Downtown Cincinnati – Then and Now: 1968-2015 Mashups

Perhaps “Then and Now” photos have been overdone among the historical photography crowd. But the chance to take such documentary images and look at them side-by-side with images from today is irresistible.

Last year we set out on a journey to match the 1968 Hamilton County Auditors Office photos with the modern day Google Streetviews. With renewed interest in the photographs found three years ago resulting from a Cincinnati Magazine article, we thought we would go ahead and prematurely publish a work-in-progress labor of love.

We thought we would be struck by how much changed and the architectural gems we had lost to the big-block/big-box development that resulted from the 1964 Plan for Downtown Cincinnati. No doubt there is much that has changed and there were some terrible decisions made. Notable individual structures were caught in the crossfire between developers and less valued buildings when entire blocks were razed. However, we actually were also encouraged by how much was preserved.

What are your thoughts? Is downtown better off? Were the super-blocks necessary?

We will continue to update this page – it’s taken a while already, as evidenced by the 2015 photos being on the left in some comparisons – but in the meantime here are the results in no particular order. If you have suggestions on how we can improve this project or a taxonomy to the comparisons, or if you spot mistakes, we’d love to hear them.

Proctor & Gamble Commons

Fifth and Race Site

The Library

Perri’s Pancakes

Theaters

Somebody demolished the Schubert for this?!

Another Race Street architectural murder scene. The Capitol Theater.

Various Scenes

What was so wrong with the original that it was flattened and rebuilt almost exactly alike, yet with no soul?

This (and most of Vine from Seventh to Eighth) is one of the few “missing teeth” for Vine Street from Third to Central.

How high profile sites and low-value structures like this survive while the wrecking ball is in its backswing on treasures like The Dennison is a mystery.

The Convention Center

It’s just as non-descript as it was nearly 50 years ago, despite Artworks worthy efforts. The phone booth should have been kept as a wayward novelty. It may have attracted at least one curious soul.

We love this collection of buildings on Garfield Place.

A preserved section of Seventh Street. Handsome!

Preserved and better in 2015. It IS possible!

Interestingly, it looks like “BAR” was removed to create what Google Maps lists as Paulding Alley.

The old Cincinnati Greyhound Station.

The 2017 and 2019 streetviews will be much different as well.

Land has been cleared for the forthcoming hotel in the 1968 photo.

Woof!

Downtown Cincinnati’s long-awaited Kroger. Oh, wait…

These were all demolished and nothing has replaced them…on Vine Street of all places.