MERCANTILE LIBRARY: LECTURE ON SUBURBAN ORIGIN & SPRAWL

Want to learn more about what makes up American cities and how suburbs began? If you're curious as to why some people are critical of the suburbs while others embrace its lifestyle, check out the FREE lecture hosted by The Mercantile Library tonight featuring author Ben Ross.

 

A 19th century experiment in social engineering gave birth to the American suburb, and it has dominated the nation's development ever since.  Ironically, suburbs, now the hallmark of conformity, were created by dissidents of another era: abolitionists, sexual pioneers, and seekers of spiritual enlightenment.

In Dead End: Suburban Sprawl and the Rebirth of American Urbanism, Ben Ross traces how the ideal of a safe, green, orderly retreat where hardworking members of the middle class could raise their children away from the city mutated into the cookie cutter cul-de-sacs and strip mall-filled suburbs of today.

Copies of Dead End will be available for purchase and signing courtesy of
The Bookshelf.

June 2, 2014

Mercantile Library

11th Floor Reading Room
414 Walnut Street, Downtown Cincinnati

6:00 p.m. Reception

6:30 p.m. Remarks 

No charge, open to the public

ANNUAL LIBRARY BOOK SALE

It's no coincidence that with a name like Paige, I'm an avid reader. That's why I've had my calendar marked for weeks of the annual used book sale at the Downtown branch of the Hamilton County Public Library. Coordinated by Friends of the Public Library, books discarded from the county's stacks are up for sale, with proceeds returning to the library.

Set up in organized rows, each the ground floor of the Vine Street library is filled with tables overflowing with books arranged by topic. Bold signs help customers find their favorite section, with genres ranging from fiction to bestsellers and cookbooks, CDs and movies, and of course my favorite: Cincinnati history and rare books.

John, the patient volunteer who totaled up my crate of purchases.

In true rummage sale fashion, it's easy to strike gold. I brought home 21 books, most of which cost $2.00 each. Here are some of my finds:

A tour guide book to Cincinnati architecture

A collection of photos of the sculptures from The Big Pig Gig.

Two copies of Cincinnati: Then and Now. 
The book on the left is autographed by the author with her married name.
The book on the right is an early Linotype print from the author published under her maiden name.

Last year, I purchased the book on the left at the Library Book Sale.
This year, I found it's companion Volume III.
Now if I can only find Volume I...

A book of urban neighborhood walking tours.

A collection of photographed disasters in Cincinnati.

Books written in German, including a songbook from 1925.
These are a unique find because many German books were banned / burned in Cincinnati during WWI.

My favorite find of all:
An essay on the Morality of Prohibitory Liquor Laws from 1875.

My friend, Maureen, came with me and found these gems: a beautiful vintage Bible with portraits accompanying the scripture, and a misprinted cookbook from 1928: Any one can Bake (but not everyone can spell.)

The Library Used Book Sale runs through Friday, June 7. Special discount deals are offered throughout the week including 50% for Friends of the Library members on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday; 50% off for all customers on Thursday, and the infamous "bag sale" on Friday, where customers can fill an entire shopping bag with books for only $10.00.

CANSTRUCTION

CANstruction is an international community service project of the design and construction industry to benefit community food banks. Every year, architects, engineers, designers and contractors compete to design and build elaborate, giant-sized structures made entirely out of canned foods. Teams of five people gather at five different locations around Cincinnati to build 10'x10'x10' sculptures in five hours.

Cincinnati consistently places at the top of America's best designs. Following the construction, the exhibits stay up for three weeks for public viewing. The sculptures are then dismantled and donated to Freestore Foodbank. In 2012, CANstruction raised 55,000 lbs of food which equals over 40,000 meals for families in need. Since it's conception 15 years ago, over 500,000 lbs have been donated.

The majority of the sculptures can be seen at Weston Art Gallery at the Aronoff, with other exhibits at Downtown Library, Downtown Macy's, Contemporary Arts Center, and the Scripps Center on Walnut Street.