UP|Photos

Cincinnati: Bockfest 2010

seicer — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:49:26 +0000

Didn't mind the foot of snow Cincinnati had just weeks earlier. And the deep overcast skies that dominated the winter scene.

It was time for Bockfest!

Cincinnati is home to the world's oldest Bock festival, and the city's deep connection with its beer heritage is well evident in this event. For those who are not aware, the Queen City was once home to 38 breweries, one for every neighborhood and then some, producing so much that it was the fourth largest manufacturer of lager in America. Cincinnatian's also drank every city in the United States under the table, consuming two-and-a-half times more beer more than any other: forty gallons of golden hues per resident in a given year were consumed, mostly concentrated in the deeply German-ethnic neighborhood Over-the-Rhine.

I photographed the parade and took part in the events over the weekend that spanned the weekend of the 5th of March. Click through for more information and history of Bockfest and to view the full 56 photographs in the gallery. Be sure to also check out the Prohibition Resistance Tour, part of Bockfest, at Abandoned. Enjoy!

_{Jim Tarbell, also known as Mr. Cincinnati, makes his way down Main Street.}

_{Arnold's Bar and Grill, the oldest bar in the city, represents at Bockfest.}

_{The trojan goat of Cincinnati!}

_{2009 Sausage Queen}

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Cincinnati: Prohibition Resistance Tour

seicer — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:25:57 +0000

Cincinnati's Prohibition Resistance Tour
Cincinnati's Bockfest is upon us. For those of you who are not native to the city, Bockfest is a tradition that celebrates the heritage and history of Cincinnati, as one of the largest brewing cities in the nation. Cincinnatian's drank more beer per capita than any other city in the United States at 40 gallons, and the city ranked fourth in terms of total volume production, per barrel. The term bock came from a tradition developed amongst the breweries, who would release all of their bock beer on the same day. Bock beer is a robust and rich lager that marks the end of winter and the welcoming of spring.

Cincinnati's brewing history is well regarded but much of it remains unknown or forgotten. By 1888, 18 of 36 breweries in the region were located in Over-the-Rhine, concentrating along McMicken Avenue and the Miami and Erie Canal. Beer gardens, resorts and bars sprung up in the ethnic German neighborhood, which is where important matters of the city were discussed and conceived.

Regarded as an early German village, the name Over-the-Rhine is derived from its early builders and residents, German immigrants. At the time of the neighborhood's conception, the Miami and Erie Canal separated the area from downtown, following along what is today Central Parkway. In regard to their native country, the immigrants coined the neighborhood "Over-the-Rhine," because crossing the canal reminded them of crossing the Rhine River in Germany.

Steve Hampton, executive director of the Over-the-Rhine Brewery District Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation, shared that many postcards of that era proclaimed,

Quote

"Here’s to Cincinnati, the Queen of the West,
A dirty old city, but nobly blest.
For it’s here that fine arts with the frivolous twine,
A veritable Deutschland just Over the Rhine…
The kindliest greetings from all, whom we meet,
A good draught of beer every ten or twelve feet."

Unfortunately, Prohibition, enacted in 1919, doomed many of the breweries. Raids, shoot-outs and a massive loss of business forced many to quit in disgust. It wasn't until 1933 that it was repealed, but by then, the damage was done.

Since 2005, the Brewery District has hosted the annual Prohibition Resistance Tour. The tour showcases how Cincinnati's brewing industry left an undeniable impact on the city, and how it influenced "the social, economic and cultural welfare of the city." I was given a sneak peak at the Prohibition Resistance Tour, shared below.

Clyffside Brewing Company
Clyffside Brewing Company is a defunct brewery in Cincinnati, located on the site of Hamilton Brewery, founded in 1845 by Johann Sohn and George Klotter. In 1866, Sohn bought out Klotter; Klotter went on to establish his own brewery on Klotter Street soon after. Hamilton Brewery was renamed the Sohn Brewing Company, after his brother, in 1870.

In 1907, Sohn was purchased by Mohawk Brewery, and was known for its Zinzinnati Beer. During Prohibition, Mohawk attempted to ride out the laws by producing not only near-beer, but true alcoholic beverages. On August 3, 1925, Federal Agents waited from midnight until 6 A.M. the next morning for brewery employees to begin their shift. When the first truck was leaving the facility for delivery, agents raided the brewery. They shot at the truck driver and arrested brewery employees.

No other beer was produced by Mohawk and it closed down before the end of Prohibition.

Clyffside Brewery began in 1933 when Paul Esselborn organized the company in the former Mohawk Brewery structures. The company's signature selections included Felsenbrau beer and Old Hickory Ale that was "aged in the hills."

Underneath the buildings were lagering cellars 35-foot wide and 200-foot long, with walls that were 3-foot thick. It allowed the cellar to remain at a constant 53 degrees. A tunnel went underneath Mohawk Street, connecting the brewing building to the natural spring.

In 1945, Clyffside was sold to the Red Top Brewing Company, who continued to operate the facility as Plant #2 until 1957. Sans Prohibition, beer was brewed on the site for 111 years, the longest of any brewery in Cincinnati.

_{1877 brewery building}

_{Distinctive handrails with posts shaped in the form of a barrel still remain.}

_{Substandard illegal loft conversion project from the 1970s.}

Kauffman Brewing Company
The John Kauffman Brewing Company was known for its "Gilt Edge," "Columbia," and "Old Lager" beers.

In 1856, John Kauffman, George F. Eichenlaub and Rudolf Rheinbold bought the Franklin Brewery on Lebanon Road near Deer Creek from an aunt in the Kauffman family. Three years after the purchase, Kauffman, under the company name Kauffman and Company, constructed a new brewery on Vine Street, replacing the location along Deer Creek. The first of several structures was completed in 1860.

By 1861, the brewery produced approximately 1,000 barrels per year. Two years later, the company was renamed Kaufmann Brewery, soon becoming the largest in the city.

In 1866, a new brewery structure was completed at 1622 Vine Street. The Kauffman Building followed in 1876, which housed brewery employees. (Constructed of the Second Renaissance Revival style, the structure is currently being repaired through a $450,000 forgivable loan from the city.)

Kauffman was producing over 50,000 barrels per year by 1877, selling in many markets in the midwest, south and the southeast. It's main beers included "Gilt Edge Bohemian," "Pale Lager," "Columbia," and "Standard." A popular slogan used by Kauffman repeatedly appealed to the sickly during the time, "A liquid food for the invalid a wholesome beverage for the healthy!"

The brewery became incorporated as the John Kauffman Brewing Company in 1882. Brewery production peaked in 1894, when Kauffman produced 70,000 barrels of beer per year, and the malt house had a production capacity of 150,000 bushels of barley. The brewery closed in 1919 when Prohibition was enacted, and Kauffman never reopened after it was repealed in 1933.

_{Many cellars were used as dumping grounds by later tenants.}

_{Cisterns for water.}

Schmidt Brothers Brewery
Schmidt Brothers Brewery was located at 135 and 138 East McMicken Avenue in Over-the-Rhine. It was founded by Friedrich and Heinrich Schmidt, who operated a grocery store but had decided upon a new venture, and purchased Peter Herancourt's Brewery at Central Avenue and Kindel Street for $1,500. The brothers brewed what they referred to as the "common ale" of Cincinnati.

The common name of Schmidt Brothers Brewing Company stemmed from the formation of a stock corporation on April 1, 1891. It's popular slogan, "Crown Beer had a reputation second to none in the city," helped sell the brand. Later, Gerhardt Schmidt and George Lampe purchased the facility and renamed it the Crown Brewery. One of the top selling products was "Happy Days" beer, but it's rise was short lived. Probation began in 1919, so to keep the business active, Crown manufactured "Tang," a near beer that didn't last. Crown folded in 1925 before Probation was repealed in 1933

Find more photographs and historical background of the three breweries highlighted on this year's Prohibition Resistance Tour by clicking through to the Clyffside Brewing Company, John Kauffman Brewing Company and Schmidt Brothers Brewery. Enjoy this update and enjoy the bock beer at Bockfest!

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Cincinnati: Vernon Manor

seicer — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:51:59 +0000

The Vernon Manor, constructed in 1924 and modeled after the Hatfield House in Hertfordshire, England, was one of the premier hotels in Cincinnati, Ohio. Located on one of Cincinnati's famous Seven Hills, the Manor offered an escape from the bustling downtown and riverfront and had a reputation for being "the place to stay" for musicians visiting or performing in the city.

It's history wasn't always so star-studded. In 1934, the hotel faced the possibility of bankruptcy. The property by 1945 was "run-down-at-the-heels" and was purchased by Walter Schott, a local car dealer. And changing demographics of its neighborhood, along with riots and racial tensions, helped drag down the prestige of the hotel.

But despite it's problems, among those who had booked rooms were The Beetles, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Kenny Chesney and Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. "Rainman," a 1988 film, featured the hotel. The Manor featured large guest suites, gardens and full plumbing that attracted long-term guests.

The hotel was purchased by the Belvedere in 1986, and renovated in 1999. Only ten years later, the Manor closed due to deteriorating market conditions.

One of the first reuse proposals for the hotel called for it to be converted into 100 apartments, and into low-income housing. But Children's Hospital signed a letter of intent to be its sole occupant for up to 17 years, and the hotel would be gutted and re-purposed to house 600 employees that would be transferred from elsewhere on its campus in an effort to consolidate its many office functions into a single location.

_{Lobby, which has mostly been stripped of its historic goodness in the 1990s during the renovations.}

_{The bar, which no longer serves any patrons.}

_Kitchen

_{Conference rooms}

_{Typical guest rooms}

_{Elevator controls}

Click through for an extensive history of the Vernon Manor and its redevelopment, along with over 25 photographs.

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Cincinnati: Gambling away history

thegryseone — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 15:58:46 +0000

Cincinnati has a lot of great history and they should try saving it.

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Cincinnati: Gambling away history

seicer — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 19:46:10 +0000

Gambling away history

Gambling away history.

Well, short of a pun, that is essentially what the Greenacres Foundation wants to do with the historic Gamble Estate in Westwood, a western neighborhood of Cincinnati. The historic mansion, constructed in the Queen Anne style in 1875 by James Norris Gamble, son of Proctor and Gamble Corporation's co-founder, it resided as a country estate amongst other rambling lots and farms near Harrison Pike.

James Gamble, an inventor and humanitarian, lived in the house for 57 years before passing away in 1932. His daughter lived in the residence until she died in the 1960s. From then on, it was in the ownership of the Nippert's.

Here is where the irony begins.

Continue on reading the remainder of the journal entry or check out the Gamble House article.

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Chicago's Cabrini-Green deconstructed

Neo — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 15:56:19 +0000

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Houston's Metro vs 'The Car'

Neo — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 12:09:44 +0000

suburban george3, on 22 February 2010 - 09:50 PM, said:

man, that's just bad... seems most of the were folk turning left in with the train coming up from behind...

Yeah, I'm not sure the entire blame should go to the driver (though they are obviously at fault in these cases). When you are making a left on roads without a streetcar/light rail you only have to worry about folks coming toward you so it gets ingrained into your driving habits. I bet none of these drivers will let it happen again though.

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Houston's Metro vs 'The Car'

suburban george3 — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 02:50:50 +0000

man, that's just bad... seems most of the were folk turning left in with the train coming up from behind...

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Houston's Metro vs 'The Car'

Neo — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 19:32:51 +0000

Perhaps the design of light rail in Houston is flawed or perhaps it's simply the inability for people to drive properly, regardless this video is a compilation showing that something is obviously very wrong:

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Cincinnati: It's a good Friday!

Neo — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 14:18:36 +0000

I'm happy to see a tall crane in the skyline!

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Cincinnati: It's a good Friday!

seicer — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 01:06:34 +0000

It was a good Friday, so I headed out after work for a few photographs from Devou Park. The image from Mt. Echo was taken a few days ago, but has not been published.

Cincinnati

Queen City Square

Downtown Cincinnati

Enjoy!

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Cincinnati's Snowmageddon

seicer — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 01:05:09 +0000

Neo, on 16 February 2010 - 01:55 PM, said:

Thanks for sharing these beautiful photos! It's amazing that almost the entire country got a decent amount of snowfall this year. So many beautiful cities draped in snow to get pictures of...so little time!

Yeah, 49 states have received snow so far this year. We've gotten 23+ inches in February, which bests the 20 inches we received in all of last winter. It's been a great year for snowfall!

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Cincinnati's Snowmageddon

Neo — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 18:55:31 +0000

Cincinnati's Snowmageddon

seicer — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 18:48:19 +0000

Cincinnati's Snowmageddon

Snowmageddon has made its appearance in Cincinnati, Ohio as we marked our record snowfall for the month at 23.1 inches, besting the previous record of 21.4 inches that was set in 1914. On February 16, the city received up to 8.3 inches of new accumulation, adding to the storm on February 9 and 10 that piled on 6.6 inches, and the storm on February 5 and 6 that dumped 8.1 inches of snow.

That brings the total accumulation this winter to 35.4 inches, or 20.5 inches more than last year at this point. For an even more dramatic comparison, for all of last winter, the city received 21.5 inches of snow.

Selected below are photographs of Cincinnati and Hamilton County during the last three snowfalls.

Alms Park in Cincinnati draped in snow.

An overlook from Eden Park provides a panoramic view of Kentucky.

Mirror Lake at Eden Park.

Sharon Creek at Sharon Woods.

Queen City Square is all but transparent in the snowstorm on February 16.

There were few walking the streets of downtown Cincinnati during the day on Monday, February 16.

Due to restrictions on posting a large number of photos, click through to Cincinnati's Snowmageddon for the remainder.

Enjoy the Snowmageddon that has paralyzed Cincinnati! You know that I'm enjoying this winter weather very much.

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Abandoned structures photographs

thegryseone — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 20:47:20 +0000

Cool! I like photos like these. I don't know what it is about them.

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Time-lapse video of the recent snow in Washington DC

Neo — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 17:57:43 +0000

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Abandoned structures photographs

seicer — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 22:18:45 +0000

The Cincinnati and Eastern Railway (C&E) was a railroad from Idlewild in Norwood, near Cincinnati, to Portsmouth, Ohio. At its western terminus, it connected with the Cincinnati, Lebanon and Northern (CL&N) and the Pennsylvania Railroad Richmond Division (PRR), and to a Norfolk & Western line at its eastern terminus.

The C&E was chartered as the Cincinnati, Batavia & Williamsburg on January 11, 1876, but the name was changed and the projected route was extended to Portsmouth in May. In October 1876, the line was opened from Batavia Junction to Batavia, a distance of 15 miles, and by August of next year, the railroad had reached Winchester, a distance of 48 miles.

In June, a 5.5-mile western extension to the Miami Valley Railroad, later the CL&N Idlewild, was completed. It was constructed to the Miami Valley Railroad, who had promised a narrow-gauge connection via the Deer Creek valley to Cincinnati. When the Deer Creek tunnel project ran into financial difficulties, the C&E found that its connection to Cincinnati was completely useless for four years. The railroad soon went into receivership in January 1879 due to failures to collect stock subscriptions, but exited that in 1881.

At a meeting in November 1880 the shareholders voted to increase the capital stock from $500,000 to $2 million, and to authorize a bond issue to connect the railroad to Portsmouth and beyond to Gallipolis. In 1882, trackage rights were secured via the Deer Creek valley to Court Street in Cincinnati.

By the end of 1882, the C&E had reached Peebles, 72 miles from the Court Street depot. In May 1883, the railroad had reached Rarden, and Henley in late July. The C&E was completed to Portsmouth in 1884, with a 1,000-foot truss over the Scioto River as its centerpiece.

In 1886, the railroad was sold to the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton (CH&D), which defaulted and was sold to the Ohio & Northwestern Railroad (O&NW). The railroad went into receivership soon after, and in 1889, the railroad completed five miles of the long-projected Gallipolis extension from Portsmouth to Sciotoville.

In 1891, the railroad reorganized under the Cincinnati, Portsmouth & Virginia Railroad (CP&V), which merged with the Norfolk & Western (N&W) in October 1901.

In 1913, the Scioto River Bridge was replaced with a multi-span truss constructed by the American Bridge Company. Other trestle replacements included the construction of a girder span over Dry Run in 1941 by the Virginia Bridge Company.

In 1947, the N&W east of Peebles to Jaybird via Jaybird Creek was realigned when a quarry opened along Plum Run that required the railroad to be rerouted to the north and east. It included a new trestle above Cedar Fork and several miles of new trackage.

In 1982, the Norfolk & Western Railway consolidated with the Southern Railway to form the Norfolk Southern Corporation, and the railroad became the Norfolk Southern. The NS has railbanked the line east of Peebles to Vera Junction at Portsmouth.

Here is a sampling of photographs from Cincinnati to Portsmouth, flowing eastward.

_{A view of the small yard at Idlewild before its connection with the former Cincinnati, Northern & Lebanon.}

_{The track split from the Cincinnati, Northern & Lebanon to the Cincinnati & Eastern (C&E) at Idlewild.}

_{One of two spans over Interstate 71 in Norwood, east of Idlewild. The line has been railbanked from Claire west to Idlewild.}

_{The Cincinnati & Eastern (C&E) crosses over the Pennsylvania Railroad Richmond Divison (PRR). Behind me is the junction of the PRR and the Little Miami Railroad at Redbank, and to the east of Clare Yard, where the C&E and the Little Miami junctioned.}

Since there is an image limit at this forum, pop on over to the full blog post for the remainder:
http://www.abandonedonline.net/index.php?q=blog&id=84

Thanks and enjoy!

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Rarely encountered cities

Neo — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 20:35:52 +0000

miklos, on 03 February 2010 - 03:00 PM, said:

Thanks for your kind words. but I'm afraid this initial effort of mine was not very successful. The photos are either too small or, when you click on them, they become too large. What should one do to get "normal" size pictures? Any suggestions?

When you attach an image to a forum post it will automatically generate a thumbnail for the image. You then need to click on the thumbnail to view the image in it's original form. If you want the larger image smaller, then just reduce the size of the original image.

If you want an image to fill the entire post (no thumbnail), you will need to host the images on another site (i.e. Flickr) and then link to that image.

For more information, please see the following thread: http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/index.php?/topic/7779-image-posting/

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Rarely encountered cities

miklos — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 20:00:27 +0000

Neo, on 02 February 2010 - 10:00 AM, said:

Thanks for posting these great photos! The well known cities always seem to get the attention that smaller and lesser known cities should get at times.

Rarely encountered cities

Neo — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 16:00:45 +0000

Thanks for posting these great photos! The well known cities always seem to get the attention that smaller and lesser known cities should get at times.

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Rarely encountered cities

miklos — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 14:37:45 +0000

I thought I would upload pictures of cities rarely encountered on Urban Planet. As an example, here is Lancaster, PA. If response is positive, I may do other cities in future.
This is my first attempt at posting, so I hope it works. I took these pics last summer.

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Picture of the Day

Neo — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 18:48:16 +0000

^ That has to be the absolute best skyline I've ever seen of Houston! Amazing how much it resembles NYC from this angle!

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Inner Loop Houston 2009

Greens! — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 05:57:30 +0000

Here are some photos of new or U/C buildings in Houston. There has been a real transformation of the inner loop area where in some cases, entire neighborhoods have been redeveloped over the past 5 -10 years. There isn't much in the way of regulation to make it fit in with the existing neighborhoods, and it shows.

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Picture of the Day

Greens! — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 04:42:43 +0000

View from the 610 bridge.

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Picture of the Day

hagetaka — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 00:06:38 +0000

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A Walk around Raleigh

paletexan — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 15:40:25 +0000

Great pictures, and it's a nice way to kill some time when everything is closed. There are some really spooky victorian homes that are pretty unique to Raleigh; and you seemed to capture some of those!

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3 pnc plaza Pitsburg

luc — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 00:46:29 +0000

Hi

ref: 3 PNC Plaza building, Pittsburg
anybody got picture from inside the hotel lobby. i want to see
shat is the look of all beam and column cladding.

thanks you in advance

Luc

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Building demolition fail

tozmervo — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 09:52:23 +0000

Unless you're talking about demolition products

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Building demolition fail

The Escapists — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 22:07:21 +0000

Looks like the myth that the Chinese make cheep products might be unfounded.

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Building demolition fail

Neo — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 22:37:18 +0000

I've seen some demolition failures, but this one takes the cake!

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UP|Photos

Cincinnati: Bockfest 2010

Cincinnati: Prohibition Resistance Tour

Cincinnati: Vernon Manor

Cincinnati: Gambling away history

Cincinnati: Gambling away history

Chicago's Cabrini-Green deconstructed

Houston's Metro vs 'The Car'

Houston's Metro vs 'The Car'

Houston's Metro vs 'The Car'

Cincinnati: It's a good Friday!

Cincinnati: It's a good Friday!

Cincinnati's Snowmageddon

Cincinnati's Snowmageddon

Cincinnati's Snowmageddon

Abandoned structures photographs

Time-lapse video of the recent snow in Washington DC

Abandoned structures photographs

Rarely encountered cities

Rarely encountered cities

Rarely encountered cities

Rarely encountered cities

***Picture of the Day***

Inner Loop Houston 2009

***Picture of the Day***

***Picture of the Day***

A Walk around Raleigh

3 pnc plaza Pitsburg

Building demolition fail

Building demolition fail

Building demolition fail

Picture of the Day

Picture of the Day

Picture of the Day