Cincinnati

The city skyline was used in the soap opera “The Edge of Night”

Mary Testa seemed to like it in Marie Christine.

The most conservative city in the state. HQ city for Macy's, Kroger, and P&G. The Over-the-Rhine district (just north of the core) is the hip neighborhood (even though it borders crack city). Known for this strange concoction of chili (with no tomatoes) and cheese served over spaghetti (and called a 3-way). A 4-way adds beans or onions and a 5-way adds both. Also home to Graeter's, which is a really good brand of ice cream. Race relations are rocky, but improving. Downtown is somewhat lively, but not as lively as the suburbs for shopping. Has a great art museum and zoo. The city is surprisingly hilly, with some narrow, winding streets in Mount Adams (which has some great views of the city).

wacky local radio

I spent a month there with my husband while he did a job. I thought it was okay,but found the men rather doughy and pale. It was rare to see a hot guy.

Had one of the finest restaurants in the country in The Maisonette until it closed.

[quote] HQ city for Macy's

It may be their HQ but they are closing their downtown store. The only major store left downtown is Saks Fifth Avenue, and I'll bet they close within the year.

The Netherland Plaza Hotel is an art deco wonder, as is Union Terminal train station

We have an excellent Symphony, Opera and Ballet. Besides the Cincinnati Art Museum, there's also the really wonderful Taft Museum, which is housed in the old Taft mansion on the edge of downtown. And the Contemporary Art Museum, designed by Zaha Hadid.

Politically, it's an odd mix: the city itself has definite 'neigborhoods', some of which are reasonably liberal (we've re-elected a gay council member), but some neighborhoods are pretty backwards, too. The surrounding county is definitely quite conservative (the home of John Boehner). Greater Cincinnati includes parts of Northern Kentucky and Southeastern Indiana.

The library system is considered one of the best in the country. One of the real unknown gems (to many people) is the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music, which recently celebrated its 150 anniversary. Some of the alumni include Faith Prince, Kathleen Battle and Randy Harrison. The CCM provides professional instruction in music, theatre and dance. Tickets to performances are inexpensive, and admission for some performances is free. A great place to catch talented college kids from all over the country develop their skills.

It's very big on sports teams (which bore me to tears). And for some reason, the Western and Southern Tennis Open is scheduled during August, which is the most miserable time of the year, here, for weather.

Of the performance venues, there's Music Hall, which dates back to 1878, and just went through a massive renovation, the Aronoff Center, which is a contemporary theater, and Memorial Hall, which is a smaller Victorian hall right next door to Music Hall.

Music Hall, with the Art Deco Union Terminal in the background.

[quote]The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music is the largest single source of performing and media arts events in the state of Ohio. Its annual calendar boasts nearly 1,000 events, ranging from solo recitals to fully staged opera and musical theatre productions.

[quote]CCM offers FREE ADMISSION to dozens of performances throughout the academic year. Some events still require purchased tickets, and they are denoted on the CCM Performance Calendar with the word "Tickets." All events are free unless otherwise noted.

Thanks for sharing R10

An entire region frozen and immovable at the bottom of the Mariana Trench in the grip of the opioid crisis

All the adults are like the undead, and the children are from "Village of the Damned"

Nazinnati.

R3, and a 6-way adds diarrhea.

It's a racist, backwater hell hole brimming with petty, power-mad assholes who peaked in 10th grade. It's an extremely small town: everyone knows everyone or is related to them and the high school politics resultant from that tangles every level of operation. The sheer quantity of incompetence contained within Cincinnati's borders is staggering. I have never, anywhere else, encountered so very many people who had absolutely no idea how to do their jobs and were never under any threat of being fired for their disastrous performances. Did I mention the two sets of race riots and resultant city curfews? Just google "Cincinnati+police+shot+black+men". Fat, stupid and mean would be the descriptors I'd give to most of the citizens. There used to be a gay bar called The Golden Lion and a lesbian bar called Shirley's, but I'm pretty sure both closed. The best nearby city is Louisville; yes, even Kentucky is better than Cincinnati. There are no first-hand bookstores within ten miles of the University of Cincinnati. The "art house" movie theater plays superhero movies. A decent band swings through town, usually to Newport KY, maybe three times a year. It is home to what I believe is the last operational abortion clinic in Ohio, thanks to Governor Kasich, and the entrance is always blocked by blood-cult misogynists. Because of all the hills, there are also a lot of valleys and this creates horrific allergy conditions. It has one of the highest STD rates in the country. The city water supply is dangerously contaminated with toxic run-off, mold and debris from rusted piping. And no one there can drive like seriously they should all have their licenses revoked it's ridiculous, 'what's a lane?' 'so what if I'm going twenty miles under the speed limit?'. In the pro-column....Graeter's ice cream, which you can now get everywhere, originated there and it is delicious and they have really good thunderstorms, if you're into rain (and unbelievable humidity).

superb, r16

The West Side is all about Catholic boys high school Elder. The color purple is their thing and grown men in their 50's still wear their Elder jackets to football games and Friday night dinners at Price Hill Chili. The East side is full of liberal snobs who still covet money and power. Neighborhoods like Northside charge insane rents to apartment dwellers because it's 'arty'.

If you go you will feel like your in a time warp, it's 1957 again.

The fucking name is too hard to spell. Hometown of sjp I believe. Puts local chili sauce on spaghetti..... has a huge loop

Cincinnati is a beautiful city right on the river. The riverfront is bustling and the downtown area is being revitalized. That being said, the residents never leave , and if they do, they return within a few years. The city is largely Catholic, with the chief conversation upon meeting someone being, " Where did you go to high school." The Cincinnati area has given us some of the most vile politicians ever - Schmidt, Blackwell, Boehner, etc. However, to the residents, they are living in paradise. Constantly mocking ever other city as not being as good as Cincinnati, they started a campaign to disavow even being in Ohio ( despite the fact that they were one of the chief reasons the state got a bad name) by making it " Cincinnati, USA." Up until a few years ago, residents called green peppers " mangoes." After living there a few years, you can see how Hitler came into power in Germany.

Culturally, it's not a bad place, given the size of the city. Significantly behind Cleveland, but light years ahead of Cowtown Columbus, the city has a good symphony, pretty good theater, and suprisingly good museums.

It’s right next to Kentucky. All you need to know.

R22, shut your face about Columbus!

Every street corner there's a bar or a Catholic church.

I'm from there and I grew up loving the Reds and Bengals. The most memorable thing ever though was seeing the 1974 tornado that tore up Saylor Park and into the western suburbs. It was an F5 that splintered off into multiple vortexs, then came back together as one giant tornado. I had polaroid pics of it from an instamatic camera that are buried in a box somewhere. The next day after the tornado, Hank Aaron tied the home run record at Riverfront Stadium and I got to witness that in freezing wind.

Cincinnati is usually remembered for its efforts to criminalize the art of Robert Mappelthorpe

R23, you cannot deny that Columbus is a cultural cowtown.

Columbus USED to be a cultural cowtown. It’s very cool these days and INFINITELY more liberal and gay-friendly than Cincy. Much better restaurant scene, too.

But what about me?

Is this in the mark?

And put me down as another who thinks what they call chili is really Greek diarrhea.

^^ over tapeworms!

Big population of closet gays, easy to fuck, lot of size meat, all pigs, and filled with shame. Good cheap hustlers. Be on PrEP. Get a complete work up regularly or better yet just keep a supply of Zithromax in your cabinet at all times.

Location of the largest abandoned subway tunnel system in the United States

They require men to wear skin tight jeans

R33 they're skin tight because they're all fat.

With a metropolitan pop of 2 million+ there must be some gay bars. Well nowadays, who knows. Nobody goes to gay bars.

It used to be known as Porkopolis. So maybe you can live high on the hog there.

I'm from Ohio and the only major cities worth living in are Cleveland and Columbus. As mentioned above, Cincy is racist, anti-gay and just down right unpleasant. My racist, anti-gay brother lived there for many years. I only visited twice and that was enough for me.

Weirdly enough, it's the US center for great art pottery.

Weirdly Midwestern yet Southern at the same time.

Clearly the official mascot of Cincinatti should be Weirdly.

Does it at least have.a delicious, signature sandwich?

Named for Geo Washington, “America’s Cincinnatus!”

National laughingstock for always getting screwed on sports stadium deals.

CincinnANUS

Ersatz chili fiends, weirdly speaking.

The city that gave us the lovely Marge Schott

The town is still haunted by the Thanksgiving Day massacre.

R18 has the stuff about the West Side and the East Side down, but I don't live on either 'side'. I'm centrally located, which is much more diverse.

R25, Yes the Mapplethorpe exhibit (which I saw) as well as the trials against Larry Flynt, who got his start here.

R32, I've actually been on a tour of the abandoned subway tunnel (which was built in the bed of the abandoned Miami and Erie Canal, as passes right past Music Hall).

R35, Yes, of course there are gay and Lesbian bars; the ones I know of are in Northside.

R41, Not that I can think of.

As far as racial issues go, there were huge race riots in 1968 and other riots in 2001. My background is German-Catholic, while my ex (and best friend) is black, and my family accepted us. My next door neighbors on either side are black, and we're very friendly and helpful to each other.

Anyway, here's President Obama carrying his order of Cincinnati chili during one of his visits here.

[quote]Cincinnati chili is the area's "best known regional food".[29] According to the Greater Cincinnati Convention and Visitors Bureau, Cincinnatians consume more than 2,000,000 lb (910,000 kg) of Cincinnati chili each year, topped by 850,000 lb (390,000 kg) of shredded cheddar cheese.[2]:10 Overall industry revenues were $250 million in 2014.[30]

[quote]National food critics Jane and Michael Stern wrote, "As connoisseurs of blue-plate food, we consider Cincinnati chili one of America's quintessential meals"[31] and "one of this nation's most distinctive regional plates of food".[3][6]:247 Huffington Post named it one of "15 Beloved Regional Dishes".[32] In 2000, Camp Washington Chili won a James Beard Foundation America's Classics Award.[33][34] In 2013, Smithsonian named Cincinnati chili one of "20 Most Iconic Foods in America",[35] calling out Camp Washington Chili as their destination of choice. John McIntyre, writing in the Baltimore Sun, called it "the most perfect of fast foods", and, referring to the misnomer, opined that "if the Greeks who invented it nearly a century ago had called it something other than chili, the [chili] essentialists would be able to enjoy it".[21] In 2015, Thrillist named it "the one food you must eat in Ohio."[36]

[quote]It is common for those unfamiliar with it, confused by the misnomer and expecting chili con carne, to "scorn it"[21][37] as a poor example of chili.[21][26][38][39] Deadspin went so far as to call it "horrifying diarrhea sludge".[40]

I lived there about 2 years. Very beautiful city, some great history and culture, but holy Jesus so fucking conservative. Incredibly racist and anti-gay. Even the people thought of as pinko liberals (and who even identified themselves as such) were at best strictly moderate.

And the chili is disgusting. It's not even a real cuisine, you find it in fast food-type places.

^ Forgot to add, I was there during the infamous "race riots" of 2001. The press and city were completely undiscriminating in referring to every gather with 3 or more Blacks as a riot. Apparently Blacks standing on the sidewalk holding signs like "honk if you believe in justice" constitutes a riot. I drove through the demonstrations almost every day on my way to work with the top down on my convertible, that's how NOT violent they were. The city imposed what it called a strict curfew which my white self violated nearly every night and of course was never stopped once.

[quote] Big population of closet gays, easy to fuck, all pigs and filled with shame.

[quote] stupid and mean would be the descriptors I'd give to most of the citizens.

[quote] I found the men rather doughy and pale. It was rare to see a hot guy.

Checks out.

R47 thanks. Wouldn't the hot dog "coney" be considered a sandwich of sorts?

Holy shit imagine if Cheetolini came out with a take out bag of chili like Obama did in R47’s picture. We’d be laughing for days. But it was kind of cool when Obama did it.

Chickens can fly there

[quote] Chickens can fly there

And turkeys can ride bicycles.

Is very much like Omsk. You will like, OP. Is a good fake place to be from. I myself am fakely livink in Omaha. My best friend fake lives in Columbus which in same state named Ohio.

R56 Put down the drink dear, it's time for bed.

So no one's mentioned that I used to be the goddamn MAYOR?

The skyline was used in the open and close on "The Edge of Night." Cincy is home of sponsor Procter & Gamble.

This is gorgeous

This too

The Carew Tower ceiling treatment is very unusual

In the 19th century, the riverfront—including the redeveloped part in the OP—was a huge teeming slum collectively called Sausage and Rat Row. Sausage Row was mostly Irish and Rat Row was mostly black, but both were integrated. The area as a whole was a lot like the East End of London: drunks, whores, roustabouts, ne'er-do-wells, what have you.

R58 Didn't he resign after he was caught bouncing checks to hookers? Or was that before they elected him?

R52, Now that you mention it, I guess it would fit the description. I sort of thought that Coney Islands were also found in other states, which is why I didn't mention them. The Skyline Chili location about a mile from my house is where Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew stop when they're in town.

R53, I agree. He stopped at the location at 7th and Vine, and I used to live across the street from that location.

R58, Yes, he resigned City Council after he had to admit hiring a prositute (he was caught because he had paid with a check). Yet he was re-elected to City Council after that, and eventually became Mayor. And later, a popular local News Anchor. Republican thug Ken Blackwell was also Mayor at one time, but when he was on City Council, he managed to be endorsed by Stonewall Cincinnati. He quickly turned on the gays once he started his political rise, the asshole.

Here's the Taft Museum, on the edge of downtown. President Taft lived there are one time. I had one apartment three blocks away, and another only a half block away. And I worked in P&G's main office, about six blocks away.

Palm Court in the Netherland Hilton, in the Carew Tower.

It’s an awful city. Boring and totally conservative.

Fountain Square

[quote] The area as a whole was a lot like the East End of London: drunks, whores, roustabouts, ne'er-do-wells, what have you.

Have a bowl of brown for me

Yeah, the skyline is beautiful as are the art Deco buildings and the museums are great.

But the people fucking suck.

All of them stuck in HS with the HS mentality and pettiness. Uber conservative and racist as hell.

I make sure to let people know that I only live there. I did NOT grow up here.

My dad went to college in Cincinnati and he pronounced it as if it was "Cincinnattuh."

Sarah Huckabee Sanders would be considered a true beauty in Cincinnati!

Very conservative place, but liberal people I've known have liked it.

R71 my grandmother in Cleveland said that too. she also said "sunduh" for sundae. We used to giggle at her, although phonetically she was probably correct..

It's in Flyoverland, and not a place or state I would personally live in.

A friend of mine that's gay dated a man from there and said he was nice but it did not really work out as my friend would become very busy with his job and it was a long distance relationship since my friend lived one state away and would visit on weekends when he had time off. He said how the LGBT scene is sort of small/cliquey for a city.

How any thinking person, let alone gay, does not live within 100 miles of the Atlantic or Pacific (ie Boston, NY, PHL, DC, SF and LA and possibly San Diego but SD is yawn city) is beyond me. Only exception is Chicago. Great city although having problems. We really are two different countries.

I've posted several times upthread, and one problem (and I don't think it's just here), is that people tend to 'stratify': they find other people who are like-minded to spend time with. Hence the 'cliquey' aspect. I'm a liberal gay guy who only votes Democratic or Independent (another thing unique to Cincinnati: the local Charter Party). My friends are nearly all liberal, and certainly all are thoroughly accepting of gays. I have a few conservative friends, but they're accepting of gays as well. My own neighborhood is quite diverse, and people get along well. I would never live on the West Side, which is pretty conservative, Catholic and white. And I can't afford to live on the East Side. I'm of an age where I have no interest in gay bars or clubs: I like going to the Ballet, the museums, and the other things the arts have to offer.

R76, I know your point of view is pretty standard for the DL, but I'm not a hothouse flower. One thing that people on the coasts don't seem to understand is that, if I've lived my whole life here, my savings and investments are based on the kind of pay I've drawn and how much I can afford for rent or a mortage. I'll be able to retire comfortably here in a few years. My savings would be exhausted pretty quickly if I tried to live on the East or West coasts. My house is paid for. My credit is excellent. My family and closest friends are here.

[quote]Sarah Huckabee Sanders would be considered a true beauty in Cincinnati!

Only when it was still known as Porkopolis.

R77 that's why a friend of mine lives in the Midwest, he grew up there, his family is there, and for decades he lived on the west coast in SF, and on the east coast in Phildelphia, but then moved back to the midwest for work and to be closer to his family.

r77 Where you the one one who posted photos of your house before?

R80, Yes, I've posted some photos of my living room and dining room before. I like my house: it suits me. My middle-class, diverse neighborhood suits me. I have plenty of interests, mainly in the arts, that are easy for me to indulge here.

R76 is the reason why this country is the mess it is. It's not a red state /blue state divide, it's an urban /rural divide. Columbus and Cleveland are extremely liberal cities, and Columbus has a huge gay community. So kindly go fuck yourself.

The Clifton Gaslight district is beautiful with gorgeous old Victorian homes. I lived there in the early 80's when I attended U.C. Our gay bar was the Golden Lions as someone mentioned above. It had a little private piano bar room and it was not a meat market. Very diverse section of gays - a lot of closeted married men, doctors, professors.

Everyone talks about the chili - but the ice cream is divine. Graeter's has been around over 100 years and even Oprah discovered it and loves it.

For those claiming it's racist, President Obama won the vote in ultra conservative Hamilton County in both of his elections. There are though a lot of Hillary haters - MOSTLY WOMEN - that I've found in Cincy. Even career women who should revere someone like Clinton, they just can't beyond the idea of a woman as president.

It is probably the hilliest city other than San Francisco. Gorgeous views.

It needs bath. Cincy always looks "dirty" when I go there. I would also say the city is so conservative because of the great Appalachian flight during the 1940's and 1950's. I have been to the DOCK but found the patrons not the hottest group of guys and actually Shirley Q Liquor just happened to be performing the night I went so that gives you an idea of the area. I agree Lexington and Louisville in Kentucky are nicer and more liberal cities than Cincy.

Pittsburg is hilly, too.

r85 Pittsburg, KS or Pittsburg, CA?

Pitsburgh had to bully the Feds to get their "h" restored.

Cincinnati used to be known for being non-corrupt, but today it is probably worse than most American cities in this regard (see: Kenneth Blackwell and wife), and that's a LOW bar. The catalyst for the current shame was that bigoted police chief who ran the town in the 80s and made an issue of Mapplethorpe.

Blackwell's stupid wife was once head of Cincinnati Public Schools and was so hated by everyone. Her 1st week she sent out the wrong pink slips to teachers who they were retaining and instead got termination notices.

Cincinnati was once run by Boss Cox (similar to Boss Tweed in NYC), which eventually prompted the founding of the Charter Party (which still exists). The government back in the 20s was finally cleaned up, but in my lifetime, there's been a constant power struggle between the city government and the much more conservative county government. There have been similar struggles when it comes to gay rights, where there have been so many flip-flops that I've lost count. It was the case for Cincinnati resident Jim Obergefell that finally brought the SCOTUS decision for marriage equality.

BTW, the old Boss Cox mansion has been beautifully renovated into a Library branch (about a mile and a half from my house).

That's okay, R 82, you can be assured that the east coast ELITE are all on anti-depressants so they don't commit suicide.

Is that what that house is, r90? I had no idea!

I used to drive by there a lot and have several photos of that house because it is just beautiful but I never knew the story.

The ones around it and across the street are wonderful as well.

R92, Yes, and it's worth a visit (it's free, after all, and if you don't have a Library Card, you should get one: the best free deal in town). The house was occupied by a fraternity at one time, and I remember that they cut down a spruce tree from nearby Eden Park and dragged it back to the house to use as a Christmas tree. The criminals received suspended sentences, which infuriated my Dad, as I had had to face much harsher consequences for much more innocent activities.

This photo is of Mt Adams, seen from the Playhouse in the Park. Mt Adams was originally named Mt Ida, but it was renamed Mt Adams when President John Quincy Adams dedicated an observatory there, in 1843. The observatory was later moved when the air pollution in the city became too sooty.

And this is the Observatory at its new (1874) home in Mt Lookout. You can still schedule viewings to peer through the telescope.

Cincinnati has a strong Catholic tradition (primarily German-American, but also Irish, Italian, and Lebanese and now, Latin-American and Vietnamese). 'Praying the Steps' is a local tradition (I participated when I was a kid until a young adult) which also highlights just how steep and hilly the city is. It's not really hilly: it's a series of bluffs and ravines overlooking a huge glacial valley, which is why it's similar to Pittsburgh, which also used included railcars (Pittsburgh still does, I think, although Cincinnati discontinued theirs).

I mentioned once about my ex carrying his roommate's sick cat to a vet about a mile or away over several stairways, and that's when I knew he was the man I loved. I'm not sure how other people elsewhere would read that account, without knowing that Cincinnati is full of stairways that connect streets all over the landscape. Hamilton County, Ohio (where Cincinnati is), has the highest per capita ratio expense in repairing landscape damage.

The city is the "birthplace" of The Hall Of Justice from The Super Friends cartoons

R96, One of the glass mosaic murals inside Union Terminal (Now the Museum of Natural History and Science).

Thanks, r94! I've been to the observatory before for classes. It is fabulous! We got to look through the telescope one night and saw an eclipse on Jupiter! It was one of the coolest things I've ever seen!

Datalounge Meet-Up in Cincy?

I guarantee all Cincy dataloungers already know one another.

Cincinnati -- I traveled there for work many times about ten years ago. My impression was that it was a once beautiful city built by wealthy industrialists, but now it lies in a state of decay, occupied by uneducated "folks" with no appreciation for what their ancestors created. All the smart people moved away. I disliked it so much there, that I described it to others as a "stinkhole," which was my polite way of saying it was a shithole.

This is all you have to know about the Cincinnatians.

R101 You're pretty much spot on. Faded glory now occupied by uneducated folks. I taught at the highly esteemed College Conservatory of Music for six years. Culturally, the city is filled with things to do and see but it's the people that make it unpleasant. It's a very catholic city which tells you a lot about the people...conservative, family obsessed, few move very far from their parents, siblings. Many of UC's students are first generation college attendees. The University is fairly large but is almost totally a commuter school. Cincinnati has some lovely neighborhoods i.e. Clifton (near UC), Mt. Adams (overlooks the river) Eden Park (my favorite) and Hyde Park. The downtown has developed since I was there. There were a handful of gay bars. Mostly in downtown and the Northside. I used to like to walk along the river on the Kentucky side. There was a riverfront street with some beautiful old homes in Covington, KY. During my time, the city had a gay mayor but she was closeted and no one was suppose to know. I'm from a small town in the midwest and found Cincinnati repressive so that that for what it's worth...

This is all you need to know about Cincinnati

[quote]Culturally, the city is filled with things to do and see

R103, I think I've tried to make that point, more or less, upthread, but I wasn't really going to say that my neighbors are awful. I love art, music and history, and I find much to keep me occupied. And, in the course of pursuing my interests, I meet other people who share those interests. I enjoy the Ballet, the Symphony and (occasionally) the Opera, the Art and Taft Museums. The College Conservatory of Music and the Contemporary Art Center. Sometimes, I'm the person who ends up introducing a friend or co-worker to those institutions. For me, the point is that my friends who've never been to the Ballet before have all loved it. And yet (trying to hide my selfishness), I've never accepted an invite to a Bengals game. But I'm grateful that I still get invited.

I'm a gay guy in a conservative Midwestern city. That's just my reality.

R103 Take your friends up on their offer to go to a Bengals or Reds game. They can be pretty fun. I don't necessarily love sports but experiencing something with a mass crowd can be interesting and you might see a couple of hot guys here and there. You don't have to go often but experience them at least once like you would encourage your other friends to experience theater or the ballet.

Culturally, it's light years ahead of Columbus, but significantly behind Cleveland.

Sox OF Andy Benintendi is from there

That has to count fir something...

Charles Manson is from Cincy.

I grew up in Kenwood and went to Moeller High School - Gerry Faust was a national hero to us for the football team. My father worked in finance downtown and I had a wonderful childhood. My parents though were snobs. If I knew anybody from Delhi or the West Side, there was that idea that person was low class and socially to be avoided. It was bizarre. I stayed in the closet until I had my own financial independence and my Catholic, uptight parents really were ok with my being gay - if only because my fist boyfriend was from nearby Indian Hill and therefore was of the same financial ilk my parents were. I am one of those who left town for work and was gone five years, and when I came back with my partner we moved to Price Hill and my mother and father came to visit us the first thing she said to my father when they walked into our place ' Did you remember to lock the car?" - to me that explains a lot about Cincinnati.

OK, but really why would you move to Price Hill? There are meth heads living in storage units over there. Everyone on foot is drunk. There's a scenic PIT that just keeps getting bigger. Whoever thought Biggest PIT in the midwest would be a tourist attraction needs to be fired. That house with all the colored doors in the yard is cool, though.

late 90s/early 2000s there was a huge gay presence: widely diverse bars, restaurants, a couple of stores, etc. Now there are no restaurants (Goodbye Carol's and H. Mary's), only a handful of bars, no stores (Pink Pyramid?).

They are sanitizing downtown for the streetcar crowd - a good number of whom are gay couples who are conservative. I lived on Court Street and my building was taken over by 3CDC and the place has been renovated to where the rent used to be $600 a month, now it's $1300!! Place looks great and now there's going to be a high rise that will have a Krogers inside of it. The Vine Street Kroger is hilarious and truly for folks who don't make a lot of money. Going to be interesting how it all plays out.

If I had a kid who moved to Price Hill, I'd ask about locking the doors also. It's horrendous.

If I remember correctly, there were some really nice views of downtown and the river from Price Hill. A friend of a friend had a condo up there and I remember watching fireworks from the balcony.

R113 I live over in Newport, and I used to rent a place for $600 and just raised it to $1500 (most in the East Row go for this)-I'm in a two family Victorian but the rental floor is modernized.

Price Hill has the incline district which has gorgeous old homes. The restaurant Primavista is great and next to it is the Incline House - a sort of bar/pub which has that incredible view of the city. It does also have the lower Price Hill clientele where drug activity and prostitution is bustling. So quite a mix.

Cincinnati is basically the ideological twin of St. Louis.

The Dock, Cincinnati's oldest (and tackiest) gay bar was just bought (scooped up) by the city for its land. They are talking about building a bridge on it. That leaves about a handful of gay bars, which includes only one "club" for drag queens.

The Dock had turned into a hip hop black club in recent years. Used to see former Mayor Mark Mallory late, late in the evenings.

R106, I think I could handle a Reds game: I'm not sure I could manage a Bengals game since (embarrassed to admit): I have no idea how football is played. Yes, Mary! me all you want, but I'm really that ignorant. I at least played baseball when I was a kid, but never football.

Former mayor Roxanne Qualls was rumored to be Lesbian. Former mayor Mark Mallory most definitely is gay. Greater Cincinnati includes parts of Northern Kentucky and SE Indiana. Covington, KY is pretty gay-friendly.

Anyway, I was once enlisted to pick up my boss at the airport and bring him home. He had picked up some attractive young woman who was coming into town from New York, to attend a wedding, and he offered her a ride into the city. I tried making small talk with the woman (my boss was Japanese, with rather limited English) and I asked her innocent questions about various points of attraction in New York. I asked about various museums, botanic gardens (since my real interest is that) and other cultural attractions, and she had either never visited any of them, or had never even heard of them. This, all the while that she cast disparaging remarks about 'having' to come to Ohio. The primary airport for Cincinnati is in Northern Kentucky. We were driving toward Cincinnati, and we suddenly crested the 'cut in the hill' on I-75, heading towards the city, and she exclaimed, "Well, I can see it's a city, now. I was worried I'd end up being dumped in the cornfields." If only. So I say this for everyone: it's not where you live: it's what you make of it. Show your curiosity; be a tourist in your own home; find the things that make your home special, and try to celebrate them. And, when you go somewhere else, be prepared to engage and learn what that place is like, too. I would love to be able to live in NYC: the fact is, I can't afford it. My life isn't empty or bereft because of that. I still see the Ballet, live theatre and such, but I just do it in Cincinnati.

[quote]They require men to wear skin tight jeans —Andy Travis

My slacks are pretty tight. They didn't used to be.

R121 has class.

Roxanne Qualls underwent quite a transformation. The Dems wanted her to run against Steve Chabot and his house seat in 1998 and she shed the glasses, frosted her hair blonde, starting wearing nail polish and really became a babe. She lived in North Avondale with a lady friend who was soon passed aside and years later Roxanne married a man in a ceremony officiated by Mark Mallory. There was spec she did this for her unsuccessful 2013 mayoral run but I understand she's still married and happy.

Is Cincinnati more like St. Louis or Pittsburgh?

More liked St. Louis, but St. Louis is more interesting. Pittsburgh is way way way more interesting. Cincinnati is like Savannah, without the nice weather, charm, art or beach access.

R124 Roxanne Qualls was a lesbian. I lived in a small apartment complex and one of my neighbors worked on her campaigns and in her office for many years. R103 I like you. If I would have had more friends like you I might have stayed in Cincinnati longer. I'm sorry to hear that The Dock is gone. I spent many a fun night there and at the Pipeline and even occasionally dropped by Shooters and once or twice ventured into Spurs. All long gone I hear...

Roxanne Qualls after she transitioned.

R127 yes all gone. Now there is one neighborhood bar in Newport (Gay owners, str8 staff- more neighborhood watering hole than anything, but it is welcoming), 2 in Covington (directly across the street from each other Rosie's and 709?), On Broadway (small) in downtown Cincy along with Below Zero (Drag Queen club by former owner of Ham. Mary's)....

Everyone shows up for Pride, then disappears back into their cellphones. I heard the Pride Night at Kings Island was stopped due to the current inclusion mindset ("They don't need their own night anymore")

R103 Yes, Cincinnati is a city of "best kept secrets" which requires one to search out the good things and interesting places. If you're not that politically minded, it is a great inexpensive (by either coast standards) where one can purchase a cool Victorian house or an ultra modern condo close to the city.

Even though they put Democrats in office, they're still pretty conservative socially.

Just when you thought the racial problems had settled down, comes a Catholic high school cheering section........... pure Cincinnati.

The response

These people are younger than me, almost young enough to be my children if I'd have gotten a girl knocked up in high school (fat chance of that). It's scary and disgusting.

Huh?

That Catholic high school is the crazed Elder High I mentioned earlier. A more Trump loving alumni you could not hope to find. Recently a closeted gay track coach and teacher was killed by a drugged up woman and he was heralded as a true hero of the people and the poor. Which he was. Just don't dare mention he was possibly gay. No, no way.

The Elder racists are demonstrative of, I'd say, at least, 80% of the Cincinnati population and more, if edge out into the burbs and across the river. 5% are just straight up Nazis. 10% are complete religious whackjobs. 8% are socially conservative liberals. And the other 2% leaves before the ink on their high school diplomas dries.

Cincinnati politics shines again, in the tradition of Ken Blackwell, Jean Schmidt, and Rob Portman.

I imagine the East End is dire as I think it is.

R138 actually it is the West side

At least there's some mortification about it.

And it's all here, R140.

Double you kay are APPY.

I did my undergraduate degree at Xavier University and, ,in four years, came to love the city of Cincinnati. The people were warm and friendly. Is it a perfect place, no, but what place is?

I grew up in Louisville, and Cincy was THE go-to place for shopping that wasn't available in my hometown (only 90 miles away). It always seemed like a much bigger city than Louisville, which it was, but always seemed much more dowdy and oppressive (which it is). Louisville is very gay-friendly, has better restaurants/nightlife and is much "quirkier" than Cincinnati, plus has a 4 am closing time for bars. Unfortunately, it's in Kentucky, which has held it back.