Orchid Show, CAC and Carew Tower

Fall weather arrived almost like clockwork this year.

After John went to Findlay Market this morning we went to Alms Park to see the thermal system recently installed in the caretakers cottage. This project cost the park board $20,000 and is expected to pay for itself in about a decade. Since install the average utility bill is around $25 / month.

On the way to Alms we stopped by Krohn because I wanted to show John the Motawi tiles we received on Friday. We are considering the pine landscape tiles as a Christmas gift from us to us. This weekend Krohn is hosting an Orchid Show and the judging was going on while we were there. These 3 purple ones are similar to one of our dining room orchids that Dianne painted.

These white orchids remind me of ballerinas.

From the photography competition.

This one looks like it has an alien face in the center with angel wings above.

The showroom (pre-Orchid Show setup) current show is Backyard Birds and Wildlife. And a picutre of the newly installed bridge in front of the waterfall. Not only is it safer I think it looks better than the old one.

So after we got home from Alms I decided to do a little urban hiking and headed downtown because I wanted a book from the CAC gift shop. I took the Columbia Parkway route from the Hill Street steps. Pictured above is P&G world headquarters.

On 4th Street I walked past Lytle Park and this "rare" statue of Abraham Lincoln. It is supposedly "rare" because he has no beard.

As luck would have it yesterday the CAC had complimentary admission in honor of Harris Weston, a patron and former CAC Chairman who died a couple of months ago. I did not have a lot of time because I wanted to stop by Carew Tower and had to be home by 4PM so we could get to Ault Park for the Reggae Run. But I was not going to turn down a free opportunity to breeze through this fascinating building. I think steps and the angles in this building are amazing. The exhibits included video, sculpture, sound and light. Even if I had more time I can't say I would understand most of the contemporary art on display. Overall my impression was that the exhibits were less graphic than the last time I visited.

As the pictures below show there weren't many visitors yesterday.

Most of my time there I spent on the 6th floor in the Unmuseum, the Children' floor.

The tables and chairs on the sloped floor.

This interactive station "Paavo's Hands" allows kids to stand on the podium and "conduct" the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra playing The Firebird Suite. Paavo Jarvi had been our city's symphony conductor since September 2001.

At this station kids can light up the squares by pushing on different buttons.

The entrance to an exhibit I think could scare some kids. But they would probably appreciate the low door knob.

This is the Sensory Elephant. It was made to appeal specifically to blind or seeing impaired children. Here kids are encouraged to explore art through senses other than sight by opening the drawers to discover what you feel, hear or smell.

This could be an empathetic experience for sighted children as well. The next picture is the view of Carew Tower from the Unmusem. Carew was where I was heading next and has some fascinating history. It was financed by the Emery family, whose wealth came from manufacturing and real estate. This Art Deco building (also the style of Krohn and Cincinnati Museum Center both built in 1933) is an early example of urban mixed use development in the US. And it is gorgeous. Carew Tower was John Emery's idea and here is some interesting history on the timing of this development from the Walking Tour & Pocket History at the Netherland Plaza :

"Emery's vision of the Carew Tower led him to make some bold financial moves - which ended up working in his favor. Emery had approached the bank to underwrite financing for the "city within a city" project. The bank did not share the vision of the multi-purpose facility and declined the loan. Emery, convinced his project would be a success, sold all of his stocks and securities, despite advice from his financial advisors. The plans and the financing for the Carew Tower were in place ... and then the stock market crashed. Had Emery left his stocks and securities tied up in the stock market, he would have lost everything. But instead, with his money going toward the building of Carew Tower, the project could continue as planned. In fact, the construction project became one of the city's largest employers, giving men jobs during that dark era after the market's crash."

Emery took his money out of the market 1 month before the crash. It cost $33M and took 13 months to build this 49 story building. Carew will still be the tallest building in Cincinnati until 2011 when the Great American Building at Queen City Square will be complete. Great American's building will be 86' taller.

According to the Walking Tour pamphlet famous visitor who stayed at the Netherland's (Carew's hotel) include Winston Churchill who like the bathroom in his suite so much he had it reproduced for one of his English country homes. Elvis Presley who supposedly really liked the hamburgers served in the Netherland Orchid's restaurant. Eleanor Roosevelt who frequently dropped in unannounced and caused some panic for the hotel management and staff. Bing Crosby who drew huge crowds and when the staff offered to take him out a side entrance said "When they stop recognizing me, I'm in trouble." John and Jackie Kennedy who held a function in the early 60's in the Hall of Mirrors on the 3rd floor of the hotel. Other more recent visitors include President George H Bush and Queen Juliana of the Netherlands. It is also where our wedding quests stayed in 2002.

So I went to F.Y.E. (for your entertainment) in Carew's Tower Place to see if they had In Treatment available. I was a little surprised but thrilled to find one copy! This is an HBO series I saw on the flight home from England. So now we own 43 episodes on 9 discs of this thought provoking show. On the cover the description by the New York Times is "Hypnotic...addictive...irresistible."

Fortunately I made it home with a half an hour to spare before we needed to leave for Ault Park.