History Coming To Life In Cincinnati

Look Here! is a compelling history exhibition transforming the public realm into a temporary museum using historic photographs of Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine neighborhood.

You Can’t Do That Here! or You Can’t Do That Here, Can You?

As with many private projects in the public realm, Steinert faced some hardship navigating the gatekeepers in City Hall. Initially, she was required to submit a picture and address for all 70 poles she sought to install a sign on in order to obtain a temporary, revocable, street privilege permit. After cataloguing each location, her application was denied over concerns with safety. At issue was that her signs could be hung no lower than the lowest edge of the existing wayfaring sign affixed to each pole at 7 feet above the ground. Steinert knew there were many examples of wayfaring signs that had been installed by the city that did not meet the letter of their own law.

Operating under the reasonable assumption that “hey, you already allow this everywhere in the streetscape, why can’t we do it in Over-The-Rhine just for three months,” she loaded up her car with her son and snacks in tow, and proceeded to drive around the neighborhood documenting instances where the city installed signs that were not compliant with their own rules.

Another hurdle revolved around the materials used to make the signs. Steinert initially wanted to install aluminum signs that would closely mimic existing street signs, but the city’s Department of Transportation and Engineering (DOTE) balked at that plan, preferring to approve signs made from PVC (a less durable material). Ultimately, after 8 months of prodding, Look Here! did receive approval from DOTE, proving that the power of receiving a “no” from a city official can be just as frustrating as it can be motivational.

Photo Credit: [url]https://www.walkyourcity.org[/url]

That was the case in 2012 when Matt Tomasulo initiated what he describes as a “guerrilla wayfaring project” designed to promote healthier communities by encouraging people to walk, called Walk Raleigh. Over the course of one night, Tomasulo erected 27 signs offering advice on how far a walk it was to nearby destinations, accompanied with a QR code that could be scanned on a smartphone that redirects to a map with directions to nearby landmarks and commercial businesses like grocery stores.

City officials briskly took down the signs; however, a conversation quickly started that led to a path towards legalizing the signs, a partnership with Blue Cross Blue Shield and a comprehensive effort with support from the city and neighborhood organizations to install the Walk Raleigh signs in several neighborhoods of the city. Eventually, Matt and a few partners created a website called WalkYourCity.org that offered an open-sourced template to recreate these wayfaring signs in other cities.

Photo Credit: [url]https://www.walkyourcity.org[/url]

Just as Tomasulo was able to provide a template to replicate his Walk Your City wayfaring signs in other cities, Look Here! can also be reproduced by private individuals. You can access a venerable how-to guide to replicate the Look Here! project in your own neighborhood here: [url]https://www.lookhereotr.org/Look_Here_How_To.htm[/url]