SUBURBAN LIFE Your Community Press newspaper serving Deer Park, Kenwood, Madeira, Sycamore Township and other Northeast Cincinnati neighborhoods
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2019 ❚ BECAUSE COMMUNITY MATTERS ❚ PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK
Blue Ash meets goals set for 2018 Jennie Key Cincinnati Enquirer USA TODAY NETWORK
What we reported: Blue Ash officials set goals for 2018. What happened to them? In January of 2018, The Enquirer asked Blue Ash Mayor Tom Adamec to talk about the city’s goals for 2018. He had several: completion of Phase III at Summit Park, a new summer event launching, adding bike sharing to services for city residents and a continued focus on basic services such as the paving and sidewalk program in Blue Ash. What’s happened since: The city completed Phase III at Summit Park and opened its Observation Tower, dedicated the Children’s Nature Playscape, and extended the park’s trail network. The city talked about SummitFest, a new country music event at Summit Park, and brought Chase Rice and Eli Young Band with special guest Kellie Pickler to the stage for the inaugural event. See BLUE ASH, Page 1A
The hayloft in a nearly 100-year-old barn in Mariemont, seen here Nov. 13, 2018, that houses the Woman's Art Club Cultural Center has undergone a $500,000 transformation into a large space for art exhibits, classes and movies. PHOTOS BY JEANNE HOUCK/THE ENQUIRER
The Barn gets $500,000 upgrade Structure built in 1924 by Mariemont founder Mary Emery, originally intended as a haven for retirees Jeanne Houck Cincinnati Enquirer USA TODAY NETWORK
The 11-story, 150’ Observation Tower at Summit Park in Blue Ash is nearing completion. It will be a focal point in the 130-acre park that was previously Blue Ash Airport. From the top, viewers will be able to see downtown Cincinnati. At its base is the large elevated stage and great lawn on one side and a stormwater collection pond on the other, which will include the children's natural playscape. LIZ DUFOUR/THE ENQUIRER
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The hayloft in the nearly 100-year-old barn that houses the Woman’s Art Club Cultural Centerin Mariemont has been transformed into a large space for art exhibits, classes and movies. A number of charitable foundations ponied up some $500,000 for improvements to the loft at the cultural center at 6980 Cambridge Ave. also known as “The Barn.” Work in the 2,000-square-foot area now called “The Loft” included replacing a 30-year-old roof, adding a dozen large skylights, installing lights, chandeliers and new heating and air-conditioning systems, refinishing the original wood floors and insulating the exterior to preserve the look of the original barn wood. Some 150 people can be seated with unobstructed viewing in The Loft, which also features an audiovisual system with a digital projector and a 10-foot diagonal screen that drops from the ceiling. Two handicapped-accessible restrooms have been built near the entrance to The Loft, which is accessible via a new elevator. Kym Kuenning of Indian Hill, incoming president of The Barn’s board of directors, said more new things are in store for The Loft. “We are planning an upcoming lecture series, as well as a performing arts series in The Loft,” Kuenning said. “We are currently grant-writing to bring other exciting arts programs to this new flexible space.” The high-tech changes at The Barn surely would surprise Mariemont foun-
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Former Mariemont resident Nancy Archdeacon of Morrow works on a painting in The Loft of the Woman's Art Club Cultural Center, also known as The Barn.
der Mary Emery, who had the barn built in 1924 as part of her vision for the “Resthaven Colony.” The colony was supposed to be a haven for retirees, who would live in cottages served by amenities that included a working farm. The colony never got off the ground, but a farm with a dairy that was the forerunner of United Dairy Farmers operated there until 1940. Mariemont’s maintenance and tax departments were housed in the barn for a while. Then in 2006, the Woman’s Art Club of Cincinnati created a foundation to raise funds to restore the barn as a cultural center. The foundation continues to operate The Barn, which has a gallery on the first floor in addition to the space in “The Loft.” Despite being named for an art club for women, everyone is welcome to take advantage of The Barn’s offerings, which include artist workshops and
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demonstrations, lectures, summer camps for children and cultural programming for families such as performances by the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park’s Off the Hill touring group, Madcap Puppets and The Children's Theatre of Cincinnati. “The mission of our organization is to stimulate artistic creativity and to provide quality educational and cultural experiences to the residents of Greater Cincinnati and the surrounding communities,” Kuenning said. The Barn also is a satellite campus for the Art Academy of Cincinnati and rents space for artist’s studios, special events and community meetings. Former Mariemont resident Nancy Archdeacon, who was painting in The Loft on a recent weekday, said she drives to the village from her home in Morrow to work on her art, catch an exhibit or attend a workshop at The Barn. "There's nothing like this close to me, See THE BARN, Page 1A
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