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CityBeat‘s fourth annual “State of the Arts” issue (May 4-9, 2000) advanced an idea to put the arts in a central position in our city. In “Cincinnati Tees Off on the Arts” we proposed The T, an intersection of downtown avenues focused on high-profile arts organizations that could spur economic growth and focus public attention on those institutions and on Over-the-Rhine. We described how Philadelphia had created an “avenue of the arts” and asked why not here in Cincinnati.
We pointed out that several arts organizations and facilities were already located on or near Walnut Street downtown, from the promised (and now open) Contemporary Arts Center to the then-5-year-old Aronoff Center, which was doing well despite changes in leadership. We also expressed hope for the renovation of the Emery Theatre and pointed out the proximity of Music Hall and the School for Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA) in Over-the-Rhine.
John Fox described a proposed convergence on Walnut Street “to offer a solid foundation for what could become Cincinnati’s version of Avenue of the Arts. With a little digging and a little creative thinking, it’s not hard to envision the avenue actually beginning to resemble two corridors — one stretching up Walnut from Sixth to 12th streets, the other roughly following 12th from near Music Hall on the western edge of Over-the-Rhine to SCPA and the Pendleton area in the east.
“Let’s call it ‘The T.’ Three-fourths of the projects outlined here … already are underway in one form or another. A little nurturing from City Hall and/or Hamilton County could fill in the gaps and put The T on the map — locally, regionally and nationally.”
We described how such a district could have a staggering effect on the city. “Philadelphia’s Avenue of the Arts,” Fox wrote, “spurred hotels, restaurants and other private investment to fill in the space between arts facilities, creating a vortex of public interest, private money and tourist visits. More than 1.1 million people now attend performances or events along Philadelphia’s Avenue of the Arts each year, generating an estimated $157 million for the city. Is anyone around here interested in that kind of impact?”
For The T, we envisioned a “rejuvenated” Aronoff Center and a “spanking new CAC” anchoring the lower end of Walnut, in addition to a spiffed-up Emery. We proposed two new facilities between Ninth and Court streets on Walnut: a new theater/gallery complex on the east side of the street where there’s a surface parking lot; on the west side, the main public library branch, we suggested, could add an auditorium (which had been part of the original plan for the library’s 1998 expansion).
The theater/gallery complex, it was suggested, could serve the Cincinnati Shakespeare Festival or other theater groups, perhaps with satellite space for the Arts Consortium or a home for the Classical Music Hall of Fame. The library auditorium might become a home for the Cincinnati Film Society, plus serve as a site for lectures and public forums.
Fox concluded with this thought: “If an energetic, popular mayor — say, oh, a guy like Charlie Luken — were to take ownership of The T and rally public support around it, Cincinnati’s arts community finally might have a real political champion. And, unlike other current development projects, this plan would benefit the entire city and all of its citizens.”
CityBeat definitely crystallized a concept that many found attractive. Shortly after our story, the Art Academy of Cincinnati announced plans to relocate from its historic home in Mount Adams to 12th Street in Over-the-Rhine, right at the intersection of The T. That project will be completed next fall. Just south of there, the massive parking garage portion of the Gateway Project is under construction after a great deal of political wrangling.
More arguing and compromise (and some hefty fund-raising) has resulted in plans for a new SCPA about two blocks to the east, on the south end of Washington Park between 12th Street and Central Parkway. A new parking garage adjacent to Music Hall could mean easier and safer access to the historic performance facility, and the Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation (3CDC) is focused on renovating Washington Park and its environs.
The Emery Theatre is in mothballs, but its potential remains. The apartment component of the Emery is fully rented, and more people — including artists — now live in lofts, apartments and renovated buildings throughout Over-the-Rhine. Businesses, especially restaurants and clubs, have struggled on Main Street since the riots in 2001, but the neighborhood is inching toward a better environment for the arts and their patrons.
Luken didn’t exactly become a champion for the arts, although he’s regularly voiced his recognition of the key role they play in Cincinnati’s economy. Perhaps his most important contribution has been the creation in 2002 of an Arts & Culture Committee of Cincinnati City Council and naming Councilman Jim Tarbell to chair it.
Tarbell, a tireless advocate of both the arts and Over-the-Rhine, has grasped this platform and made things happen, especially with some capital windfall he granted to organizations looking to enhance their facilities. Cincinnati Opera has renovated a significant portion of Music Hall for new offices and operations, while Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati upgraded technology and facilities to better serve audiences from its Vine Street location.
Tarbell has advanced a variety of creative funding programs intended to attract artists to work and live in Over-the-Rhine, another component in converting the neighborhood into The T envisioned by CityBeat.
The bold concept remains a good idea. With many more people today acknowledging the arts as a key asset to positioning Cincinnati as an attractive city, we’ll continue to beat the drum. ©
This article appears in Nov 10-16, 2004.
