Update: See Vine Street further up the hill from November of 2023.

Vine Street is one of the main streets cutting through the Over the Rhine neighborhood, coming up from the Ohio River through Cincinnati’s downtown. It is not interrupted from the central business district by any interstates and other than the overly wide Central Parkway, pedestrians can easily connect with the heart of the city from an urban neighborhood. Something else I just noticed in these photos is how relatively unobtrusive the traffic signals are, strung on simple wires instead of massive metal arms.

Likewise, basically every building has a storefront on the first floor and apartments on the upper floors, assuring a level of density that provides plenty of customers along with visitors. Side Streets are more residential in form.

As was common during the pandemic, restaurants seized control of parking spots in the street. There is a streetcar as well as several massive parking garages (which I know some urbanists wouldn’t like) that provide ample places to store cars while people spend money in the neighborhood. Vine Street absolutely buzzes with activity, bringing Over the Rhine alive.

We’ll look at more of the west side of Vine Street now.