U UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI Date: I, , hereby submit this original work as part of the requirements for the degree of: in It is entitled: Student Signature: This work and its defense approved by: Committee Chair: Approval of the electronic document: I have reviewed the Thesis/Dissertation in its final electronic format and certify that it is an accurate copy of the document reviewed and approved by the committee. Committee Chair signature: Self-Help: Reconstructing Over-the-Rhine A thesis submitted to the Division of Research and Advanced Studies of the University of Cincinnati In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Architecture In the School of Architecture and Interior Design of the College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning 2005 Written by Michele Desiree Wildeboer B.S. Arch, University of Cincinnati, 2003 Committee Chairs: Udo Greinacher Robert Burnham Michaele Pride-Wells Abstract Full of languishing, historic buildings, underemployed people, and the highest crime rate for miles, Over-the-Rhine has procured an undesirable notoriety in the greater Cincinnati area. This once vibrant, thriving neighborhood of Germans has become an affliction on the city. This did not happen overnight; white flight, prohibition, anti-German sentiments from World Wars, street widenings, and the suburbanization of America have all contributed to its downfall. A recent initiative by the City of Cincinnati has produced a master plan, but not much tangible evidence of progress. It is a distinct possibility that the government alone cannot cure Over- the-Rhine. This multi-faceted problem results in pursuing various avenues for a solution. First, according to Grogan and Proscio, authors of Comeback Cities, there are four factors that make an inner-city recovery possible including grassroots organizations and the breakdown of government agencies such as welfare and public housing. Second, an investigation into self- help housing provides an avenue in which residents of this neighborhood may help themselves with limited government interference. Grassroots organizations in the Bronx borough of New York City literally brought neighborhoods back to life over a twenty year span because of a diligence to keep working one building at a time. Similarly, the Savannah College of Art and Design revitalized the city of Savannah by transforming vacant industrial buildings into a college scattered throughout Savannah. An examination of these themes in conjunction with Over-the-Rhine’s unique circumstances results in a holistic approach to people and architecture. A [grassroots] organization will put residents to work via construction on vacant Over-the-Rhine buildings rehabilitating them for occupancy by workers or for rent to other residents of the neighborhood. The organization not only trains citizens in construction skills, but how to run a salvage center, and encourages the growth of personal skills to become employable anywhere. This project is not just changing the look of Over-the-Rhine but also its soul. All over America there are urban neighborhoods just like this one ready for resuscitation—a self-help organization is an answer. Self-Help: Reconstructing Over-the-Rhine Table of Contents List of Images and Credits 2 Introduction 5 Chapter 1: An opportunity for inner-city revitalization 7 Chapter 2: Self-Help: As it relates to housing, economics 11 and employment Chapter 3: Case Studies 22 1: Savannah—Institutional Urban Revitalization 24 2: South Bronx—community organization/ 33 Grassroots movement Chapter 4: Architectural Salvage Businesses 42 Precedent 1: Indianapolis’ Rehab Resource Inc. 43 Precedent 2: Cincinnati: Building Value LLC 45 Chapter 5: A Solution 47 Part 1: Who and what is Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine 49 Part 2A: Training Facility and Salvage Center 56 Part 2B: Design Precedents 58 Part 2C: Program 62 Part 2D: Site 69 Conclusion 71 Works Cited 73 Appendix A 75 Appendix B 80 Appendix C 81 Appendix D 83 Wildeboer 1 Self-Help: Reconstructing Over-the-Rhine List of Images and Credits Figure 1: Aerial of Over-the-Rhine 3 http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/cdap/pages/-3652- from Cincinnati’s OTR masterplan www.cincinnati-oh.gov Figure 2: Welfare to Work 7 http://www.lib.niu.edu/ipo/ii9705161.jpg Figure 3: Cabrini Green in Chicago, IL 8 http://tigger.uic.edu/depts/ahaa/imagebase/maclean/aerials4/12.JPEG Figure 4: “Housing is a Human Right” 9 Image from New York City’s Urban Homesteading Assitance Board website http://www.uhab.org/gallery/images/UHAB30/A00002_029.jpg Figure 5: View of Historic Savannah’s River Street 22 http://www.savcvb.com/scenic_tour/16.shtml Figure 6: SCAD’s Poetter Hall 22 Savannah College of Art and Design website—virtual tour http://www.scad.edu/about/visit/tour/aca_poetter.html Figure 7: SCAD’s Impact on Savannah 24 Compiled by author via SCAD’s website detailing campus buidings and researching property transfers on SAGIS- Chatham County’s property value database http://sagis.binarybus.com/app/default.htm Figure 8: Map of highways, commuter trains, and subways through the Bronx 31 Compiled by author Metro North http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/mnr/html/mnrmap.htm Subway http://www.mta.info/nyct/maps/subwaymap.pdf Highways http://cpmcnet.columbia.edu/dept/neurology/ni/contact/images/regionmap.jpg Figure 9: The Vacancy of the South Bronx 31 http://www.danhagerman.com/images/South%20Bronx%20Playground.jpg Figure 10: Ed Koch, Mayor of New York City 33 New York Times Magazine 1997 http://www.senstad.com/htmls/3.html Figure 11: Mid-Bronx Desperadoes Homepage 34 http://www.mbdhousing.org/MBDsplash.html Figure 12: 7 Charlotte St. in the Bronx 34 http://www.brorson.com/TourDeBronx/TourDeBronx2.html Figure 13: Areas of Development in the Bronx 35 Wildeboer 2 Self-Help: Reconstructing Over-the-Rhine By author with base map of Bronx http://www.johnnyroadtrip.com/cities/newyork/maps/map_harlembronx.htm Figure 14: The South Bronx Today 37 Tour deBronx Bicycle Race http://www.brorson.com/TourDeBronx/TourDeBronx2.html Figure 15: Building Value on Gilbert Ave. Cincinnati 43 Photo By author Figure 16: Graph of OTR’s population, habitable housing, vacant housing, 49 owner-occupied housing from 1940 to 2000 Ferdelman, p. 54, US Census www.census.gov, Cincinnati’s OTR Master Plan www.cincinnati-oh.gov Figure 17: Graph of current statistical norms for OTR, Cincinnati, 49 Hamilton County, and the USA US Census www.census.gov Figure 18: Graph of OTR’s white population, black population, 51 employed, and unemployed with current City, County, and Country norms for the same areas Ferdelman, p. 54, US Census www.census.gov, Cincinnati’s OTR Master Plan www.cincinnati-oh.gov Figure 19: OTR Today—full of emptiness 52 Photo by author Figure 20: OTR Figure ground map of 1891, 1956, and today 53 Compiled by author Ferdelman, 50, 56, 57 Figure 21: Portable Construction Training Center 56 view from circulation side Siegal, p.116 Figure 22: Portable Construction Training Center 56 interior view of skill space Siegal, p.117 Figure 23: Floor Plan PCTC 57 (no author) “Portable Construction Training Center” Domus n. 814, (Apr. 1999) p. 25. Figure 24: MDU axonometric—expanded unit 58 Scoates, p. 39 Figure 25: MDU floor plan—expanded unit 58 Scoates, p. 114-5 Wildeboer 3 Self-Help: Reconstructing Over-the-Rhine Figure 26: Japanese Hotel 59 Vitra Design Museum, p. 217 Figure 27: Mini Capsule by Atelier van Lieshout -with interior 59 Topham, p. 92 Figure 28: Site proposed for program in OTR 67 Illustrations by author Ferdelman, p. 57 Figure 29: Liberty Street Widening Effects on urban fabric with site in orange 68 Illustrations by author Ferdelman, p. 68 Wildeboer 4 Self-Help: Reconstructing Over-the-Rhine Introduction Despite ample historic building stock and a rich ethnic heritage, a sufficient long-term solution to the decline of Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine, an inner-city neighborhood, has yet to be discovered. This thesis investigates an opportunity for urban resuscitation through self-help housing. The terminology of opportunity—“ripe for renovation,” “bursting with promise,” “original features,” and “period charm”—has awakened many to the rich harvest to be gathered in America’s inner cities (Williams, 56). Grogan Figure 1 Aerial photo of Over-the-Rhine and Proscio in Comeback Cities contend that recovery of urban neighborhoods is happening due to what they call the “four positives that presage a broad inner-city recovery.” Neighborhoods are becoming healthy and desirable without imitating the suburbs (Grogan and Proscio, 4). Inner-cities are brimming with under-occupied historic buildings in need of renovation. The fourth positive of inner-city recovery includes the return of the “culture of work” (Grogan and Proscio, 7). This, in conjunction with the languishing building stock, provides an opportunity for employment through building reconstruction. Mutual self-help housing involves an organized group of residents to be trained in construction skills and then to work together to produce adequate housing. Examples of urban self-help can be seen in the South Bronx and Savannah. The Savannah College of Art and Design renovated industrial and commercial buildings which, in turn, enhanced Savannah’s economy and city image. In the South Bronx, community development corporations worked closely with the mayor and the city of New York to pull a besieged neighborhood out of the rubble. Wildeboer 5 Self-Help: Reconstructing Over-the-Rhine Over-the-Rhine has a high unemployment rate and a high building vacancy rate. A self-help organization providing the guidance to train, manage, and perpetuate a housing rehabilitation program is a solution for Over-the-Rhine’s specific plight. Such an organization could change the entire economic structure of Over-the-Rhine. Wildeboer 6 Self-Help: Reconstructing Over-the-Rhine Chapter 1 There have been many attempts at “fixing” the inner-cities of America.