Camp Washington Neighborhood Analysis
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Transcript of Camp Washington Neighborhood Analysis
NEIGHBORHOOD ANALYSISCAMP WASHINGTON
CAMP WASHINGTONNEIGHBORHOOD ANALYSIS
THE WEDDING PLANNERS TEAM
Travis Gysegem
Brett Price
Alex Byrd
Katie Miller
3
TABLE OF CONTENTS
History............................................................................................................1
Architecture..................................................................................................12
Culture..........................................................................................................20
Ecology..........................................................................................................26
Infrastructure.............................................................................................. 30
Commerce....................................................................................................38
Analysis.........................................................................................................44
HISTORYCAMP WASHINGTON
CAMP WASHINGTONHISTORY
CURRENT STATUS
4
Camp Washington was once seen as
a strong business community, the cen-
ter of commerce for the industrial and
residential communities. More recently,
Camp Washington has been perceived
as an economically feasible area for rein-
vestment. As a result of renewed inter-
est by the community, business owners,
and the city of Cincinnati, the perception
of the neighborhood is quickly changing.
Some of the advantages of Camp Wash-
ington, 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 ser-
vices of the neighborhood on a 24 hour
basis. With the increasing interests and
investments currently in motion by the
private sector, the opportunities that ex-
ist and the steps that are being taken in
both the community and the city, the fu-
ture of the Camp Washington business-
es and its residents looks bright.Source: Esri, DigitalGlobe, GeoEye, i-cubed, USDA, USGS, AEX, Getmapping, Aerogrid, IGN, IGP, and the GIS User Community
SETTLING AND NAMESAKE
5
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 set-
tlers. 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 sta-
tion. It was located on the east side of
present day Colerain Avenue leading out
of Cincinnati on a site that is now occu-
pied by I-75.
During the Mexican War, an army camp
was set up about midway between Brigh-
ton 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.
CAMP WASHINGTONHISTORY
STATE FAIR AND WORKHOUSE
6
Camp Washington was also the location
of the first Ohio State Fair in 1850. When
the city of Cincinnati needed construc-
tion sites for two very large Facilities
(the House of Refuge and the Cincinnati
Workhouse) they chose Camp Washing-
ton even though the area was not an-
nexed until 1870.
The Cincinnati Workhouse was a large
prison in Camp Washington. It was com-
pleted in 1869 for a cost of $470,832 and
opened on November 17, 1869. In June of
1870, 1,567 prisoners occupied the facili-
ty. In the late 1980s the prisoners were
moved out of the building and it was de-
molished in 1990 in favor of a more mod-
ern facility. Today, River city Correctional
Center, a drug rehab for felons, stands in
its place.
MEATPACKING
7
In 1861, a new road, Spring Grove Ave., was
built from Brighton to the large ceme-
tery 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 peo-
ple who made a living through industri-
alization. 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 Cincin-
nati was strategically located near many
transportation routes, markets were eas-
ily accessible to residents and made for
a prosperous Cincinnati. Ohio farmers
would bring their livestock to Cincinna-
ti, where it would be slaughtered, pro-
cessed, and sold to western settlers or
shipped to a variety of markets.
CAMP WASHINGTONHISTORY
MEATPACKING (cont.)
8
The slaughterhouses became unpopu-
lar 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 opera-
tions. In 1871, the Union Stockyard Com-
pany 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, al-
most 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 re-
cent immigrants from Eastern Europe. By
1910, Camp Washington was a predomi-
nantly lower middle-income community
with 10,000 to 11,000 inhabitants.
CROSLEY CORPORATION
9
The Crosley Building was built in 1928 for
the headquarters of the Crosley Corpo-
ration. The Crosley Building was home
to the design and manufacture of Cros-
ley 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 ra-
dio, the Harko, in 1920. Within a year,
Crosley had become the largest manu-
facturer 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 Cro-
sley Corporation. In the 1950s, Crosley
Corporation halted its automobile man-
ufacturing. In the late 1970s, the Cros-
ley 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.
CAMP WASHINGTONHISTORY
HARD TIMES
10
By 1930, Camp Washington had more
than 11,800 residents. The people and
industries suffered during the Depres-
sion and were hit hard by the flood of
1937. In the 1940s, the number of com-
panies 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 sub-
urbs.
During the late 1950s and early 1960s,
Camp Washington was affected by
the construction of the I-75 express-
way. Many factories and housing were
destroyed for the road to be built. Al-
though 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 Wash-
ington had only 3,147 residents, and by
1980 only 2,198.
MOVING FORWARD
11
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 cre-
ated 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 employ-
ing more than 7,000 workers. However,
Camp Washington contained a strug-
gling residential area.
ARCHITECTURECAMP WASHINGTON
CAMP WASHINGTONARCHITECTURE
LANDMARKS
14
DOUGHBOY MONUMENT
TIN MAN
CAMP WASHINGTON SCULPTURE
CROSLEY BUILDING
CAMP WASHINGTON CHILI
MURAL
0.5 mi.
CONDITIONS
15
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 in-
side the front of the building. This has
caused cornices and brick from the front
façade 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.
CAMP WASHINGTONARCHITECTURE
CONDITIONS (cont.)
16
This (seen right) is a typical residen-
tial street in Camp Washington. Most
residential buildings are two to three
stories tall and are situated parallel to
the street. Many have porches, are con-
structed of brick, and have small yards
cut by sidewalks. Few have driveways but
parking is available on the streets. Res-
idential areas in the neighborhood are
encircled by commercial and industrial
areas, creating small “islands” of resi-
dential housing.
HOUSING
17
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 neighbor-
hood 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 multi-
ple bedrooms (most have 3-5) and most
are less than 2000 square feet.
CAMP WASHINGTONARCHITECTURE
CROSLEY BUILDING
18
After years of disuse, the Crosley Build-
ing stands tattered, but its regal de-
meanor 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 pro-
duction. The building appears to be a
good candidate for rehabilitation in the
future. This rehabilitation could come in
many different forms, including residen-
tial like nearby condos that previously
were used for industrial purposes.
CINCINNATI WORKHOUSE
19
No longer in existence, the Cincinnati
Workhouse is worth mentioning because
of the enormous presence it once had
in the neighborhood. Designed by Sam-
uel 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 build-
ing was demolished in the latter half of
the 20th century. Today sections of the
perimeter walls still stand and the lay-
out of Valley Park appears to have been
heavily influenced by the presence of
the Workhouse.
CULTURECAMP WASHINGTON
CAMP WASHINGTONCULTURE
DEMOGRAPHICS
22
Less than high school
High school graduate
Some college
Bachleor's degree
Higher than bachleor's
59.7%18.6%
18.7%
1.9% 1.1%
POPULATION
BLACK/WHITE POPULATION
MEDIAN AGE
EDUCATION
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 20100
1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
6,000
7,000
8,000
9,000
10,000
1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
0
1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
6,000
7,000
8,000
9,000
10,000
1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
White
Black
Source: US Census Bureau
CAMP WASHINGTON COMMUNITY BOARD
23
Camp Washington Community Board,
Inc. is a charitable development corpora-
tion founded in 1975. The group special-
izes in saving, rehabbing, and selling sin-
gle-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 neighbor-
hood via their website.
CAMP WASHINGTONCULTURE
AMERICAN SIGN MUSEUM
24
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 pre-
serves, archives, and displays a large col-
lection of signs from different decades.
The operators of the museum choose
to locate in Camp Washington because
of the large, open design of former in-
dustrial buildings. The museum boasts
20,000 square feet of space and is
set on leading a revitalization of Camp
Washington’s old industrial quarter.
SACRED HEART CHURCH
25
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 Ital-
ian 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 corner-
stone of Camp Washington’s south side.
ECOLOGYCAMP WASHINGTON
CAMP WASHINGTONECOLOGY
PARKS
28
Taft Field is owned by the city of Cincin-
nati and is the site of the Camp Wash-
ington 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 sur-
rounding neighborhoods.
Valley Park is owned by the city of Cin-
cinnati 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 hon-
oring WWI soldiers.
0.5 mi.
29
Source: Esri, DigitalGlobe, GeoEye, i-cubed, USDA, USGS, AEX, Getmapping, Aerogrid, IGN, IGP, and the GIS User Community
VALLEY PARK
TAFT FIELD
INFRASTRUCTURECAMP WASINGTON
CAMP WASHINGTONINFRASTRUCTURE
BUS TRANSIT
32
SPR
ING
GRO
VE
AVE.
HOPPLE ST.
CO
LERAIN AV
E.
MARSHALL AVE.
ARLINGTON ST.
6416
The Southwest Ohio Regional Transit
Authority (SORTA) operates public buses
under the name of Metro in the Cincin-
nati area. Three Metro routes have stops
in Camp Washington.
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.
Route 64 runs from Downtown to West-
ern 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.
HIGHWAYS
33
I-75I-74
The Hopple St. interchange opened
in 1958. The portion of I-75 that runs
through the east side of Camp Wash-
ington uses the path of the old Erie Ca-
nal 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 in-
terstate intersections in the city of Cin-
cinnati. I-74 begins at its eastern most
point at this intersection. This intersec-
tion was completed in 1974.
CAMP WASHINGTONINFRASTRUCTURE
AIRPORT
34
The closest airport to Camp Washing-
ton 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.
Sources: Esri, DeLorme, NAVTEQ, USGS, Intermap, iPC, NRCAN, Esri Japan, METI, Esri China (Hong Kong), Esri (Thailand), TomTom, 2013
3 mi.
PARKING
35
Camp Washington does not have any
public parking garages. There are oppor-
tunities 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 busi-
nesses in the neighborhood provide
parking.
CAMP WASHINGTONINFRASTRUCTURE
PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC
36
Pedestrian traffic in Camp Washington
is not high. The sidewalks are very wide
throughout the neighborhood but many
boarded-up storefronts and brick ware-
houses 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 neigh-
borhood to walk to. Many businesses are
closed and most current businesses ca-
ter to I-75 commuters.
TRAFFIC FLOW
37
HOPPLE ST.
SPRING GROVE AVE. CO
LERAIN AV
E.I-75
700 ft.
COMMERCECAMP WASHINGTON
CAMP WASHINGTONCOMMERCE
CAMP WASHINGTON CHILI
40
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 ad-
jacent lot.
Considered a nationally recognized
restaurant- winner of the American Re-
gional 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
CO
LERAIN AV
E.
HOPPLE ST.
SPRING GROVE AVE.
200 ft.
U.S. CHILI
41
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.
I-75
CO
LERAIN AV
E.
HOPPLE ST.
SPRING GROVE AVE.
CAMP WASHINGTONCOMMERCE
SCHENZ THEATRICAL SUPPLY
42
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 cos-
tumes that are made are for shows in
Cincinnati.
I-75
CO
LERAIN AV
E.
HOPPLE ST.
SPRING GROVE AVE.
200 ft.
MEYER TOOL, INC.
43
Meyer Tool, Inc. is a high-tech supplier to
gas turbine engine industry. They are in-
novators 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 facili-
ties in Kentucky, Florida, South Carolina,
New York, Texas, Canada, and Poland.
I-75
CO
LERAIN AV
E.
HOPPLE ST.
SPRING GROVE AVE.
ANALYSISCAMP WASHINGTON
CAMP WASHINGTONANALYSIS
CHALLENGES
46
Camp Washington faces many challeng-
es relating to their past in heavy indus-
try. The neighborhood’s huge industrial
buildings make it difficult for pedestri-
ans to move through the neighborhood.
The neighborhood has a declining pop-
ulation 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.
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
47
If existing parks were upgraded they
would make the neighborhood a more
welcoming place. Valley Park is extreme-
ly 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 south-
ern half of the neighborhood.
There only a few amenities that draw
people into the neighborhood. They in-
clude, Camp Washington Chili, US Chili,
Meyer Tool and Schenz Theatrical Sup-
ply. Many more could exist in the neigh-
borhood due to a large number of avail-
able vacant buildings. Out of the entire
building stock of the neighborhood, 20%
are unoccupied. Many buildings are un-
derutilized and could be rehabbed for
new use.
CAMP WASHINGTONANALYSIS
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT (cont.)
48
The neighborhood lacks high-end hous-
ing that could attract wealthy profes-
sionals 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 has a great abun-
dance of historically significant sites.
These sites include Valley Park (the for-
mer location of the Cincinnati Work-
house), the Crosley Complex, and loca-
tions significant to Cincinnati’s infamous
meat packing industry. The neighbor-
hood could use its history for tourism
activities and education.
Camp Washington is a historically rich
neighborhood. Its economy is based on
industry and rail transit. The neighbor-
hood 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
owners have lived in the area for de-
cades, there is little draw for new resi-
dents by families to move in.