The Corner Store

A few days ago, Over-the-Rhine blogger The Walking Green mentioned some of the benefits of living in a walkable neighborhood, and also her Walk Score, which is 92/100. Mine is actually 98/100! Do you believe that? I actually do walk to pretty much everything I want and need, so my score doesn’t entirely surprise me.

Casse’ Frocks Inc. in Covington

Call me crazy, but I’m pretty sure the first word wants to be Cassé. Right? Spotted on West Pike St. in Covington.

Provident Camera Ghost Sign in Downtown Cincinnati

When Provident Camera closed earlier this year, I didn’t really hear people mourn its loss. Maybe they accepted that stores like this no longer need to exist in neighborhoods like this. For us, though, the loss was significant, since now we have to go to Kenwood for our specialized light bulbs. In any case, here is the ghost signage Provident has left behind.

Paramount Vodka Ghost Sign in OTR

Traces of these ads promoting Paramount Vodka can be found on buildings all over Cincinnati. This one is on Elm St. near Findlay Market; there’s another one just a few blocks away. I’m still not convinced by this “anything goes” claim — what about mashed potatoes or shiatsu? Just how all-encompassing is this statement?

Ghost Sign in Over-the-Rhine

At McMicken and Freeman in the northwest corner of Over-the-Rhine is an overgrown plot of land that hides a wall of ghost signage. I’ll try to return to this spot this winter to see if I can get a better look at what it says.

Rybolt Ghost Sign Downtown

The Rybolt Heating Cooling building, a.k.a. Trimble’s Bail Bond, is at 813 Broadway St. in downtown Cincinnati. Which do I prefer, the “Ry” ligature of the Rybolt sign, or the “don’t tremble” slogan of the Trimble’s sign?

Suburban Paintings by David Imlay

Galaxie by David Imlay

David Imlay is a West Coast artist who paints primarily portraits and cityscapes, mostly of San Francisco, with a bit of Chicago thrown in for good measure. These paintings are from his Suburban Series.

Chicago Flavor Connections

If you spend time in Over-the-Rhine, you have surely noticed more rehab and building activity on Vine St., slowly moving up toward Kroger and my beloved Smitty’s. This cute little post office seems to be part of the action.

VisuaLingual Fall Sale

Fall is barely here, but we’re already gearing up for the holiday season. During the first half of October, we’re having a Fall Sale in our online shop, with discounts of approximately 40% on select items, as we make room in our studio for some brand-new Cincinnati-centric goodness!

Blacksmith, Established 1830

Even a city girl occasionally finds herself out in the country, in this case, brunch at the Historic Clifton Mill in Clifton, OH. This sign is right across the street from the mill and, for a split second, I contemplated the potential joy of living in this building, until I realized that I’m too much for an urbanite for this kind of life.