Going back to the south and heading north again looking at the west side of Main Street in the Over the Rhine neighborhood of Cincinnati, we see more of the newly rehabbed, and a little of the old.

I love this old storefront church, which is a remnant of when this was not a “hot” neighborhood, but an impoverished community north of downtown. But now, as you can see below, buildings are being renovated at a rapid pace.

It’s remarkable that so many buildings survived in such excellent condition. I suppose that is a testament to how well they were built, and how much we could have saved in St. Louis if we hadn’t annihilated so much.

I think the beauty comes in the architectural homogeneity; while the buildings do not look identical, they were built in a similar Italianate style that was not altered over the last century.

Ironically, that preservation might have been helped by the neighborhood being abandoned, much like Logan Circle in Washington, DC.

As I mentioned before, the commercial uses are on the main street, while the narrow side streets that are perpendicular are given over to quiet activities.