East Walnut Hills, a Unique Cincinnati Neighborhood

A unique Cincinnati neighborhood

Maya Drozdz

City of Cincinnati November 2, 2021 Election

CANDIDATES FOR MAYOR
(1 to be elected to a 4-year term;  listed alphabetically)

CANDIDATES FOR CITY COUNCIL
(9 to be elected at large to a 2-year term;  listed alphabetically)


CINCINNATI BOARD OF EDUCATION
(4 to be elected to a 4-year term; listed alphabetically)

HAMILTON COUNTY MUNICIPAL COURT
(Judge District 2; 1 to be elected to unexpired term ending 1/2/2024; listed alphabetically)

THREE ISSUES ON THE BALLOT
(majority affirmative vote to pass)

Hamilton County Proposed Tax Levy (Renewal and Increase) if approved:

  • A renewal and increase of the millage rate for a tax.
  • To supplement the general fund to provide support for children services and the care and placement of children.
  • To last for five years, beginning in 2021 and first due in calendar year 2022.

Tax Levy for Great Parks of Hamilton County (Issue 29):

Issue 29 is a proposed additional tax levy of .95 mill for a period of 10 years for Great Parks of Hamilton County (GPHC). Collection will begin in 2022. The levy would provide for:

  • the acquisition and conservation of natural resources and park land;
  • operation and administration of park facilities and programs;
  • improvements to park infrastructure, facilities, and natural resources;
  • development, maintenance, and provision of outdoor recreation and nature education facilities, trails, programs, and services in current and future parks and nature preserves;
  • and for such other parks and recreational purposes as permitted by law.

The Hamilton County auditor estimates that the levy will generate $21.1 million per year on top of the $19.1 million generated by the 1 mill levy currently in place.

Proposed City of Cincinnati Charter Amendment if approved would:

  • Make Cincinnati City Council members’ salaries equal to the median household income for the city. That would mean a pay cut from $65,000 a year to about $46,000.
  • Require Cincinnati City Council approval of all lawsuits filed by the city.
  • Eliminate the designee replacement system, which has been used to fill Cincinnati City Council vacancies since the 1920s, under which a council member picks one or more fellow council members to choose his or her replacement.
  • If a Cincinnati City Council member resigns or otherwise leaves Cincinnati City Council, his or her spot would go to the highest vote getter after the top nine finishers in the last city council campaign.
  • Eliminate the Mayor’s “pocket veto,” where the Mayor can choose never to place an item on the Cincinnati City Council agenda or assign it to a committee.
  • Require one-year residency in Cincinnati to serve as Mayor or Cincinnati City Council member.
  • Permit individual liability of the Mayor or City Council members for some violations of open meetings and public records law violations.
  • Allow for the recall of the Mayor.

VOTER INFORMATION:

RESOURCES:

Last edit: 21 Sep 2021. This page will be updated as needed.

Cover photo: Carol M. Highsmith, courtesy of the Library of Congress

EvanstonFEST 2021

EvanstonFEST 2021

A day of fun and music at the Evanston Playground! Come volunteer for EvanstonFEST on September 4th and help us make this music event a great joint neighborhood success for all!

Sign up for a volunteer slot or for the whole day. Bring your friends or colleagues! Please follow this link for the signup form.

We will have a Tai Chi fitness class at 4 pm, children mini-olympics activities, community organization resource tents (Hamilton County Recycling, non-profit Better Initiative Zone, Keep Cincinnati Beautiful, Fresh Is Better, Urban Roots, etc) food trucks (AJ’s Cheesesteaks, Breaking Bread Catering, Kona Ice) and of course, LIVE MUSIC from Cincinnati and neighborhood Performers and bands! Music venue is sponsored by the Cincinnati Music Accelerator.

Please follow this link for the Facebook event.

Evanston Playground is located at 3558 Evanston Ave., just off Dana Ave. next to the American Red Cross.

Owl’s Nest Park Pavilion: Community Update

Owl's Nest Park pavilionThis historic pavilion in Owl’s Nest Park was slated for demolition in June 2021. Because of the work of the East Walnut Hills Assembly, Evanston Community Council and the O’Bryonville business group, along with other dedicated community volunteers, the Park Board cancelled the demolition and is working with neighbors to restore the building.

The park, located at 1984 Madison Rd., is a popular gathering place for the East Walnut Hills, Evanston and O’Bryonville communities, and fosters a spirit of the inter-neighborhood cooperation. It is the site of community events like National Night Out with the Cincinnati Police Department and Owl’s Nest Fest, the annual music festival. The park’s 1933 pavilion provides a covered stage for those events. This historic structure also makes an imposing visual statement from Madison Rd., and provides a focal point and backdrop for the lawn.

The structure, designed by the locally prominent firm of Elzner & Anderson, is in poor condition and has been closed for a number of years. Please follow this link for more information about history of the park and its connection to the civil rights movement, courtesy of the Cincinnati Preservation Association.

private residence on Annwood St. by Elzner & Anderson, 1897
private residence on Annwood St. by Elzner & Anderson, 1897

Founded in 1897, Elzner & Anderson pioneered the use of concrete for commercial buildings and was responsible for the design of some of the finest homes in Cincinnati. Their highest-profile commission may have been the Ingalls Building downtown, the first reinforced concrete high-rise office building in the world.

Born in Cincinnati in 1869, George M. (Mendenhall) Anderson studied at Columbia University, Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris (he was the first Cincinnatian known to receive a diploma from the esteemed school) and under Louis Comfort Tiffany in NYC. When he returned to Cincinnati, Anderson worked under Samuel Hannaford before teaming up with Elzner.

private residence on Hackberry St. by A.O. Elzner, circa 1890
private residence on Hackberry St. by A.O. Elzner, circa 1890

A.O. (Alfred Oscar) Elzner was born in Cincinnati in 1862 and studied at the Ohio Mechanics Institute and MIT. After graduation, he worked in the Boston office of H.H. Richardson, later supervising the 1886 construction of Richardson’s iconic Chamber of Commerce Building in downtown Cincinnati (destroyed by fire in 1911).

The partners both came from prominent families, which yielded important professional connections that supported their practice, including residential commissions for members of the Taft, Emery, Procter, and Longworth families. Many of the homes built on nearby Annwood St. are fine examples of the firm’s work.

Anderson passed away in 1916 and Elzner in 1933. The Owl’s Nest Park pavilion may have been designed by Elzner or by Joseph Nardini, his designated successor. Elzner & Anderson continued practicing under the names of its founders until around 1940.

Great American Cleanup

Great American Cleanup

Spring is here, and it’s and time to get out and enjoy the sunshine on our faces. East Walnut Hills is participating in the Great American Cleanup on Sat 15 May!

The EWH Events and Beautification Committees are partnering with Keep Cincinnati Beautiful on the Great American Cleanup. The cleanup can focus on picking up litter, planting flowers, painting buildings, cleaning illegal dumpsites, landscape, graffiti removal, and more. 

Take a look around the East Walnut Hills neighborhood and think about how we might be able to beautify our space. If you know of a problem site, please let us know. Your tips and suggestions are requested by 12 Apr.

Community Mural Project

neighbors paint community mural at corner of Taft and Woodburn

Thanks to a generous grant from the Carol Ann & Ralph V. Haile, Jr. Foundation, the East Walnut Hills Assembly (our neighborhood council) added a new community mural on the northwest corner of William Howard Taft Rd. and Woodburn Ave. during the summer of 2021.

Click image to enlarge; use your “back” arrow to return to this page.

 

 

 

After a series of virtual and in-person engagements, muralist James Billiter incorporated changes based on the feedback to highlight East Walnut Hills as a diverse, inclusive, and welcoming community; full of active people who appreciate the neighborhood’s historic charm and lush greenery and gardens. To complement his original architectural design, he invited collaborators Maria Nacu, Michael Colbert, and Anissa Pulcheon to contribute new elements:

  • Michael Colbert depicted the natural beauty of the neighborhood’s many trees, flowers and animals
  • Maria Nacu crafted lettering for the corner of Taft & Woodburn that reflects the neighborhood’s historic charm
  • Anissa Pulcheon introduced illustrations of the people of East Walnut Hills to highlight that it is people of a community that make it great.

About the Selection Process

The East Walnut Hills mural project launched in March 2021 with a community survey that reached over 100 people affiliated with East Walnut Hills. Each respondent shared what makes the neighborhood special, provided basic design direction, and had the opportunity to voice concerns about the project implementation.

Simultaneously, an open call to artists was posted soliciting applications from experienced muralists. The call was shared citywide by the East Walnut Hills Assembly (our neighborhood council), members of the business district, community organizations, arts institutions, job boards, and with individual artists recommended by community members.
 
Artist applications were reviewed by a committee of community stakeholders composed of residents, artists and neighborhood business owners to narrow the applicant pool down to three finalists. Finalists were selected based on their experience leading mural projects from start to finish, as well as on their demonstrated commitment to community engagement.
 
These three finalists drafted concept sketches, which were put to a community vote. Over 700 people responded, ranking the three mural design options. With 55% of the total first place votes, and 60% of the first place votes among East Walnut Hills residents, James Billiter’s concept sketch “An Urban Oasis” was selected as the mural design.

About the Lead Artist

James Billiter is a designer and artist specializing in illustration and custom typography. He is a graduate of Purcell Marian, where he became interested in art and continued his education at the University of Cincinnati, studying Graphic Design in the DAAP program. Later James studied printmaking in the Art Academy’s Community Education program and created Billiter Studio to develop personal artwork and to work with clients on branding and art projects.

James develops his work with the audience in mind using Design Thinking and brings this work to life using hand-crafted methods such as printmaking and painting. Billiter Studio’s work celebrates place-making and cultural history with the intent of inspiring community pride and belonging in the viewer.

“For the Taft and Woodburn mural I would like to celebrate all of the East Walnut Hills community; I wanted to capture all the natural beauty and cultural diversity —from the edge of Eden Park in the West to Torrence in the East, from Woodburn Avenue’s historic district and residential areas in the north to river views in the south.

“Creating a detailed ‘seek and find’ scene that engages the residents to find their part of the neighborhood as well as inviting them to explore parts of the neighborhood they haven’t visited yet. Illustrations feature buildings from the neighborhood mixed with icons of local culture. For motorists, larger typography and visuals invite them to visit the neighborhood with an abundance of visuals.“

If you have any questions, please contact Ellen Stedtefeld at TaftWoodburnMural@gmail.com.

Thank you for your participation!
Ellen Stedtefeld
Mural Steering Committee Chair