CAMP WASHINGTON NEIGHBORHOOD ANALYSIS
CAMP WASHINGTON NEIGHBORHOOD ANALYSIS THE WEDDING PLANNERS TEAM
Alex Byrd
Travis Gysegem
Brett Price
Katie Miller
TABLE OF CONTENTS History............................................................................................................1 Architecture..................................................................................................12 Culture..........................................................................................................20 Ecology..........................................................................................................26 Infrastructure.............................................................................................. 30 Commerce....................................................................................................38 Analysis.........................................................................................................44
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CAMP WASHINGTON
HISTORY
CAMP WASHINGTON HISTORY CURRENT STATUS Camp Washington was once seen as a strong business community, the center of commerce for the industrial and residential communities. More recently, Camp Washington has been perceived as an economically feasible area for reinvestment. As a result of renewed interest by the community, business owners, and the city of Cincinnati, the perception of the neighborhood is quickly changing. Some of the advantages of Camp Washington, such as its central location near a major interstate and it’s low crime and low density, have added to the to its marketability. The convenience of I-75 provides the opportunity to meet the needs of city residents and interstate travelers for access to products and services of the neighborhood on a 24 hour basis. With the increasing interests and investments currently in motion by the private sector, the opportunities that exist and the steps that are being taken in both the community and the city, the future of the Camp Washington businesses and its residents looks bright.
Source: Esri, DigitalGlobe, GeoEye, i-cubed, USDA, USGS, AEX, G
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SETTLING AND NAMESAKE
The land on which Camp Washington is located was purchased from John Cleves Symmes by a number of individuals, some as speculators, and others as settlers. By 1792-1793, a small community was established with a blockhouse. One of the largest landholders there was John Riddle, and the small settlement was commonly known as Riddles station. It was located on the east side of present day Colerain Avenue leading out of Cincinnati on a site that is now occupied by I-75. During the Mexican War, an army camp was set up about midway between Brighton and Cumminsville, known as Camp Washington. This site was the gathering and drill grounds of the First and Second Regiments of Ohio Volunteer Infantry. The camp was broken up in 1848, but the name remained and is still in use.
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CAMP WASHINGTON HISTORY STATE FAIR AND WORKHOUSE
Camp Washington was also the location of the first Ohio State Fair in 1850. When the city of Cincinnati needed construction sites for two very large Facilities (the House of Refuge and the Cincinnati Workhouse) they chose Camp Washington even though the area was not annexed until 1870. The Cincinnati Workhouse was a large prison in Camp Washington. It was completed in 1869 for a cost of $470,832 and opened on November 17, 1869. In June of 1870, 1,567 prisoners occupied the facility. In the late 1980s the prisoners were moved out of the building and it was demolished in 1990 in favor of a more modern facility. Today, River city Correctional Center, a drug rehab for felons, stands in its place.
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MEATPACKING In 1861, a new road, Spring Grove Ave., was built from Brighton to the large cemetery beyond Cumminsville and, six years later, the Cincinnati & Marietta rail line was laid directly through Brighton and Camp Washington. The combination of railroads and available land brought the livestock and meat packing businesses to Camp Washington. During the 19th century many people made their livelihood through farming, however, there was also numerous people who made a living through industrialization. By the mid-1800s, Cincinnati was known as one of the major meat packing centers in the United States and meatpacking became essential for Cincinnati’s economy. Because Cincinnati was strategically located near many transportation routes, markets were easily accessible to residents and made for a prosperous Cincinnati. Ohio farmers would bring their livestock to Cincinnati, where it would be slaughtered, processed, and sold to western settlers or shipped to a variety of markets.
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CAMP WASHINGTON HISTORY MEATPACKING (cont.)
The slaughterhouses became unpopular neighbors because of their offensive sights and smells. The owners of firms engaged in stockhandling, slaughtering, meatpacking, and by-product processing saw a need to consolidate their operations. In 1871, the Union Stockyard Company was organized to set up a more efficient stockyard complex. By 1873, a large stockhandling facility in Camp Washington was set up. By the 1880s, almost all of Cincinnati’s slaughterhouses and many of the packing and processing companies had relocated near the Union Stockyards. A number of manufacturing firms also began relocating there. The growing industrial activity attracted the working class. Many of them were recent immigrants from Eastern Europe. By 1910, Camp Washington was a predominantly lower middle-income community with 10,000 to 11,000 inhabitants.
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CROSLEY CORPORATION The Crosley Building was built in 1928 for the headquarters of the Crosley Corporation. The Crosley Building was home to the design and manufacture of Crosley cars, radios, refrigerators, and many other products. The company began when Powel Crosley wanted to build an affordable radio for his son. This led to the first low-priced, mass produced radio, the Harko, in 1920. Within a year, Crosley had become the largest manufacturer of radios in the United States. The top floors of the building were home to the the WLW radio studios and other broadcasting stations owned by the Crosley Corporation. In the 1950s, Crosley Corporation halted its automobile manufacturing. In the late 1970s, the Crosley building was sold and ran through a series of owners. It was most recently used as a small printing facility, Today, the building appears to be neglected and trashed. The intentions of the building’s current owner, David Hosea of Hodea Worldwide, are unknown.
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CAMP WASHINGTON HISTORY HARD TIMES By 1930, Camp Washington had more than 11,800 residents. The people and industries suffered during the Depression and were hit hard by the flood of 1937. In the 1940s, the number of companies and population declined. Many of the meatpackers closed or reduced their operations and other plants moved out to seek more up to date and spacious quarters. At the same time, many of the residents began moving to newer suburbs. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, Camp Washington was affected by the construction of the I-75 expressway. Many factories and housing were destroyed for the road to be built. Although the highway did not cut directly through Camp Washington’s business district, businesses suffered from the competition of new shopping centers, lack of parking, restricted access, and population decline. In 1970, Camp Washington had only 3,147 residents, and by 1980 only 2,198.
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MOVING FORWARD
City governments’ plan for improving conditions in Camp Washington was industrial development. In 1948, the Metropolitan Master Plan had described Camp Washington as “deteriorated� and predicted that it would change from mixed residential industrial districts into a region of warehouses and factories. In 1948, the City Planning Department created a detailed industrial development plan for Camp Washington. As of the late 1980s, the development projects still had not begun, but Camp Washington remained an important industrial district with about 200 different firms employing more than 7,000 workers. However, Camp Washington contained a struggling residential area.
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CAMP WASHINGTON
ARCHITECTURE
CAMP WASHINGTON ARCHITECTURE LANDMARKS DOUGHBOY MONUMENT CROSLEY BUILDING
TIN MAN
MURAL
CAMP WASHINGTON SCULPTURE CAMP WASHINGTON CHILI
0.5 mi.
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CONDITIONS
The buildings in Camp Washington vary in condition. Many buildings are well kept while others are in disrepair. A brick house on Colerain Ave. (seen on lower right) has a damaged roof and gutter system, sending water from the roof inside the front of the building. This has caused cornices and brick from the front faรงade of the building to fall into the yard below. Currently, a fence blocks entrance to this property. Many buildings show years of wear and tear. This building (seen above) on Spring Avenue appears to have been damaged in a fire.
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CAMP WASHINGTON ARCHITECTURE CONDITIONS (cont.)
This (seen right) is a typical residential street in Camp Washington. Most residential buildings are two to three stories tall and are situated parallel to the street. Many have porches, are constructed of brick, and have small yards cut by sidewalks. Few have driveways but parking is available on the streets. Residential areas in the neighborhood are encircled by commercial and industrial areas, creating small “islands� of residential housing.
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HOUSING
Many of the homes that are up for sale in Camp Washington as of March, 2013 are foreclosures that are in various states of disrepair. This home on Marshall Ave. (seen left) is a foreclosure that is up for sale for $15,900. Most of the higher end housing (homes that have recently sold for around $120,000) do not come on the market very often. There are a high number of foreclosures in the neighborhood and over half of the homes that are currently for sale have been foreclosed on. Most of the homes date to the late 19th and early 20th centuries and have multiple bedrooms (most have 3-5) and most are less than 2000 square feet.
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CAMP WASHINGTON ARCHITECTURE CROSLEY BUILDING
After years of disuse, the Crosley Building stands tattered, but its regal demeanor of the famous company was housed there still comes through to the passerby. Built in the early 1900s for the Crosely Corporation, the building’s use included manufacturing and radio production. The building appears to be a good candidate for rehabilitation in the future. This rehabilitation could come in many different forms, including residential like nearby condos that previously were used for industrial purposes.
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CINCINNATI WORKHOUSE
No longer in existence, the Cincinnati Workhouse is worth mentioning because of the enormous presence it once had in the neighborhood. Designed by Samuel Hannaford, an architect famous for designing buildings like Cincinnati’s City Hall and Music Hall, the building opened in 1869 and was used as a correctional facility for the next century. The building was demolished in the latter half of the 20th century. Today sections of the perimeter walls still stand and the layout of Valley Park appears to have been heavily influenced by the presence of the Workhouse.
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CAMP WASHINGTON
CULTURE
CAMP WASHINGTON CULTURE DEMOGRAPHICS POPULATION
MEDIAN AGE
10,000 9,000 8,000 7,000 6,000 5,000 4,000 3,000 2,000 1,000 0
35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
BLACK/WHITE POPULATION 10,000 9,000 8,000 7,000 6,000 5,000 4,000 3,000 2,000 1,000 0
EDUCATION 1.9%
1.1%
18.7%
Less than high school High school graduate
White Black
18.6%
59.7%
Some college Bachleor's degree Higher than bachleor's
1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
Source: US Census Bureau
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CAMP WASHINGTON COMMUNITY BOARD
Camp Washington Community Board, Inc. is a charitable development corporation founded in 1975. The group specializes in saving, rehabbing, and selling single-family houses in the neighborhood and, in 2013, they saved their 50th house in the neighborhood. Houses are usually in poor condition when obtained by the group. The Community Board provides residents with news about the neighborhood via their website.
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CAMP WASHINGTON CULTURE AMERICAN SIGN MUSEUM
The American Sign Museum opened in 2005 and moved to its permanent home on Monmouth St. in Camp Washington in the summer of 2012. The museum preserves, archives, and displays a large collection of signs from different decades. The operators of the museum choose to locate in Camp Washington because of the large, open design of former industrial buildings. The museum boasts 20,000 square feet of space and is set on leading a revitalization of Camp Washington’s old industrial quarter.
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SACRED HEART CHURCH
Sacred Heart Church is a traditional catholic church on Massachusetts Ave. in the southern end of Camp Washington. The church is one of the few in the area that has a Latin mass every Sunday. The church was originally formed in 1870 to serve Cincinnati’s German population. They relocated to Camp Washington in 1969 and began to serve a mix of Italian and German populations. Each year, the church holds a large Italian dinner to raise funds for the maintenance of their building. The dinner draws thousands of people to Camp Washington to partake in homemade ravioli and meatballs. The church serves as the cultural cornerstone of Camp Washington’s south side.
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CAMP WASHINGTON
ECOLOGY
CAMP WASHINGTON ECOLOGY PARKS
Taft Field is owned by the city of Cincinnati and is the site of the Camp Washington Community Center. The Center offers recreation programs for children, teens, and adults. The Center boasts a swimming pool, a fitness center, an art room, a playground, basketball courts, and a soccer/baseball field. The Center caters to Camp Washington and the surrounding neighborhoods. Valley Park is owned by the city of Cincinnati and is located on the site of the old Cincinnati Workhouse. The park is approximately 3 acres and is a grassy area with benches, sidewalks, and not many trees. The park has a playground and is the site for a monument for honoring WWI soldiers.
0.5 mi.
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VALLEY PARK
TAFT FIELD
Source: Esri, DigitalGlobe, GeoEye, i-cubed, USDA, USGS, AEX, Getmapping, Aerogrid, IGN, IGP, and the GIS User Communi
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CAMP WASINGTON
INFRASTRUCTURE
CAMP WASHINGTON INFRASTRUCTURE BUS TRANSIT
ARLINGTON ST.
E.
SPRING GROVE AVE.
HOPPLE ST.
AIN AV
Route 16 runs all the way from Mt. Healthy in the north to Downtown and goes through Camp Washington along Spring Grove Ave., to Arlington St., to Colerain Ave., to Marshall Ave, to Spring Grove.
COLER
The Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA) operates public buses under the name of Metro in the Cincinnati area. Three Metro routes have stops in Camp Washington.
MARSHALL AVE.
Route 64 runs from Downtown to Western Hills. There are two bus stops in Camp Washington that serve this route: one of the corner of Colerain Ave. and Hopple St. and another on the corner of Garrard Ave. and Hopple St.
0.5 mi.
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64 16
HIGHWAYS
The Hopple St. interchange opened in 1958. The portion of I-75 that runs through the east side of Camp Washington uses the path of the old Erie Canal and the abandoned subway tunnels which were built into the old canal. I-75 meets I-74 on Camp Washington’s north side. This is one of the biggest interstate intersections in the city of Cincinnati. I-74 begins at its eastern most point at this intersection. This intersection was completed in 1974.
I-75 I-74
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CAMP WASHINGTON INFRASTRUCTURE AIRPORT
The closest airport to Camp Washington is the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG). The airport was opened in 1944 as a military base and the first commercial flight arrived in 1947. The airport is located 9.1 miles south west of Camp Washington in Hebron, Kentucky. CVG is a major hub of Delta Airlines. The airport can be accessed via public transit or via I-75 South to I-275 West. The airport saw about 7,034,263 passengers in 2011.
3 mi.
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Sources: Esri, DeLorme, NAVTEQ, USG
PARKING
Camp Washington does not have any public parking garages. There are opportunities for street parking on many of the streets off of the main roads. Many large parking lots exist in the northern and southern industrial portions of the neighborhood. Many of the larger businesses in the neighborhood provide parking.
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CAMP WASHINGTON INFRASTRUCTURE PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC
Pedestrian traffic in Camp Washington is not high. The sidewalks are very wide throughout the neighborhood but many boarded-up storefronts and brick warehouses make walking uncomfortable. Hopple St. presents pedestrians quite a problem as well. The five lane road cutting right through the neighborhood business district discourages people from moving through the neighborhood. In addition to the unwelcoming facades and the daunting 5 lane road, there are not many places for those in the neighborhood to walk to. Many businesses are closed and most current businesses cater to I-75 commuters.
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TRAFFIC FLOW
HOPPLE ST.
RAIN
COLE
SPRING GROVE A VE.
I-75
AVE.
700 ft.
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CAMP WASHINGTON
COMMERCE
CAMP WASHINGTON COMMERCE CAMP WASHINGTON CHILI
Established in 1940; current owner John Johnson began working for his uncle in 1951 and has been the only place he has worked since moving to America. In 2000, after a 24 year battle with the city, the original parlor was flattened for the sake of road widening projects. The family business was relocated to an adjacent lot.
AVE.
40
SPRING GROVE A VE.
RAIN
200 ft.
HOPPLE ST. COLE
Considered a nationally recognized restaurant- winner of the American Regional Classic award from the James Beard Foundation, and has been featured on CBS Morning News, Travel Channel’s Man vs. Food, and the NY Times among others. The chili parlor is open 24 hours, Monday to Saturday.
I-75
U.S. CHILI
I-75
HOPPLE ST. SPRING GROVE A VE.
RAIN
COLE AVE.
U.S. Chili has been in business for over 25 years. The restaurant occupies an old bank and has incorporated restrooms into the old vault. The grandfather of the current owner started the restaurant and came up with the current recipe. U.S. Chili is an extension of the Empress Chili lineage which were the first chili parlors in Cincinnati. The restaurant boasts a neighborhood atmosphere.
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CAMP WASHINGTON COMMERCE SCHENZ THEATRICAL SUPPLY
I-75
HOPPLE ST.
AVE.
42
RAIN
200 ft.
SPRING GROVE A VE.
COLE
Schenz Theatrical Supply has been in business since 1967 and has been under the same ownership of Jonn Schenz. The oldest costumes in the store date back to 1852. Only about 20% of the costumes that are made are for shows in Cincinnati.
MEYER TOOL, INC.
I-75
HOPPLE ST. SPRING GROVE A VE.
COLE RAIN AVE.
Meyer Tool, Inc. is a high-tech supplier to gas turbine engine industry. They are innovators in the manufacturing of turbine components. Meyer Tool began in 1951 and relocated in 1973 to their current headquarters on Colerain Ave. in Camp Washington. The recently invested $2M in a new 30,000 sq. ft. facility on Spring Grove Ave. The company employs over 600 people in Cincinnati and has facilities in Kentucky, Florida, South Carolina, New York, Texas, Canada, and Poland.
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CAMP WASHINGTON
ANALYSIS
CAMP WASHINGTON ANALYSIS CHALLENGES
Camp Washington faces many challenges relating to their past in heavy industry. The neighborhood’s huge industrial buildings make it difficult for pedestrians to move through the neighborhood. The neighborhood has a declining population and many companies find more attractive business locations elsewhere. The neighborhood does not draw many outside visitors because there are more popular neighborhoods for retail. Camp Washington has a lack of identity and weak culture. There are no schools and few churches within the neighborhood.
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ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT If existing parks were upgraded they would make the neighborhood a more welcoming place. Valley Park is extremely suitable for this as it is flat, large, and it is close to the neighborhood business district, the American Sign Museum, and I-75. Currently, only two parks exist in the neighborhood, both being located in the northern half of the neighborhood. A new park could be added in the southern half of the neighborhood. There only a few amenities that draw people into the neighborhood. They include, Camp Washington Chili, US Chili, Meyer Tool and Schenz Theatrical Supply. Many more could exist in the neighborhood due to a large number of available vacant buildings. Out of the entire building stock of the neighborhood, 20% are unoccupied. Many buildings are underutilized and could be rehabbed for new use.
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CAMP WASHINGTON ANALYSIS ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT (cont.)
The neighborhood lacks high-end housing that could attract wealthy professionals to the neighborhood. Many of the streets busy which makes it difficult for pedestrians to make their way through the neighborhood. Installation of new crosswalks and sidewalks would make the neighborhood safer for pedestrians.
Camp Washington is a historically rich neighborhood. Its economy is based on industry and rail transit. The neighborhood lacks a cohesive identity and has been in a state of decline since major corporations have moved out of the neighborhood during the 1950s and 1960s. Although current residents/business Camp Washington has a great abun- owners have lived in the area for dedance of historically significant sites. cades, there is little draw for new resiThese sites include Valley Park (the for- dents by families to move in. mer location of the Cincinnati Workhouse), the Crosley Complex, and locations significant to Cincinnati’s infamous meat packing industry. The neighborhood could use its history for tourism activities and education.
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