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.