"Swifton Shopping Center" (Cincinnati, Mason: 2014, school, live)

[Bob_Anderson]

Hi. I'm a long-time lurker and saw this thread back in November, and was wondering if you guys knew that the whole former Swifton Shopping Center is now gone...demolished.

They fenced the area off sometime in November and started to demolish the buildings either back in late November or early December. Also, all of the buildings had been torn down with the exception of one building across from the CAA building(former Elder Beerman site) on the south-west corner of the shopping center. It stayed there for a couple of weeks, but when I drove by there last week during the first week of January, I noticed that it was finally gone.

Therefore, guys, that whole area is now gone, with the exception of a church that sits in the north-west parking lot area, a Captain Ds restaurant, and the CAA building/Bond Hill library(which is the former Elder Beerman site).

[$honey]

I went to high school with Gene's son. (I won't mention his name, he is probably still living.) The son and his wife had a local tv shopping channel, but it did not last long. It might have been on one of the community stations, it has been so many years ago I don't remember the specifics. I feel lucky to remember what I had for breakfast.

[goyguy]

I rode past Swifton between Christmas and New Year's (see the endless "Mid-Century Reading Road" thread.) At the time the last portion of the plaza was being attacked by demo equipment. It definitely was startling to be able to see all the way from the Reading/Seymour corner over to the bland subdivision. Then again, it's still a reality check to not have all those brick Swifton Village buildings in view.

Was it all that long ago that the arrival of Santa Claus at Swifton by helicopter was hyped for weeks ahead of time and eagerly awaited by untold hundreds of kids? I got to have breakfast with him at Mabley's more than once and my parents have the pics to prove it! When the "consciousness raising" of the late 1960's was going on the store even hosted a Black Santa Claus (take that, Fox News) for a while. Chances are the line to his meet/greet room formed near the also short-lived "Soul Scissors" beauty salon.

A regional supermarket chain in Boston has been handing out sticker folders to go with "stamps" given by cashiers to customers for every $10 they spend. The only catch is that the stamps are only good for Fiestaware knock-offs bearing Rachael Ray's name. It's a far cry from the Top Value ("TV") books the goyguy family used to religiously fill and take to the redemption center at Swifton.

Various local media have reported that the new owners of the land are looking to construct a "retail/residential" building with the decidedly unoriginal name of Midpointe Crossing. Good luck to them.

[kjbrill]

Goyguy ...

Those were the days Top Value and S&H Green Stamps! Licked and filled many a page in many a book. I remember the dilemma of whether to redeem what we had or hold out for a bigger prize.

[Ohiogirl81]

I think I went to Swifton approximately once, in the hope of finding bargains when Elder-Beerman closed - and I don't even remember when that was.

Originally Posted by kjbrill

Those were the days Top Value and S&H Green Stamps! Licked and filled many a page in many a book.

That was my job when we came home from the grocery store. All that practice of pasting the stamps in straight came in handy later in life: hanging pictures, leveling bookshelves, etc.

[Jwanger]

I grew up on Laidlaw Ave. in Bond Hill 1963 until 1981. I loved going to Swifton as a child shopping with my mom. My favorite memories there was going to Maybley and riding on their elevator and then on to G.C. Murphy at the opposite end from Maybley`s where my mom would set me down at their famous lunch counter for a fountain Coke and a paper straw while mom shopped. You could not do that today..Then on to Kroger next door to pick up groceries for dinner. Ironically, my very first real job I ever had was bagging groceries at that Kroger in 1979 at age 16. I used to love strolling through Swifton rounding up bascarts and hearing the elevator music over their music system.. great memories.

[kjbrill]

Unfortunately, other than some nostalgic recollections, which are fine and dandy, reviving an old thread like this is probably going to do little to add to the total intellect of those watching this forum. Your memories of the old stores are valuable and no one wants to deny you them. But statements like Swifton was important because of this are probably more significant. Not all of us are Historians and I am the first to realize that, probably the first to abuse it. But when you want to revive a thread on an old subject, take the time to think what can I say about the significance of this subject to convey to others.

[h Steve]

Originally Posted by Jwanger

I grew up on Laidlaw Ave. in Bond Hill 1963 until 1981. I loved going to Swifton as a child shopping with my mom. My favorite memories there was going to Maybley and riding on their elevator and then on to G.C. Murphy at the opposite end from Maybley`s where my mom would set me down at their famous lunch counter for a fountain Coke and a paper straw while mom shopped. You could not do that today..Then on to Kroger next door to pick up groceries for dinner. Ironically, my very first real job I ever had was bagging groceries at that Kroger in 1979 at age 16. I used to love strolling through Swifton rounding up bascarts and hearing the elevator music over their music system.. great memories.

There was an interesting nostalgic article in today's Enquirer about Swifton SC. Unfortunately it hasn't been posted online yet, so I can't give you a link.

[goyguy]

Originally Posted by kjbrill

But when you want to revive a thread on an old subject, take the time to think what can I say about the significance of this subject to convey to others.

When it comes to nostalgia, anybody (long-term and new alike) is always welcome to chip in with what they remember. Thread revival is better than launching a new one. Urban Ohio is the online forum that looks at things from a wonk's angle and falls short in the personal experience department.

I hope Jwanger has done some virtual digging around in this forum so as to find the various threads delving into Bond Hill, Swifton Village, Reading Rd, and so on. Whether it's intellectual theorizing or "so-and-so was my sixth-grade teacher," they make for a good read. (I'd be interested to see a contribution from them to the Bond Hill thread, in particular, since the neighborhood went through so much upheaval and negative change between 1963 and '81.)

[RustBeltOptimist]

Originally Posted by goyguy

Various local media have reported that the new owners of the land are looking to construct a "retail/residential" building with the decidedly unoriginal name of Midpointe Crossing. Good luck to them.

I thought the property was actually owned by the Cincy Port Authority for the time being and that this project (along with the new dunnHumby building at 5th and Race) is a major part of where the money the city gives the PA is going. They're the one's who maintain the website at least. They believe Bond Hill is a neighborhood where commercial redevelopment and residential densification will work.

I do hate it when developers feel the need to place an extra "e" on words to somehow try and make it seem fancier, although it's useful in identifying what sort of retail experience we can expect. "Coming soon: Olde Towne Pointe, Cincinnati's newest mixed use development that's completely distinguished from all the other cookie cutter mixed use locations, because our Starbucks happens to have outdoor patio seating while their Starbucks do not."