Goodbye to the Drawbridge Inn: Heyday Expansion

June 23, 2014 3 Comments

Part II: Time for Expansion

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the complex enjoyed popularity.  Its English-inspired Tudor architecture and decor appealed to the theme hungry masses of the day.  Its convenience and visibility to the interstate appealed to the now well-trained American traveler.  A steady stream of airport travelers helped fill guest rooms. A host of meeting rooms, restaurants, lounges, and a coffee shop, ensured that the complex had activity 24 hours a day.

rowntowner crossbow ad 1972
Above: A 1972 ad for The Crossbow. Credit: Cincinnati Magazine

The success meant that the complex had become Northern Kentucky’s de facto convention center finding a market in smaller events.  It was time to grow to meet demand.

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Goodbye to the Drawbridge Inn: The Early Days

May 23, 2014 9 Comments

Drawbridge Inn Demolition - May 2014

A fixture in Northern Kentucky for over 40 years, the Drawbridge Inn was home for a night (or more) for millions of travelers and guests.  When it opened in 1970, the hotel was a true regional attraction.  In the years between, the hotel sat as a beacon for northbound and southbound travelers on I-71/75.  A measure that you were either nearing Cincinnati or that you had truly ventured across the doorstep to the South.  Its conference spaces hosted weddings, reunions, business conferences, cheerleading meets, church rallies, and holiday feasts.  Its restaurants and nightclubs hosted countless dinners and celebrations.  It served as Northern Kentucky’s de facto convention center until the turn of the century when conventions shifted to the publicly supported downtown Covington facility.  Today, we present the first in a three part series taking one last look at what was and what is.

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Photos: Workin’ for a Livin’ in 1985

January 17, 2014 Leave a comment

FPBC, Louisville, KY - 1985

We like news, we like to comment, we’ll dabble in politics, sports, business and technology.  Perhaps most of all, we like photography.  And at the end, if there is one enduring rule here at PE, we like history and nostalgia.  Photography is perhaps the best way to enjoy both.  In this spirit, here comes a curveball.  Be warned, this will either be the most uninteresting entry ever or completely fascinating.

We recently came into possession of a stack of photos taken in 1985.  The circumstances of the shots are untold and the photographer unnamed (we’re privy to both). However, we can’t resist sharing some of the more interesting faces and places.   They are all wonderful artifacts of yesteryear.  See for yourself…

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Covington, KY in 1939 by John Vachon (Part 1)

December 9, 2012 1 Comment

Inspired in part by cincyhisotoryluvr’s blog Digging Cincinnati History and using similar research techniques, I wanted to start some of my own. Here you’ll find the first of which I hope are entertaining and informative posts that show us what’s survived and what has not.

The Library of Congress is a treasure trove of images from yesteryear.  Exactly the kind we like here at PE.  They are the kind that document our built environment in journalistic banality but have an exquisite beauty all their own for the way they captured what has been lost and the mystery they provide.

Recently, I stumbled across three images that were new to me.  The images were taken by John Vachon while he worked as a photographer for Farm Security Administration and are probably some of the more pedestrian examples of his work.  His “Negro boy near Cincinnati” was much more remarkable as was the haunting “Worker at carbon black plant, Sunray, Texas” below.

“Worker at carbon black plant, Sunray, Texas”

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