Fourth Norwood Historic Home Tour is a success!

The weather was beautiful for the Fourth Annual Norwood Historic Home Tour and Fall Festival and Off Pike Market at Victory Park. The day showcased not only Norwood’s gorgeous old homes, but also new developments and businesses, and our talented community, with performances from Norwood Orchestra, W Monty’s, and the Cable Guys; a storytime with the Norwood Library; and family games and crafts.

Norwood Together coordinated the event with a collection of partners: the Norwood Historical Society, Off Pike Market and the City of Norwood. The event also was sponsored by Jennifer McGillis Realtor, Duke Energy, Huber Lumber Co., Perry Contracting, Inc., Naegele, Kleb & Ihlendorf Funeral Home, and the Acanthus Group LLC. Special thanks to Northwood Cider Co. and The Valley Church, and the dozens of volunteers who kept the day running smoothly.

The tour began with the Norwood Historical Society and the Cincinnati Type & Print Museum before riding to Park Avenue to discover the neighborhood’s history and architecture. We had the unprecedented opportunity to tour an exquisite Queen Anne Victorian home thanks to Linda Prues. Her iconic Norwood was once the Y.W.C.A. 

The walking tour included the history and architecture of Immaculate Conception Church, corner stores, and Dorl Field, originally built for printing employees and families and named for Theodore C. Dorl. “Teddy” was a general superintendent of U.S. Printing & Lithograph Company and president of the Craftsman Club.

We visited the site of the former U.S. Printing & Lithograph Company and the U.S. Playing Card Company, including the Samuel Hannaford and Sons designed brick facility at Park Avenue. The companies shared a restaurant, the land which became Dorl Field, and multi-family units for employees. 

The tour included the police training facility and canine officer, as well as the Happy Hollow Inn, featured in the Bruce Willis movie, Hard Kill, which was mostly shot at the U.S. Playing Card buildings before being demolished.   

Finally, Salvation Army, originally Kemper-Thomas, known for their advertisements, colorized calendars, Vienna art plates, thermometers, and brewery products. The company could arrange room and board for employees at the aforementioned Queen Anne Victorian Y.W.C.A nearby. 

Continue ReadingFourth Norwood Historic Home Tour is a success!

Making a difference at Millcrest

On June 26, help a Norwood teen make a difference at Lower Millcrest Park.

Diana Ferra Villalobos, a Norwood resident and senior at Mount Notre Dame Academy, is organizing a clean-up of Lower Millcrest Park from 9 a.m. to noon June 26. Norwood Together and Keep Cincinnati Beautiful are supporting the project.

To help, all you have to do is show up!

Here’s an essay Villalobos wrote about why she decided to clean up Lower Millcrest:

The Meaning of Millcrest
By Diana Ferra Villalobos

The one planet that allows us to live is deteriorating. Unfortunately, I did not come to that conclusion until I saw the effects of it.

In 2020, our world was turned upside-down, especially with COVID-19 and quarantining.  However, we must not forget the tragic wildfires in California that had taken many souls and homes. From the moment I saw the skies turn grey, the birds fly away, and the trees turn to ashes, I knew that our only home was being destroyed. I want a better, more beautiful earth for us all. This is why my project focuses on Millcrest park.

 I moved to Norwood in December 2019, but it wasn’t until this year that I frequented Millcrest. It was also this year that I attended my very first clean-up (also at Millcrest), and it came to my attention that there is a lot more garbage than I expected. I went to this clean-up and had to move around the roots and plants just so I could reach a can of Sprite. I believe that my family and I spent around three hours there, but we couldn’t get everything. I don’t want it to be that way anymore.

I want us to walk around Millcrest freely without having to see a bag of chips, cans, or beer. Not only is this dangerous for the little ones, but it also harms our plant life. The space that the garbage is taking up could have been for flowers, but now it is reserved for plastic debris. However, that can change. We can change that, which is why this project is so important to me. Not only are we taking initiative, but we are also creating space for new life to grow. The earth has allowed us to survive, I am simply hoping we can return the favor.

Continue ReadingMaking a difference at Millcrest

Norwood Clean-Up Week is March 20-27!

The goal: Get our city ready for a spring and summer of fun! The week includes several city-wide, volunteer Clean-Up events, opportunities for you and your neighbors to work together to get rid of winter mess. Here’s the schedule: 

  • Montgomery Road Clean-Up: 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday, March 20; meet at City Hall to get supplies.
  • Knothole Baseball Field Clean-Up: 11 a.m. Saturday, March 20; meet at Dorl Field.
  • Lower Millcrest Cutting Party: 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 24; volunteers will be cutting out invasive undergrowth; bring gloves, saws, and loppers, if you have them. 
  • Citywide Parks Clean-Up: 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, March 27; meet at your favorite park and bring gloves and yard tools (rakes, etc.) if you have them. 

During the week, we hope you will take the opportunity to clean up around your own house and neighborhood. Pick up yard waste bags (FREE!) from the Norwood Health Department, 2059 Sherman Avenue. Report potholes or other issues to Public Works with the city’s new See, Click It, Fix It! app. Go on a litter walk with your family.

LITTER WALK CONTEST
And here’s your chance to win that $50 Lowe’s gift card. During Clean-Up Week, go on a litter walk in your neighborhood and take a picture of you and the trash you pick up. Post that picture on Norwood Together’s Facebook page. Every photo is one entry in a raffle. On March 27, we’ll pick a winner. 

Watch our Facebook page and this newsletter for more updates on Norwood Clean-Up Week. 

Continue ReadingNorwood Clean-Up Week is March 20-27!

New Floral micro-park thanks to you

Norwood has a new place for neighbors to gather, and walkers and bicyclists have a new rest stop on their way to or from Wasson Way.

Jon Moore, with help from neighbors and a $500 Wasson Way Mini-Grant from Norwood Together, installed a micro-park at the corner of Hudson and Floral avenues this fall. Read Jon’s reflections on the project here.

Wasson Way Mini-Grants are meant to encourage experimentation, build leadership, and bring people together.  And that’s exactly what Jon’s micro park has done already. Dozens of residents donated to this project, which includes two benches, a trash can, two trees, and a large garden bed. Neighbors, including a handful of children, came together to install the park, and some of them will be helping Jon with maintenance of this new community space.

Funding for the Wasson Way Mini-Grant program came from Norwood residents who wanted to encourage their neighbors to use the biking and walking trail, and make it easier for people to access Wasson Way, which runs along the south end of Norwood. From beginning to end, the micro park at Floral and Hudson is a community project — one resident’s idea, supported by the work and generosity of his neighbors. It’s a wonderful thing to see. Thank you to everyone who helped make it happen!

Continue ReadingNew Floral micro-park thanks to you

Help create a Floral-Hudson Pocket Park


You can donate to help create a new resident-designed, funded and created pocket park at the corner of Floral and Hudson avenues.

Jon Moore is spearheading this neighborhood plan, which has city approval. Already, residents have pledged $1,300, but another $1,300 is needed for pavers, dirt, a trash can and a bench. You can donate through Norwood Together — just follow that link and be sure to make a note that your donation is for the Floral-Hudson Pocket Park.

Continue ReadingHelp create a Floral-Hudson Pocket Park

Go Vibrant Million Step Challenge starts June 15

Your steps can earn parks improvements for Norwood.

The 2020 Million Step Neighborhood Challenge begins June 15! Over five months, Norwood will compete with neighborhoods across Cincinnati to see where residents can log the most steps. The winning neighborhood earns a donation for its parks. We won last year’s challenge, and Norwood Together is working with Go Vibrant and the City of Norwood, with help from the Norwood Police Department and Norwood Historical Society, to create a Healthy History Trail in the city.

Go Vibrant has developed an app for logging steps. Download it here, and follow Norwood Together and Go Vibrant on Facebook to make sure you have the most up-to-date information to make your steps count!

Continue ReadingGo Vibrant Million Step Challenge starts June 15