The Worst Sidewalk Downtown

 

[where: 13 E. Thirteenth Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202]
(SW corner of Thirteenth and Jackson, 1227 Jackson ie: Jackson Street Warehouse is the owner responsible)

Walkable is In

Nothing gets the point across better than a simple drawing like this by the New Urbanists:

 

On the subject of walkability... no other mode of transport compares in ease or pleasure. A few days ago our family took a nice bike ride to Newport. The ride was a lot of fun, but I was struck how much more complicated and difficult it was than our usual walk to the Library or Fountain Square. You can't really carry a conversation while biking, and one kid requires a special seat with a seatbelt, both require helmets that they have trouble with, add some mechanical difficulties, and then trying to park them in a safe spot and carrying the helmets around all adds up to a strained day. Really, nothing beats a walk.

Busy City Street 107 Years Ago

Thomas Edison Film: What Happened on 23rd Street, NYC, August 21, 1901. I thought the way pedestrians owned the street was interesting. There are horses with carts and streetcars, mixing with jay-walking pedestrians.

Red Truck We Passed on our Walk

 

Rain Walk

Saturday morning, it was raining, but unseasonably warm. Our goal was to go to the museum and run a few errands. We almost took the car, but decided to walk.

Of course you must be prepared:

 

We had a fun time running, walking and splashing our way around town. I am so glad we didn't drive.

I sometimes wonder who spends more time in the outdoors, city dwellers or suburbanites? Our friends in New York are outdoors walking a lot. In Cincinnati, many urbanites still drive everywhere, so the differences could be small.

Union Terminal Visit

Here is a great place to visit now that the weather is turning. Union Terminal is home to Cincinnati Museum Center, which is the Children's Museum, the Natural History Museum, the Cincinnati History Museum,and the Omnimax Theater. Here are a few photos from a recent visit.

Exterior:

 

placed in service plaque:

 

Rookwood Tile in the Coffee Shop:

 

The natural history museum has a cave very similar to the cave that they had at their old location at Eden Park, but now they have real bats, and an ice cave. Their is a sandbox for little kids that has come in handy a few times in mid-winter.

But the building itself is also fun. There is the whispering drinking fountains and beautiful mosaics in the rotunda.

A spiral shell fossil, seen in the red marble of the walls:

 

We walked here from home. It is a 1.2 mile walk from Vine and Central Parkway to the Museum Center, which is a bit of a chore. I am finding that anything less than half a mile, we will do on any whim, because it is so easy. This will get us to most of downtown, though not to the riverfront. Longer than half a mile, and our chance of walking there drops precipitously. Walking alone at a fast pace, the time difference might be 15 minutes, but with kids and distractions, it can take up to an hour, which is a big dedication of time. I have tried the #1 bus, but it only runs once an hour, and it is hard to justify $8 to go 1.2 miles and back (two adults and two children, two ways). It is also no fun trying to get a stroller with a sleeping baby up the steps of the bus, only to be on the bus for a few minutes.
[Where: 1301 Western Avenue, Cincinnati,OH 45203]