Over-the-Rhine

The National Trust for Historic Preservation has put out a list of 11 Most Endangered Historic Places in America. The Over-the-Rhine neighborhood in Cincinnati is on that list. I agree completely. As most of you know, I used to live in Cincinnati and I would travel by bus to work downtown thru Over-the-Rhine every day. I saw all that they are talking about. Drug dealers, crime, poverty. I saw some of the worst scenes in my life just traveling on the bus. I have seen drug deals go down. I have seen someone stabbed and laying on the sidewalk. I have seen riots. In April of 2001, there were riots in Cincinnati. It was such a scary time to live there. I remember one scene where the bus was coming around a corner and I saw a young kid climbing out of a barricaded door of a small convenience store. The plywood sheet that was covering the door was torn open and he came out with items in his hands. The bus stopped right near there and that kid got on the bus. He had just robbed that store. There were dumpsters on fire everywhere. The entire city was under curfew for days. Many people in Cincinnati don't think about Over-the-Rhine. They consider it a lost cause. But I think that there is too much history in Over-the-Rhine to just let it go. After the riots, a community group came into the neighborhood and put window flower boxes in as many windows of buildings as they could. It was such a strange site. These old buildings, falling apart. Look down at the street and you see the usual scenes. Look up a story or two and you see these beautiful flowers in the windows. It was something so simple, but it made such a huge impact. Over-the-Rhine holds a special place in my heart. I wish there was something that I could do to help. I am getting nostalgic for the 'Nati...