene as seen on FS:

 

I thought it was interesting that this mother brought a crib to the square for the movie. She was offering face painting, I believe:

 

Not, "my spoon is too big", but a similar intermission cartoon:

 

WiFi at Fountain Square

I have a new G3 Iphone. It was a gift from my dear wife, and I have been figuring out how it works for the past 3 weeks. One thing that drives me crazy is that I can go all over this city and access the internet and check my mail. All over the city except one location and that is Fountain Square and the one or two blocks around it.

For some reason, if I try to check email while at the square, I am automatically diverted to a Cincinnati Bell WiFi site that wants credit card info to get service. If I walk two blocks to the north, I resume regular service. I get regular service in Clifton, Avondale, North Avondale, West End, all over except Fountain Square.

Now despite being a uber-blogger, I really don't research or completely understand how the G3 or WiFi works. All I know is that I cannot check my email or browse a website on Fountain Square, but I can all over the rest of the city.

Am I doing something wrong, or are the Corporate Overlords screwing me? Seems like FS would be a key place to offer free WiFi.

Promotion for a Disney movie "Bolt" on The Square Saturday: