The Elliston Project holds over seven hundred recorded readings and lectures given under the auspices of the University of Cincinnati Department of English and Comparative Literature and the U.C. Libraries since 1951. Material includes readings and lectures on poetry by those who have served as George Elliston Poet in Residence, among whom are Robert Frost, Denise Levertov, Louise Glück, Thom Gunn, and C.D. Wright. Other major figures, including Czeslaw Milosz, Derek Walcott, Seamus Heaney, and Rita Dove, are also represented, as are many prose writers and a wide range of poets at various stages of their careers. Readings in this ongoing audio archive feature poets’ comments on their work; both complete performances and individual poems are accessible.

Learn More about the George Elliston Poetry Fund and Elliston Poets in Residence, and follow upcoming Events sponsored by the Elliston Poetry Fund.

The The Elliston Project: Poetry Readings and Lectures at the University of Cincinnati is available on the OhioLINK Digital Resource Commons (DRC). Materials in this collection are made available for non-commercial, educational use per the Creative Commons license.

Downtown Cincinnati at the turn of the 20^th century was a bustling business and commercial center, but with a dangerous mixture of pedestrians, horse-pulled wagons and carriages, street cars, and unseasoned automobile drivers. Add to this a mess of unpaved or cobblestoned streets, a lack of traffic laws, speed limits, and stop signs at intersections, with streetcar tracks criss-crossing lanes. It was a recipe for disaster.

On the left, deliveries to the Raschig School are unloaded from a horse-drawn wagon while, on the right, automobiles park along a drained Miami & Erie Canal, looking east down Canal Street as subway construction begins, April 20, 1920

Horses, pedestrians, and cars share the road alongside the Miami & Erie Canal at the Plum Street bend, looking south from 12th Street bridge, May 14, 1920

Street conditions at Race Street and Central Parkway in front of Star Union Baking Company & Puritan Chocolate Company, November 12, 1926

Street conditions on Central Parkway in front of the Kladwell Store, September 17, 1926

Automobile and streetcar traffic north along Vine Street from Central Parkway, Aug 16, 1921

In 1917, the citizens of Cincinnati approved a bond issue with the goal of alleviating the traffic issues of the day through the construction of a subway. The two main benefits of the subway were to alleviate the increasing volume of traffic in the downtown area, and to provide citizens with easier access into the downtown from the interurban trains that serviced the outlying areas.

Interurban railway lines heading south through Bond Hill into Cincinnati, July 8, 1924

Street car passenger loading at Carthage Pike, Miami & Erie Canal in foreground, July 9, 1924

Interurban lines were a convenient means of traveling from one outlying community to another, but they did not provide a direct route into downtown. Riders would have to change trains and then wait for street cars to make the trip into the business district. But by looping a subway line from the downtown through the outlying community served by the interurban, passengers could hop on the subway and ride directly into the downtown without having to make any additional changes. Traffic congestion issue solved!

Western end of subway through Norwood at Montgomery Pike underpass, running parallel with B&O Railroad, June 3, 1926

Underpass at Section Avenue in Norwood, June 3, 1926

Subway construction, Section 8, Reading Road overpass, October 15, 1924

But by 1926, all but the College Hill interurban lines were out of business, and automobile ownership had nearly doubled. In the downtown area, the majority of streets were paved with cobblestones or bricks, but even these were showing signs of wear and in need of repair. The street department also struggled to keep pace with housing construction in the suburban areas, as more and more Cincinnatians were moving to the suburbs, content with their new automobiles to accommodate their transportation needs. Asphalt and concrete paving slowly made its way into the suburban neighborhoods in the mid-1920s, replacing the rutted dirt roads that most residents had to maneuver with their new Model Ts. Granted, the street conditions in Cincinnati today aren’t terrific, but (and it takes a lot of me to say this) we are better off than the poor folks who had to bounce along the ruts in the images below!

Barr Street looking east, before street improvements, August 2, 1928 (left), and after street improvements, March 9, 1929 (right)

Arnsby Avenue, before street improvements, October, 1927 (left), and after street improvements, July, 1927 (right)

Attica Avenue, looking south from Swift Street, before improvements, March 3, 1927 (left) and after improvements, July 7, 1927 (right)

This project is funded by a grant for $60,669 through the Library Services and Technology Act, administered by the State Library of Ohio.

The story of abandoned subway stations and tracks hidden beneath busy city streets is not unique to Cincinnati. Other large cities, such as New York, London, and Paris have similarly mysterious and intriguing stories to tell. An article I recently read in The New York Times introduced me to this underground world of hidden subway ventilation shafts disguised by false building facades, with doors from which people occasionally exit, but never seem to enter. Some of these subterranean secrets are in use, while others have been abandoned like Cincinnati’s own subway stations beneath Central Parkway.

What’s fascinating is the effort made to disguise these facilities, to blend them in with the neighboring buildings. While it seems a logically aesthetic means of making the utilitarian more appealing, some have argued that the cities in which these structures are located are trying to hide a deep secret. For comparison, consider the Cincinnati subway – when the subway and Central Parkway were first being constructed, the ventilation chimneys and the entrances to the below-ground stations were nicely appointed with decorative stonework.

Ventilation shaft, looking north along Parkway from Liberty St., July 2, 1928

Close up of decorative stonework for ventilator railing, Central Parkway,
Nov. 19, 1928

East entrance to underpass near Brighton Bridge, Central Parkway,
Nov. 15, 1928

Today, metal doors in the sidewalks along Liberty Street and Central Parkway, and steel doors and grates enclosing the tunnel openings along I-75 near the Hopple Street Viaduct, are all that remain visible of the subway to give passers-by cause for speculation as to what lies beneath or behind these doors.

Source: Google Search (http://goo.gl/DPwiA)

But in New York, London, and Paris, clever preservation commissions and city transit leaders have provided a more pleasant disguise, leaving local residents completely unaware of what was behind the closed doors of 58 Joralemon Street in Brooklyn, 23 and 24 Leinster Terrace in Bayswater, London, or 145, Rue La Fayette in Paris. Personally I would rather see a well maintained Greek Revival or Edwardian building façade than an empty space in the middle of a historic streetscape with a large metal grate from which hot air is expelled. So I invite you to read along, view the images, and decide for yourselves!

 The article in The New York Times describes a Greek Revival townhouse nestled in the midst of a row of brownstones located on a quiet street in Brooklyn, NY. The townhouse at #58 Joralemon Street is well maintained despite the darkened windows through which no light ever shines. A peek through the crack in the front door reveals no one is home. In fact, it reveals this is not a home at all, but a large empty space with a concrete floor and“catwalks going back and forth this way and that, and somewhere down below the trains going by”, as quoted in the article by an area resident who was fortunate to be given a peek inside the “Shaft House”, the name by which those living in the neighborhood refer to the townhouse.

Source: Matt Green, Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/imjustwalkin/8036922592/)

The Shaft House is actually an emergency exit and ventilation fan plant for subway tracks 4 and 5 of the Interurban Rapid Transit Company and is maintained by New York City Transit. The townhouse was purchased by the city in 1908 to house the ventilation fans. Large steel louvered shutters, from which hot air and smoke would randomly pour out into the street, were fitted into the window cases. Behind the pleasant Greek Revival façade, the interior decorating consists of electrical panels, switches and behind a steel door, catwalks that cross over a nine-story drop to the subway tracks below.

Source: Heather Quinlan, Flickr, http://www.flickr.com/photos/
heggieq/4519128092/in/set-72157623848942178

Source: Allison Meier, Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/
astrozombie/
6838892879/)

The restoration of the 1847 façade to its historical appointments is owed to the Landmarks Preservation Commission and a local community association. Both entities made recommendations to the city, who owns the property, to spruce up the aging façade which included the removal of the unsightly steel ventilation shutters. “Windows” were installed made of sheets of Lexan – a hard plastic resin that is used for such things as sports helmets and windshields – on which wooden mullions were placed to create panes. New ventilation shafts were installed to expel the air out through the roof. In addition to being more pleasant to look at, New York City Transit considers the quaint façade to be a security benefit, since the building now blends seamlessly in with the row of brownstones – a useful disguise in our post-9/11 world for what could be a potential target to those wishing to inflict harm on the city. The article even notes that neighbors occasionally spruce it up with flower boxes under the windows.

Other cities with false facades disguising subway ventilation systems or emergency exists include London and Paris, among others. In London’s Bayswater neighborhood, two townhouses located at #23 and 24 Leinster Terrace are simply a 5-foot thick façade, complete with windows, balconies and front doors, but with no back or roof to the buildings at all. The two townhouses were razed in the 1860s to gain access for construction of a subway tunnel that was to pass through Paddington and Bayswater.

Source: Urban Blog (http://goo.gl/FawjQ)

Once the tunnel was finished and covered over, the townhouses were not “completely” rebuilt. Only the facades were reconstructed, disguising the ventilation system for the steam-powered subway trains running through the tunnel below.

Source: Urban Blog (http://goo.gl/FawjQ)

In Paris, a Haussman style façade disguises a Metro ventilation system, nestled between buildings at 124 Rue La Fayette. Information regarding this structure may be found on several internet sites, such as Web Urbanist, all providing an aerial view for doubters, courtesy of Google Maps.

Source: Urban Blog (http://goo.gl/FawjQ)

Another hidden subway treasure in London is the now defunct mini-rail and stations that provided mail delivery service for the Royal Mail Rail between Paddington and Whitechapel. In service for some 85 years, it was closed in 2002 when it had become too costly to maintain.

Source: Silent UK (http://www.silentuk.com/?p=2792)

The station and its closing were kept very hush-hush, with very few people aware of the postal services happening beneath them. The stations and train cars were simply left as they were, with mail cars still on tracks and phones still on desks.

Source: Silent UK (http://www.silentuk.com/?p=2792)

Access points for the stations and tunnels are located either in functioning mail depots or are less aesthetically disguised than the Leinster vents, with concrete walls blocking entry. Savvy urban explorers from the blog Silent UK managed to gain access to the stations and provided images of the station that seems frozen in time, kind of like the feeling you get when waiting in line at the post office to mail Christmas packages, or tax returns.

Source: Silent UK (http://www.silentuk.com/?p=2792)

Passenger cart possibly for transporting Royal Mail Rail workers to-and-from stations. Source: Richard Pope, Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/
memespring/311142664/in/set-72157594400450387)

Curious to know more about what subterranean treasures your city may hide behind false facades or gated metal doors that seem to lead to nowhere? Even those which are in plain view are worth investigating a little closer. Learn more about the city you live in, or a city you are interested in visiting. Research its history, and learn more about the stories which make it famous, and those which make it infamous, such as a subway that was never completed but which still exists beneath busy city streets. Keep your eyes and imagination open to the built environment around you. Who knows what you’ll discover!

Sources:

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/26/nyregion/thecity/26shaf.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1

http://www.messynessychic.com/2013/01/29/the-fake-townhouses-hiding-mystery-underground-portals/

http://weburbanist.com/2013/04/29/buildings-that-dont-exist-fake-facades-hide-infrastructure/

http://www.silentuk.com/?p=2792

http://www.messynessychic.com/2012/11/09/londons-subterranean-secret-the-forgotten-mail-train/

This project is funded by a grant for $60,669 through the Library Services and Technology Act, administered by the State Library of Ohio.

The collection is freely and publicly available via the Albert  B. Sabin website at http://sabin.uc.edu/ and includes approximately 35,000 letters and accompanying documents totaling 50,000 pages of correspondence between Sabin and political, cultural, social, and scientific leaders around the world. Also included are nearly 1,000 photographs documenting the events and activities worldwide that were part of Sabin’s crusade to eradicate polio.

“This is what every biographer dreams of – so easy to use and complete,” said Charlotte Jacobs, MD, emerita professor of medicine at Stanford University and an accomplished biographer.

The project, funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, is a “We the People” initiative designed to encourage and strengthen the teaching, study, and understanding of American history and culture through the support of projects that explore significant events and themes in our nation’s history and culture and that advance knowledge of the principles that define America.

The Sabin digitized correspondence and photographs are of great relevance to the research efforts of historians, social and political scientists, ethicists, biomedical researchers, and physicians, as well as students and scholars worldwide. Marguerite Rose Jimenez, a postdoctoral fellow at American University researching Sabin and his polio eradication efforts in the Americas, commented, “[T]he archives just keep getting better and better! The search functions and  thoroughness of the searches generated is really amazing and so incredibly helpful! I’ve found all sorts of things using key search terms that I never  would have found searching through the documents as hard copies.”

The correspondence and photographs are part of the Hauck Center for the Albert B. Sabin Archives. Sabin’s wife, Heloisa, donated his papers, medals, and other artifacts to the University of Cincinnati upon his death in  1993. They reside in the Henry R. Winkler Center for the History of the Health  Professions where they have been organized and preserved with the support of the John Hauck Foundation.

In addition to providing easy access to the 50,000 pages of digitized correspondence and photos, the Albert B. Sabin website includes a biography and timeline of Sabin’s life and career, a section about the vaccination program referred to as “Sabin Sundays,” and information about the complete Sabin Collection, which encompasses 400 linear feet and consists of correspondence, laboratory notebooks, manuscripts, photographs, audio and video recordings, and other research papers generated by Sabin during his long and active medical career from 1930-1993. Also included on the website are lessons plans created to encourage high school teachers to use the Sabin digital collection in their classrooms.

For more on the Hauck Center for the Albert B. Sabin Archives and the digitization of the correspondence and photographs, contact the Winkler Center at (513) 558-5120 or by e-mail at chhp@uc.edu. In addition, a blog was kept by Stephanie Bricking, Sabin archivist, as she worked on the collection. The blog, available at www.libraries.uc.edu/liblog/topics/albert-b-sabin-archives/,  provides insight into Sabin’s life and accomplishments. Stephen Marine, UC Libraries’ associate dean for special collections and the project’s principle investigator, adds that the blog is also, “a gold mine of potential research topics for medical historians, historical epidemiologists, medical ethicists, historians of the Cold War, public health officials, and many others.”

3926 Feemster Street, June 17, 1932

The photographs contained in the Subway and Street Improvements collection are a valuable source of information for anyone who might be researching the urban development and built environment of Cincinnati in the period surrounding the turn of the 20^th century. Many of the images in the collection capture buildings and homes in Cincinnati’s downtown district and the surrounding neighborhoods as the city grew and expanded up the hills and along the Ohio River. And because the photographer wrote location and date information on the negatives, anyone interested in finding a picture of the house in which their grandparents or great-grandparents lived in 1923 may very well find it within this collection.

Many of the neighborhoods captured in the photographs are now recognized as having historical significance. Cincinnati boasts a total of 28 separate historic districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places (http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/planning/historic-conservation/national-register-historic-districts/) located throughout the city. You may have noticed markers on buildings or signposts along streets that indicate the area is a National Historic District or that the building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Listing on the register indicates that the federal government has

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
National_Register_of_Historic_Places

designated the structure or area as being historically significant to local, state ornational history, architecture, archaeology, engineering or culture. This designation is obtained through a nomination and application process which is administered through the National Park Service at the local level by a state’s preservation office. In Ohio, the National Register program is administered by the Ohio Historic Preservation Office, part of the Ohio Historical Society.

The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of properties recognized by the federal government as worthy of preservation for their local, state, or national significance in American history, architecture, archaeology, engineering, or culture. When listed on the National Register, certain criteria and guidelines for preservation must be followed, which are managed at the local level, usually by the local preservation office or a department within city government – in Cincinnati, it is the Department of Planning and Buildings. In 1980, Cincinnati’s City Council passed historic conservation legislation that mandated “the conservation, protection, restoration, rehabilitation, use and overall enhancement of structures and districts in the City that possess special historic or architectural value”, and also established a Historic Conservation Board to manage this legislation. Additional information regarding conservation legislation, guidelines, dos and don’ts, may be found on the Planning and Buildings website.

Source: http://www.thebettshouse.org/

Some of the districts listed on the National Register, and which are captured in the photographs of the collection, include Betts-Longworth, Columbia Tusculum, Court Street, Hyde Park Observatory, East Walnut Hills, Main Street, Lincoln-Melrose, Mohawk-Bellevue, Northside, Old Bond Hill, Over-the-Rhine, Prospect Hill, Third & Main Street, and Woodburn Avenue. The Conservation Guidelines for each district are published on the Planning & Buildings website for public review. These guidelines provide an overview of the styles and architectural details of the buildings in the districts, and provide a reference for property owners who are either preserving an existing structure, building an addition to a structure, or infilling a vacant lot with a new structure, to maintain the character of the historic district. Meant as a guideline to maintain and enhance the visual rhythm of the streetscape, it is not a rigid set of rules by which all property owners must adhere, but is meant to assist property owners in making informed decisions initiating any restoration, rehabilitation, or new construction project.

The architectural styles that influence historic designation in Cincinnati are many and varied. Cincinnati is well-known for its “row house” style of architecture in the urban neighborhoods. Narrow and deep, usually between 25-50 feet wide and 2-5 stories high, these structures have a strong vertical emphasis that is accentuated by tall, narrow windows. The base, middle and top floor sections of the houses are visually separated, usually by a change in material or some decorative application such as a stone banding across the front. The buildings are constructed of brick or have wood siding, with some other materials incorporated for visual appeal including limestone, sandstone, slate, or wood. The front, or façade, of the structure runs parallel to the street with a shallow set-back.

Row houses on Eighth Street looking east from Linn Street, August 6, 1935

Row houses Laurel Street west of Canal Street (now Central Parkway), looking across street to rear of Cincinnati Music Hall, April 21, 1920

Every inch of ground space was utilized when building, with many houses being built right up to the property line. The style actually dates back to the late 1600s – early 1700s, but was popular in Cincinnati in the 1800s due to construction restrictions of the period and material limitations. An early form of “apartment living” in densely populated urban centers, builders would often purchase a single lot and squeeze in as many homes as possible in order to maximize profit. Predating large apartment complexes, these structures provided a similar scenario in which multiple families lived in close proximity to each other. In some instances, houses were built into the hillsides, with 2 or 3 levels visible from the front, and the full height of the structure visible from the back. Generally, 25-50% of the façade’s surface area is covered with large, single-pane windows that are aligned vertically to accentuate the height of the building.

Row houses along Miami-Erie Canal (now Central Parkway) near Mohawk Place, April 26, 1921

The public and commercial buildings found in the photographs of the subway and street improvements collection vary in style. Most were built between the Mid-19^th Century and Late Victorian periods, and reflect the traditional building materials and features of those periods. Many of the buildings along Central Parkway (originally Canal Street) in the downtown basin were built between the 1840s-1910s. Two popular styles of architecture for government offices, schools, banks and public or commercial buildings at this time were Italianate and Romanesque Revival, and the occasional Second Empire/Mansard or Chateauesque styles. These styles are represented in such buildings as the Y.M.C.A., constructed in 1917 at Elm Street and Central Parkway, and the Ohio Mechanics Institute at the northeast corner of Walnut Street and Central Parkway, built in 1911, and the Alms & Doepke Department Store at Sycamore Street and Central Parkway. Heading north on Central Parkway, the Cincinnati Music Hall, built in 1878, is a great example of High Victorian Gothic architecture popular for large scale public buildings such as churches, music halls, and libraries during the period.

Y.M.C.A. Building, at Central Parkway and Elm Street, Italianate style, June 16, 1921

Inset of photograph to the left

Y.M.C.A. Building, Central Parkway. Note the decorative cornice piece does not extend the full length of the side of the building. Buildings were meant to be viewed from the front, so the sides and back were not embellished, thus saving money on construction.

Alms & Doepke Department Store, Central Parkway and Sycamore Street, Chateauesque style, November 13, 1926

Second Empire/Mansard style homes at the northeast corner of Central Parkway and 15th Street, May 14, 1920

Rashing School, Romanesque, Elm Street and Central Parkway, June 6, 1921

Ohio Mechanics Institute, 1911, Walnut Street and Central Parkway, Oct. 2, 1920

Cincinnati Music Hall, Central Pkwy / Rear after remodeling, July 2, 1928

Arnsby Avenue, Craftsman/Bungalow style, circa 1924

Other residential styles besides the row house may be found in the suburban neighborhoods, and reflect the Late 19^th and Early 20^th Century Movements. Housing construction exploded in the post-war years and as the city expanded beyond the hills by means of cable and street cars. Cincinnatians were drawn to the open spaces and the roominess of the Bungalow and Prairie house styles. Neighborhoods such as East Walnut Hills, Clifton, Price Hill, Kenwood, Avondale, and others grew as public transportation allowed Cincinnatians easier access to-and-from the downtown.

The two images above represent “before improvement” and “after improvement” views of Attica Avenue looking south from Swift Street. March 3, 1927 (top) and July 7, 1927 (bottom)

The more affluent neighborhoods where prominent Cincinnati businessmen relocated to “country estates”, such as Glendale, Wyoming and Hyde Park, also boasted large Victorian, Italianate, and Gothic Revival styles. As is evident in the photographs, street construction could not keep up with housing construction. Many sidewalks and streets were hazardous for pedestrians and early automobiles. Horse-drawn wagons and carriages can still be seen in many of the late-1920 and early-1930 photographs. Kids, however, had no problem when it came to playing in these rutted and muddy streets, as may be seen in many of the photographs in the collection.

2839 McMicken Avenue, Italianate, December 3, 1926. Note the house on the right, as well as in the image immediately below, which have a false front at the top. This was often done to give the appearance of a larger structure; as with the decorative cornice on the Y.M.C.A. building, the structure was meant to be viewed from the front, and the false story gave the impression of a second story.

2817 McMicken Ave., Dec. 6, 1926

4540 Eastern Avenue, Queen Anne, June 16,
1932

These two houses, numbers 4138 and 4140 Eastern Avenue, are nearly identical with only minor differences, such as the circular vs. rectangular attic window. The decorative wood bracketing is identical on both houses, as are the porch balustrade and columns, window and door placement. June 16, 1932

4120 Eastern Avenue, Queen Anne, June 16, 1932

Because the collection spans a period of almost 50 years, from the 1910s through the 1950s, it represents a broad range of architectural styles that evolved throughout Cincinnati, from the Italianate and Gothic styles of the Victorian Period to the Bungalow and International styles of the Modern Movement. It provides a visual record of the residential, commercial, religious, and educational building styles of multiple periods in multiple neighborhoods. It represents the changing landscape of the city as advances in materials and construction techniques altered how and where structures could be built. Just as the subway construction and street improvements represent changes to the city’s transportation systems, advancing from canal to subway and dirt road to paved street, as advances in transportation altered the means by which Cincinnatians traveled around their city.

When the online repository is made available through the UC Libraries Digital Collections and the UC Digital Resource Commons (full online access to be available October, 2013), a Google map will be provided with plotted coordinates based on the information written on the photographs. Visitors to the online collections will be able to view an image of a building in Cincinnati in 1923, and find that same building on a map of Cincinnati in 2013. In some cases, buildings may no longer exist, replaced by new structures or razed for construction yet to occur, or street intersections may have been altered, some replaced by the I-75/I-71 interchange, but that is the price of progress as a city such as Cincinnati grows and develops over the course of 90 years. The subway construction and street improvements were, themselves, a prime example of the growth and development of Cincinnati in the 1920s.

Sources:

http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/planning/historic-conservation/national-register-historic-districts/

http://www.ohiohistory.org/ohio-historic-preservation-office

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Register_of_Historic_Places

http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/planning/historic-conservation/

http://www.thebettshouse.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Historic_districts_in_Cincinnati,_Ohio

http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/architectural_styles/2379

http://www.urbanophile.com/2010/06/06/the-neighborhoods-of-cincinnati/

http://www.urbanophile.com/2008/05/10/cincinnati-a-midwest-conundrum/

 This project is funded by a grant for $60,669 through the Library Services and Technology Act, administered by the State Library of Ohio.