This West Side – number 3 in a series – starts off with a garden. Not just any garden; this garden belongs to The Place restaurant at the corner of Lexington and Ashland. I was never aware that they had cultivated a garden, not to mention that this particular one is dedicated to native plants and pollinators. One of the things that I liked most about this garden is the signage that goes along with it. There are two signs: one that touts the benefits of the indigenous plants that attract bees and butterflies, and don’t require as much water. The other lists all of the different plant varieties, to let passersby know which species they are viewing in “The Garden.”
For all of the cat lovers out there, I came across a couple of different cat-friendly spots along my latest walk. The first is a cute painting (possibly a wheatpaste) on a fence, found towards the back of a driveway. I love that, in the image, the cat is the boss, as he/she is holding the leash with the dog at the end.
Then there’s this great sign that signals that the cat of the house is famous. Yes, apparently Cammie the cat has an Instagram page: czar cammie. While I never did get a chance to see Cammie in person, I did pay a visit to the social media site, where Cammie is described (along with photos) as a “three-legged, multi-toed, calico cat who rules Elmwood and you.”
Over the years, I’ve written about fairy gardens on the West Side, but I’ve never come across a “Goblin Hovel,” until now. This particular Goblin Hovel is actually a little town dedicated to goblins, replete with numerous fortifications, including a lighthouse, a ladder, a sign that reads “”Goblin Hovel,” and plenty of bones strewn about. This is one of the more intricate tree trunk fortresses that I have ever come across. The reason might be because of the small size of the tree – most of these types of gardens are constructed around large tree trunks. In this case, there was no option other than to build a small village… and wait for the tree to grow.
This is the first summer that I have spied street crossing signs. The sign seen here was found at the corner of West Ferry and Ashland. But there are others out there, which is great to see. I believe that these signs make a big difference when it comes to traffic calming measures. Anyone who lives in this neighborhood can tell you that cars love to speed down these streets, and plenty of them don’t even bother to stop, or even slow down, when they come across stop signs. I’ve seen so many close calls over the years, as cyclists and pedestrians attempt to cross the streets. It would also help if the crosswalks were not so faded – this is a problem that we are experiencing in neighborhoods throughout the city. One would think that the City would hire some workers to paint and refresh the crosswalks on an ongoing basis – it seems as if this is low hanging fruit when it comes to bike-ped safety and traffic calming.
Kudos to whoever did this house makeover on Ripley Place. It’s a breath of fresh air to see so much work (and time and money) go into a home. I have a feeling that its proximity to to the Five Points intersection is one of the reasons that an investment of this nature was made. My friend Dave Cosentino (owner of Trattoria Aroma restaurant) is fond of saying that the state of residential neighborhoods is dependent on the health of the surrounding business community. The Five Points neighborhood is a testament to this notion. People want to live in healthy, vibrant neighborhoods, where they can walk to get a cup of coffee, vegetables, or a plant. The stronger the commercial aspect, the more people are willing to spend on fixing up their homes (or their investment properties). There is also the hope that these types of fix-up jobs inspire others to do the same.
At the corner of Vermont and 17th Street is a potential “opportunity knocks” scenario. With so many investments taking place on the West Side, there is big potential to upgrade some of the underutilized assets, such as this corner lot. I can imagine that there would be plenty of opportunities to create a neighborhood destination on this lot, which doesn’t look that inviting at the moment. At one point in time, it seemed as if the entire West Side was going in this direction. But these days there are plenty of people that have the vision, and can see the potential. To me, it looks like it would be a good homebase for a couple of food trucks, with some patio seating and gardens. A neighborhood dog destination would also be cool – maybe Barkology 2? No matter the use, it would be nice to see this property turn the corner in coming years. There’s lots of potential.
The lead image of this post demonstrates the power of making a substantial investment into a corner. Back in 2018, we covered the construction of an infill house at 468 Rhode Island (corner of 16th Street). At the time, it was easy to see the potential of the house, which was designed by architect Brad Wales and built by Robert Harlock (Richmond Renovations). Fast forward 4 years, and the house has become a home. Just take a gander at the gardens! Remember, this was not a very large lot to work with (1,024 sq.ft. of living space, a full-basement, and attached garage accessed on 19th Street) – the team accomplished a lot… without a lot to work with. It’s a bit of a quirky house, but that’s why I like it. When I first spoke to Harlock about this new build, he told me that the premise was to create a single floor plan for those with mobility impairments.
Finally, I would like to thank the people who put fresh bowls of water outside of their houses, along the sidewalk. My dogs are always appreciative of the pit stops on these hot days. I still haven’t mapped my walks according to the locations of the ‘watering holes,’ but I’m doing my best to keep track of the ones that I have come across. I always make sure to keep a couple of bottles of water in my backpack, but if you ask the dogs, they will tell you that they prefer to drink out of the bowls. So whoever is responsible for putting out the watering stations on different streets, the measure is truly appreciated.