Walk #3: Genius Loci

Our third walk (the third in Walking the Steps of Cincinnati - which guides all our walks) took us around Eden Park and around Mt. Adams.  Our previous two walks made us feel ahead of time that we'd have nothing new to see, but we were wrong.  There were still new, cool things to see, walk, and learn.

Check out the path as we walked it and the photos Chris took along the way here - all recorded through the Sports Tracker app on his Nokia phone using Cincinnati Bell service.

We started just a little ahead of where the path officially starts in the book.  We walk and/or bus to all of our walks, so we'd walked from our home in Clifton out to where we started this trek:  At the corner of Eden Park and Gilbert.

See the rest of Walk 3 after the break!

We were kindly welcomed to Eden Park, but we blew off the invitation and instead headed around the park for a while.

We paused to admire two buildings at that corner, one traditional, one new.

The Lipson Alport Glass & Associates building is a cool, modern space - one that I'd mistakenly thought for YEARS was part of the Cincinnati Association for the Blind buildings but it isn't (CAB is located directly behind in this picture).

The Baldwin Piano and Organ Company building, we learned, was built in 1920 then destroyed in a fire AND restored in 1964.  In my unsuccessful quest to find a picture online of the fire, I learned this fact we should all remember:  Four US Presidents have had Baldwin Pianos.  Hometown proud!

We walked down Gilbert past one of the literally dozens (if not hundreds) of these things we keep passing on the walks:  WPA walls!

Another old-meets-new came up as we approached our first turn:  The Channel 9 building which is built on the site of the old natural history museum.  

Thankfully they kept the Elsinore Arch we talked about in the preview!

The longest set of stairs we'd climbed to date.  That long, boring video doesn't even include the first few flights of stairs.

We topped out the Elsinore Street Stairs near our favorite bus stop and the Art Museum - we walked the other way, though.

We found this awesome tree along the way.

We were supposed to head directly into Mt. Adams.

We were supposed to head down this lovely street, in fact.

Instead we went another way, passing this foreshadowing device...

And passing yet another WPA wall...

To end up here - Playhouse in the Park - to use the bathroom because someone (Rebecca) had drank too much bubbly water and wouldn't have survived the walk without this pit stop.

We got back on track back at Paradrome and Louden.

Down Paradrome, we took the Carney Street Steps up to Hatch Street.  I have a video of this, but it's full of crankiness and butt-shot, so I'll spare you today.

The top of the Carney Street Steps - before today I think I only thought of Mt. Adams as a place full of bars I don't hang out in and "that one church."  Now I know it's also full of nice little streets with fun architecture.

We turned from Hatch onto Fort View Place.  This street is notable for several historical things (noted here), for it still being paved with red bricks, and for having a sweet set of steps hidden at the end where I think most might not expect them!

Here's Chris at the top of the steps.  We didn't yet realize why we should appreciate that we were going down instead of up this set.

These steps go down...

And down...

And down...

And down yet further.  Whew!

Whether at the top or the bottom of this beautiful set of steps, the view of the river is astounding.

After pausing to take in the view again, we first walked along Hill Street (Mt. Adams' first paved street) then headed up Celestial Street.  We were excited because this trip promised our first sight of the ruins of the Mt. Adams Incline.

Turns out this isn't the incline we were looking for.  But it's still pretty awesome, no?

It took quite a bit of exploring all around Rookwood Pottery to find these.  Apparently, when the book was written there was a concrete anchor at the back of the parking lot that marked the top.  We're pretty sure it's not there anymore.  (Btw, a later walk confirmed that these are indeed the remains of the incline)

Part of what makes these walks amazing is the picture perfect views.  Seriously, I don't think I've ever felt more that Cincinnati truly is a city - and a lovely one at that - since I started to enjoy viewing her beauty from many vantage points once or twice a week on these walks.

We kept on the path by going to "the Art Deco, recessed-lighted Ida St. viaduct" - that's how the book describes it.

As always, we paused to snap a shot of the scenery.

We also paused to enjoy all kinds of architectural oddities and wonders.  I'm a brave person, so I'd hang out in this balcony given the opportunity.  This walk was the first that put the idea in my head that any and all architecture students should take these walks and see the incredibly variety as well as the ways themes were repeated in neighborhoods.

Apparently, the neighborhood around Ida and Paradrome was home to best-selling author Stephen Birmingham.  See the things we learn?!  I mean, not only that it's his home, but also that he exists!
Anyways, we wandered through that neighborhood to end up back at Playhouse in the Park.  This is us enjoying the view from behind the Playhouse.

Another new thing we learned:  See the middle section of the Playhouse building?  That's the original park shelter.  As the book describes it:  "the festival architecture of the original park shelterhouse [is] encased within the contemporary complex of the Playhouse itself."

Around behind the Playhouse is a set of stairs leading toward the Art Museum.  If you notice, there is a lot of going down steps in this walk.  Hmmmm....

The Cincinnati Art Museum!  We actually hung out here for quite a while.  I'll tell you a not-so-secret:  As a kid, there was a Miro mural I touched (gently, in the corner) every time I went to the museum.  I didn't touch it this time (or any time since I was, like, 16), but we stopped by to say hi.

We went down (see, down again) the Art Museum Steps.  Thankfully, we went up them during our last walk so we knew right where to find them.

Thanks to the kindness of a stranger (who we likely creeped out walking closely behind her getting up the nerve to ask her to take our picture), we got a picture of all of the team (at that time - welcome Jen!).

Another beautiful walk through a beautiful part of town.