Tucked away in Shillito Place downtown, on the side of the Cincinnati Athletic Club is this metal assemblage of a mural. It’s not the easiest site to photograph, nor is this the easiest artwork to understand. Above is some sort of dumbbell motif; below, I’m not sure. More exercise equipment?
Department of Everyday Visualingual 
wow, this is beautiful. all these years and this is the first time I’ve seen it. thanks for sharing.
The mural is actually called “A Sevent-Foot Love Letter to the Queen”. It has nothing to do with the Club actually. Erected in 1977 this work by William Schickel was commissioned by the City to be seen on the skywalk on the way to Lazarus . . which is now gone. Apparently the solids and voids and painting on the panels are supposed to refer to Cincinnati, the Queen of the West.
Oh, a couple of panels recently (6 months or so) came loose from wind and I think the City is working on re-installing them.
What? So, are those not dumbbells? And why the newspaper page, if the mural isn’t somehow related to the Athletic Club? How strange.
The newspaper article is not part of the mural piece. It is a stand alone thing.
And if they are dumbbells, maybe the artist was giving a nod to the Gym but I don’t know that nor do I think so.
wow – interesting, yet confusing – a metaphor, perhaps?..
…with the fall of the Skywalk, so goes the city…
Dan, you know all…
He really does! Here is more information on the artist, who has a gallery in Loveland.
The artist must be related to Martha Dorff (I think it is her father), who owns Schickel Design which is now located on 14th Street in OTR. I know Martha relocated from Loveland to OTR a few years ago.
And thus, our world continues to shrink…
Citykin: Yes, that is her father.
FANTASTIC!
A hidden mural, I love it! What an interesting story behind this project!
CityKin just alerted me to the death of William Schickel earlier this week:
SCHICKEL William J. artist and designer, 89, died Tuesday, July 14, 2009, surrounded by his loving family in Loveland, Ohio. William was preceded in death by his wife, Mary Alice Frei, to whom he was married for 60 years. He is survived by his 11 children: Anna Haine, Alton, Ill.; Martha Dorff, Cincinnati, OH.; Bill Schickel, Mason City, IA; John Schickel, Union, KY.; Joseph Schickel, Loveland, OH.; Elizabeth Robinson, Loveland, OH.; Benedict Schickel, Loveland, OH.; Martin Schickel, Loveland, OH.; Mary Moorman, Lilburn, GA.; Ruth Tabeling, Superior Township, MI. and Joy France, Loveland, OH. William is also survived by four brothers: Jerry Schickel, Bonita Springs, FL; Jack Schickel, Phoeix, AZ, Hubert Schickel, Malone, NY; Lou Schickel, Little Rock, ARK.; and sister, Marie Schickel Rottschaefer, Lake Oswego, OR. He is also survived by 54 grandchildren and great grandchildren. William was born in Stamford, CONN. in 1919 and raised in Ithaca, NY. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1944. In a career spanning more than six decades, William combined his skills as a sculptor, architectural designer, furniture designer, stained-glass artist and painter with his deep personal faith. William’s public works include the renovation of Gethsemani Abbey in Kentucky, for which he received the American Institute of Architect’s Gold Medal Award, and more recently Bellarmine Chapel at Xavier University. Visitation will be 4-8 p.m. Friday, July 17 at the Grailville Oratory, 932 O’Bannonville Road, Loveland, OH 45140. Mass of Christian Burial will be 10:30 a.m. Saturday, July 18, at the Grailville Oratory with visitation beginning one hour prior to the service. Tufts Schildmeyer Family Funeral Home, Loveland, is in charge of arrangements.
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