Wolfe County Courthouse, completed in 1917.

New Justice Center, completed in 2006


New Courthouse






Salyersville National Bank, originally constructed in 1902, was enlarged ten years later. It is the county's oldest building.




This is an overlay on a much older facade.

One of the only intact patient rooms. In fact, there wasn't much left to see after many years of abandonment. What hasn't rusted through has, for the most part, fallen to the floor and buried by mounds of ceiling tile mush and debris.


Children's Ward






A surgery room. This would make for an awesome band profile photograph.

Weston State Hospital is now known as the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum, and is open for tours.

Originally opened as a health resort, over the years it became a sanatorium, a hospital, and towards the end of its active life, a nursing home and drug treatment center.






One of the cottages was outward bowing and in danger of collapse in 2003.


Fast forward to 2009, it is being stabilized.


2003


2009


200-year-old cottage in 2003


It is being restored in 2009.


Another cottage in 2003.


Fully restored in 2009.




Spring House, 2003








2009: The sections that were collapsing were knocked down. The brick has been salvaged for complete restoration for 2010 that has been funded by the state.

Knife Grinding & Die Shop (Building 217-2)








Comfort Station (727-)




Poacher House (Building 112)


Power Pack House (Building 221-)

One after another.






These were used to transport black powder from massive copper funnels.


Emergency slides for quick escape. These were used after an explosion in one pack house that resulted in several fatalities -- but thankfully, more were not injured thanks to these.

I thought I had more photographs of South Hill, but I don't. I'll get more up for a later update!




Demolished for a suburban Raising Cane's. This would have made an awesome Urban Outfitters location.


The building in the foreground was a tobacco warehouse, although it was used for storage for years. It has since been demolished and will likely be redeveloped soon. The background now hosts the Lex.


Reconstruction of S. Limestone from Euclid Avenue to Vine Street continues. The roadway will contain on-street parking, bike lanes, new sidewalks, buried utilities and rain gardens.

An interior courtyard for phase one.






Phase two, with an embedded parking structure, is under construction.


I came back a few months later. This was taken from what will be the new Newtown Pike extension, currently under construction.




The scale conforms with the surrounding neighborhoods. The Lex is geared for students, and will contain first floor retail. It will be at the nexus of two busy thoroughfares when Newtown Pike is complete.

Vine Street is not much to look at. Converted from a railroad throughfare to a three- and four-lane one-way highway, the current definition of the road is too wide, too well-timed and absent of any interesting street life. Proposals call for the Town Branch creek to be restored as a canal and for two-way traffic to be installed.


Victorian Square was an early attempt at restoring deteriorated structures for new uses. While it was a more upscale mall, it has since transformed into an entertainment and restaurant hub for the convention area.

Before:


Phase one:




This building, at the corner of West Short and Market, is being restored for an upscale restaurant and nightclub.



A proposal for North Mill Street calls for the closure of the street in the evenings to foster the development of restaurants and nightclubs in this densely packed street.

Before:


Two handsomely restored buildings:


Main Street


A view of East Short Street towards the courthouse complex.


Locally-owned shops and restaurants line North Limestone.

It was a cloudy night, threatened with the scary, dark clouds earlier in the day. It rained later that night.

The beginning of the fireworks display was disappointing. I thought they would project higher than this, and judging from the comments in the Cincinnati Enquirer, they once did for greater durations.


Damn you Cincinnati Enquirer, for ruining something else in this city! (Note: It is my personal opinion that the Enquirer is unfairly biased against developments and positive impacts of Cincinnati.)




The wind really picked up and blew all of the smoke to the north, completely fogging in downtown Cincinnati and the view for thousands on the top of the skyscrapers and on the hills in Clifton and Auburn.


And it's done, in 20 minutes, not the promised 30 minutes.