Rolling on the (Ohio) River

I love my adopted home. I really do. I know there are people who could take it or leave it, and it’s been my experience that they didn’t choose to move here. Not across the board, there are those who chose this city and still don’t like it, but they’re in the minority. No, I love living in Colorado Springs. Still, I get homesick.

I didn’t grow up in the suburbs of Cincinnati; I didn’t live in the suburbs. I always lived within the city limits. Granted, my last house was within the city limits by about two blocks, but still in the city of Cincinnati. I went to school downtown, I used to shop down there, I even had a few jobs in the city. And the festivals…

Along the Ohio River (don’t breathe too deeply, you might gag), there are many structures built in an effort to revitalize the downtown area. In the 70s, both Riverfront Stadium and Riverfront Coliseum (now US Bank Arena) were built. Riverfront Stadium was designed by the same people who did Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburg. I can tell you, watching the Reds/Phillies or Bengals/Squealers…er, Steelers, on TV, I always had to double-check who was the home team. Both were situated on the river, and both had similar skylines as a background. Both have also since been replaced. Riverfront Coliseum has the unfortunate luck to be remembered for the 1979 The Who stampede, where 11 people were killed. Festival seating was made illegal in Cincinnati venues for several years. Fifteen, to be precise.

The serpentine wall is the site of many a festival and event, including Riverfest, a festival celebrating the end of summer. Started by a local radio station in 1977, this has become one of the defining events of the festival year in Cincinnati. Rumor has it the city would only agree to a permit if the station held the event on a Sunday. The station chose Labor Day Weekend, and the rest is history. Viewing the spectacular fireworks is such a huge deal in the city, hundreds of thousands crowd both sides of the river for hours at a time. Basically, unless you have friends in (literally) high places, you have to get there by noon to get a spot on the river. And be willing to sit there and hold that spot against all comers. The summer season is kicked off by Taste of Cincinnati, once the largest such festival in the country, until Chicago had to get all grabby and made theirs bigger. Always stealing our ideas.

Behind the Serpentine Wall, there’s Yeatman’s Cove and Sawyer Point (as in Tom Sawyer…well, maybe not). A shallow fountain-pool was built there, originally for looking. I can still see, in my mind, the signs saying “No Swimming.” However, being built in downtown Cincinnati, with a dearth of public pools and an abundance of warm children, it became a place to play in the water. Within a year, the city had installed lifeguards at the previously decorative fountain. Right beside that is P&G Pavilion, dedicated about the same time. As a P&G brat, I had to attend. There were some nice gifts, and they did feed us, so it wasn’t all bad. The area houses other festivals like Party-in-the-Park and free concerts. It was tradition for kids at my high school, the School for the Creative and Performing Arts, to go to Yeatman’s Cove after the last day of school. The school actually went from 4th – 12th grade, but it was only the high school kids that would have been allowed by their parents. Also the most likely to be able to find a way home.

Travel east from the wall and Sawyer Point, and you reach Bicentennial Commons, another spot for a concert. Most of the free concerts I saw in Cincinnati, I saw at Bicentennial Commons. Honestly, I can’t think of all the groups, but I did see UB40 and C&C Music Factory at their height. There were others more popular at the time, but some of the most fun concerts included Three Dog Night and the Village People. I don’t care if they’re gay, they’re still fun to look at.

Bicentennial Commons, dedicated in 1988, includes the controversial Gateway sculpture, a canal lock with a scale model of the Ohio river on top, from the beginning in Pennsylvania to its end in the Mississippi, complete with steamboat smokestacks, celebrating Cincinnati’s riverboating history. Oh, and the four smokestacks are topped by a winged piggy, each, celebrating Cincinnati’s pork processing history. Another title Chicago stole. We still have the largest Oktoberfest outside of Munich. Held in September, of course, starting with a week of festivities including real beer at lunch on Fountain Square (although I haven’t been for several years, this may have changed) and the World’s Largest Chicken Dance. But, that’s not along the river, so it’s not important.

The flying piggies atop the Gateway sculpture was a huge deal. It was discussed for months, with people dead set against it, worried we wouldn’t be taken seriously, and others thinking it was about time we got that giant stick out of our butts. One of Cincinnati’s nicknames is The Blue Chip city, for the high number of Blue Chip companies based there (Chicago hasn’t taken that one, yet), and Blue Chip companies aren’t known for being liberal. Totally shows.

Anyway, on the river-side of the Gateway is a pole topped with a model of Noah’s Ark, and a stick, marking the high point of the Ohio in the January 1937 flood. Some of the older buildings in town still show the watermarks. Ivorydale, Procter & Gamble’s first site in Cincinnati, has water marks about halfway up the first floor. It’s at least 5 miles from the river. And yes, they made soap there. Tell ya what, my mom used to work there, and so did I, and I can tell you that when you wanted to wash your car, you just needed to add water. Soap was already on it. But, that’s on the Mill Creek, not the Ohio River, so again, not important.

Bicentennial Commons is another spot for festivals, like the BBQ festival and the Midwest Black Family Reunion. The pathways are covered with paving stones telling the history of the area. Really, without a map, it’s hard to tell where everything is. Bicentennial Commons and Sawyer Point include Yeatman’s Cove, Public Landing and the Serpentine Wall, as well as the P&G Pavilion and an incredible view of the river. At the farthest eastern end is Montgomery Inn, famous for its ribs, although I think it’s overrated. Take away the sauce and they’ve got nothing. I prefer Burbanks.

It’s not a perfect city. In April 2001, a month before I left, we had what we considered riots, and what LA would probably consider a block party. There was a curfew in select neighborhoods, including my own. People downplayed the tension constantly, and ignored a few key facts. They’d question why the black community didn’t trust the police, and we’d point out their track record – 15 black men under 40 died at the hands of the police from 1995 to 2001. They’d ask how many white men, and we’d reply “None. That’s the problem.” I’ve actually seen an email stating that if 100% of the people committing crimes are black, then that’s how many would be arrested. The black population within the city limits is 30%, not 100%. And I can promise you, I did not grow up trusting the police. Pale as I am, I’ve been pulled over for a DWB (Driving While Black). I’ve been pulled over for legitimate tickets, too. You CAN tell the difference.

So it’s flawed, it’s confused, and in many ways, it’s still stuck in the 1950s. But it’s trying. And when it works, it’s a beautiful thing.