Covington, KY
Though I can’t find verification, I always chuckle at what many think is a quote from Mark Twain:
When the world ends, I would like to be in Cincinnati, because it’s always 20 years behind the times.
Sometimes I’ve heard it as 10 years behind, but It’s funny either way.
I spent all day down there in my hometown. Lots of good work and enough time to squeeze in a haircut with my barber and snap this photo.
That twisty structure is the new Ascent condos being added to the Kentucky skyline. We consider this Greater Cincinnati because they get things done faster on that side of the river.
If it looks vaguely familiar, it might be because architect Daniel Libeskind is also working on the World Trade Center site in New York City.
Another connection of note (pardon the pun) is the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge (picture, history) that links Ohio to this part of Covington. Finished in 1866, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world at the time. Roebling used his knowledge here and went on to build the Brooklyn Bridge a few years later.
So maybe Twain was wrong. If you want to see what’s going to pop up in New York City, look to Cincinnati.
Current music: Radiohead “Unravel (Pocket Mix)”
7 responses to “The Ascent”
amen
When I was in school, one of the urban planning majors told me that Cincinnati was the largest city in the country until they backed barges over railroads. I have no idea if this is actually true but it’s part of my personal mid-western mythology.
I was marveling at that structure just yesterday as I drove across the River on I-71/75. I was en route to Kaldi’s Coffee on Main Street. Ever been there?
You forgot that the Carew Tower was the basis for the Empire State Building!
David, I L-O-V-E the black bean soup Kaldi’s used to serve. I wonder if they still have it..
And thanks Blake! I didn’t know that about Carew Tower.
I believe they do, I had the breakfast burrito with the breakfast salad. It’s the way breakfast is supposed to be.
As someone from the east side of Cincinnati, traveling through NKY to get downtown, I also considered NKY to be Cincinnati.
(And that little rumor about how Cincy paid for Newport probably doesn’t help. Ha ha.)
But Mark Twain actually didn’t mean Downtown Cincy. He meant New Richmond. *jokes*