Cincinnati, where Mom spent much of her early adult life -- and has fond memories of this place and that time. It is now a large metropolitan city, about the size of Portland -- 360,000 people. We'll be off to see some of her memories today, and record on film what we can of the old and the new. We are staying across the Ohio River in Covington, Ky, with a nice view of the City.
This is Olympic Games time, and we have been thoroughly enjoying watching them in the evenings. Even though they are tape delayed, we are so busy during the day that we don't hear what is going on -- it seems live to us!
Cincy - the "Pigopolis", so named from their early reputation as a major meat packing and processing city -- right on the Ohio River. Just as St. Paul has their cute Snoopys' all over town, and Chicago has their Cows, Cincinnati has their Pigs -- they are cute, and theme appropriate for their various locations. They have even crossed the River over into Covington, Ky, a part of the metro area.
Cincinnati reminds us a lot of Portland. The city is bounded by hills and the river. The skyscrapers nestle in a small area, and the center of town has a block size square where things are "happening". Many bridges cross the river and parks abound around town. The two big contrasts both have to do with cars. They lack any type of mass transit, other than a trolley that runs around the downtown and nearby Covington and Newport, and some buses. No transit Mall, no light rail, no subway, no planning. As a result, freeways and gridlock abound everywhere. For a city similar in size to Portland, they have many more freeways running everywhere and more under construction. We need to be thankful for what planning and light rail has done for Portland.
Mom gave us a bunch of things to see -- and I think we covered most of them, including where she and Dad lived when they were first married. Hope we got a picture of the correct 4-plex!
Downtown we saw Fountain Square and enjoyed a yummy lunch soaking up the fall sunshine, watching the people go by. Phil wandered off (he does that alot now with my limited mobility) and ambled into a Men's Store (what else!). He was shocked to see his old vendor, Nick Freeman, of H. Freeman Clothiers, doing a trunk show! They had a good chat, and Nick had to tell everyone in the store about Phil's store -- and his flys in the lapels -- everyone seems to remember that about Phillip Stewart! Phil and I have a running joke that no matter where we travel in the world, we ALWAYS run into someone he knows -- without fail. We had commented a month or so ago that he hadn't run into anyone yet -- we wondered how much longer it would be....
We wandered around many of the streets, peaking into stores, admiring window displays, and eventually finding our way down to the waterfront that is dominated by their two huge stadiums, Cinergy Field, and Paul Brown Stadium -- with acres of parking right on the river front! What a shame. There is absolutely no scale relating down to the river or access to enjoy the river.
One of the parks that Mom remembered is now right downtown--Mt. Eden, and being squeezed on all sides by housing. It is still a big park that has their Conservatory, Art Museum, fountains, and wonderful views of downtown. Just outside the park is a very cozy neighborhood clinging to the hill. Shops, restaurants, narrow streets, old and new town homes, and lots of people out and about - very lively. We also ran into the old Rookwood Pottery Factory, who's vases and other pottery has been very expensive and collectors items, as they went out of business in the 1960's. A nice restaurant is now housed in the Tudor style building, with a small display of pottery and the kilns all that is left of the Pottery operation.
Coney Island was another location on the list, and it is sad to say not much is left of this Amusement Park. The Horse Track next door looks quite prosperous, but poor old Coney Island is a relic. A few miles north on the freeway, a shiny new Amusement park with all the latest rides has stolen Coney's business. No more big roller coaster, no Ferris Wheel, and no River Boats from Cincinnati taking eager young people there to enjoy the day. About the only remaining attraction is a huge pool (remember the old Janzten Beach pool?), now equipped with a very large water slide.
The Convention Center dominates the edge of downtown, and is close to their Music Hall which we saw, but could not find parking around! We crossed the freeway, and found the Union Station that is in so many pictures of Cincinnati. It is still a train station, but is is also being used for several Museums. It's Art Deco design is still well perserved throughout. The murals in the main terminal dominate the room, and almost take away from the beautiful details of the Art Deco fixtures and lines.
Back in Covington, Ky, we had heard about the Catholic Basilica that was patterned after Notre Dame. What a treat it was. Not as large as many Cathedrals -- and the Bishop at the time was really mad he couldn't get more land, but he made the architect squeeze down the scale to fit the space! The results are breathtakingly spiritual. Stained glass that was made in Munich and shipped here -- more than 70 windows, including 2 Rose Windows after Notre Dames, and reputedly, the largest Stained glass window in the world - over 67' high. The stations of the cross are Mosaics that were done in Venice Italy, with each station containing 70,000-80,000 pieces of mosaic! The detail is incredible -- and these are not large works -- probably 3 feet high by 2 feet across! The gothic style inside and outside give the commanding presence to a small cathedral that the Bishop wanted.
As we were getting ready to leave town for Louisville, we needed lunch and accidentally drove into the local German Village. Yet another well restored area with shops, restaurants (we opted for the Cock and Bull Pub! - great food!), and a nice park running through it. It was just starting to sprinkle as we headed for the car. Oh, I've forgotten to mention this jazzy little car Enterprise gave us -- a fire engine red Grand Prix with dual exhaust -- this baby moves -- talk about a contrast from the Van! This thing is like driving a go kart!
Little did we know what we were in for on our short drive to Louisville. I'm now convinced we don't know what rain is! We had to pull off the freeway just south of town and wait for the storm to pass -- we absolutely could not see, and the trucks were still barreling down the highway at 65MPH. It was too scary for us in our go kart! After that, the drive was sunny and beautiful all the way into town -- but a storm warning was posted for Louisville for the evening, and sure enough, a big old Thunderstorm rolled though for about 20 minutes - no damage here, but 3 dead and 100+ injured up in Ohio -- right where we just came from! Our luck with the weather has been something else.
Horse Country. We have arrived. Churchill Downs, horse farms, and Antebellum Mansions. Louisville is a charming city too. We decided to use our day here to see the home of the Kentucky Derby and the home of Louisville Slugger bats. Neither attraction disappointed. The museums attached to both were extremely well done.
The walking (or, in my case, the wheelchair) tour of Churchill Downs was almost like being there for the race -- you could feel the pageantry and excitement in the air. Now we have to come back and actually see the race. We enjoyed a Mint Julep with our lunch after the tour, and the resident horses were out for grazing just steps from the patio where we were dining in the fall sunshine. What a memorable setting for "The Downs". The guide's tip for next year's race is "City Zip". Get your bets down early!
The Bat Factory was really interesting--I know, you all think we have a very weird taste in what we enjoy seeing! They only make wood bats here--all Louisville Slugger brand. The production has gone from 7AM a year to 600,000 a year since the advent of the aluminum bat. They still make 75% of all the wooden bats -- and provide bats for most of the major league players. You actually walk through the factory and see all the various kinds of bats -- yes they vary, depending upon what the player wants, or what is ordered for retail production. In the museum, you can try hitting a ball "pitched" at the speed of a major league pitcher!
Westpoint, and Muldrough Hill where Mom was born at home, was on our list, but we were out of town on the wrong freeway before we realized it. It was rush hour and we needed to push on to Frankfort, the capital city.
What a quaint town Frankfort is! You go down, down, down from the interstate, along a tree lined road, when -- boom -- the dome of the Capitol appears through the trees. One of the smallest capital towns we've seen -- with one of the largest buildings. Lexington and Louisville couldn't agree on which one should be the Capital, so they compromised and put it in Frankfort -- part way between the two. The architect took much of his inspiration from buildings in Paris - the Opera House stairways, the Hotel des Invalides for the dome, and the reception room after a room in the Palace of Versailles. 70 columns flank the outside of the building, and 30 support the structures main interior areas surrounding the grand staircases. Vermont Granite; Georgia, Tennessee and Italian marble, grace the interior and exterior of the imposing structure. Striking stained glass windows finish off the grandeur of this memorable State Capitol.
After much oohing and awwing, we pick a backroad through the bluegrass horse country to Lexington. Such luxury, such beauty, such wealth. A historic downtown that has been thoughtfully preserved, friendly people, a caring community, and lots to see make Lexington one of our favorite cities, so far.
Lexington is about the same size as Louisville, but has the feel of a town, rather than a big city. There are freeways, but they are well outside of town. There are Parkways that ring the city and "spokes" that emanate from the downtown area, but never do you have that rush, rush feeling of freeways darting everywhere. They even have a unique government system. They have combined their city and county governments into one (sound familiar?). They have one school district in the county, one police and fire department, one Council that makes the decisions for the region, etc.
The arts are alive and well in Lexington. There is alot of unimaginable wealth in the area, so fund raisers and non profit endeavors are everywhere. They even have a non profit race track! Keeneland is beautiful and all the profits go to charity. They also don't believe in gambling -- you'll see no Casinos in this area (also no billboards). They do have a curious distinction between "gambling" and "betting". You see, betting on the horses is not gambling -- it is a gentleman's sport -- like golf or polo.
Right now they have 130+ horse statues around town (now we've seen Snoopys, Cows, Pigs and Horses -- what's next!) that have been purchased and decorated ($3700 to purchase - $2500 going to the artist). Next month they are going to auction them off -- again for charity. They say some will fetch as high as $10,000! Half the money goes to a designated charity, and half goes to the charity of the purchaser's choice.
After driving the walking tour of historic homes, we went to see Henry Clay's Mansion, Ashland. He was a major influencer of early Kentucky politics, and a 3 time unsuccessful candidate for President. He finally said, "I'd rather be right than President". A man of conviction and great respect in this part of the country. Known as the "Great Compromiser", he died in 1852, having helped avert the Civil War. He would have been very disappointed to later hear of the War, and find that his two sons were on opposite sides of the conflict.
His home originally encompassed 600 acres (similar to many of the horse farms here), but is now down to a well kept 20 acre park. One really unique feature of the home, was a place where the bees could enter a small enclosed attic space and make their home, but there was a small door from the attic into the "honeycomb" where the slaves could gather the honey for the families use. Sweeteners were very expensive in those days.
I found it interesting that his great granddaughter was a Bullock, which was my grandmother's maiden name, and she was from nearby Loveland, Ohio. The tour guide said that if we traced it back, they were probably related, due to the small number of people in this part of the country at that time, as well as the proximity of Grandma's family.
The next morning, we were off for a tour of the Horse Farms and Keeneland Racetrack. We were lucky enough to witness the end of a 3 day horse Auction of yearlings. What beautiful animals! Some went for as low as $4,000 and some that we saw as high as $20,000. Some, of course, go for well over over $1M. Those animals are typically sold in the "select" auction held earlier in the year.
These farms are incredible. The barns look like houses, and are cleaner than most homes! They spend well over $1M on a barn that will hold 10-20 horses. Huge stalls, climate controlled birthing stalls, chandeliers, and special rubberized floors that are easy on the horses feet. A farm will typically have several of these "barns". With barns of this caliber, you can imagine what the houses looks like! Even the hired hands homes are tidy, well kept structures - completely paid for, including utilities, by the owner of the farm. The farm managers' homes are of the size and quality that you or I would happily live in. A good manager makes $100K - $200K a year, and all his living expenses on the farm are paid for -- not bad! Many of the farms are owned by sports figures, Hollywood entertainers, foreign multi-millionaires, and, of course, the local "blue bloods" that have handed them down from one generation to the next.
Most of the white fences you see in the pictures, have been replaced by black due to the maintenance cost. The white is more costly to apply, and has to be redone every couple of years. The black only has to be redone every 5 years or so. The typical cost to redo a farm's fences is in the $250K range!
80% of the US Production (world production?) of tobacco is raised in Ky. But their total production is down over 70% -- this is a good thing! Of course, the farmers are crying foul over the loss of subsidy -- but you know what--they are figuring out they can grow things other than tobacco! We did get to see tobacco drying in the barns along the way.
Keeneland Race Track has a much more intimate feel than Churchill Downs. Ivy covered stone walls, small courtyards, and beautiful trees and flowers characterize this setting. There is no parking fee, entrance fees are $2.50, and seating ranges from free to $50 for a table for 4 out of the weather with a view of the track. It would be a lovely place to while away a Spring day. They only race about 15 days in the Spring and Fall. The rest of the time it is a Country Club for the 300 owners, whose stock in the track is handed down from one generation to the next. No stock dividends, and all profits go to charity. How lovely.
Another week has flown by, and we are now off for The Cumberland Gap and Great Smokey Mountains.
