Northside • The Urban Village

With a unique blend of classic homes, eclectic and traditional businesses and entertainment venues, and a long tradition of community activism, Northside is the place to be for those who want an urban environment, yet also want to connect with their neighbors just as if they lived in a small town.

Pedestrian Friendly

Drop off a letter at the post office, cash a check at the bank, pick up the latest CD from your favorite artist, get your hair styled, rent a DVD, buy a best-selling novel, browse the hippest fashions, shop for antiques, imported furniture or vintage clothes, get a tattoo, buy organic produce, fresh fruit, eggs and bread, and then relax with a latte over lunch – all within four blocks!  If you live in Northside, that’s just a sample of what our 'downtown' has to offer, all within walking distance of your home.

NEWS

Holiday Art Fair

Northside celebrates the holidays with it's annual Winter Holiday Art Fair on Saturday, December 6 from 11AM to 5PM.
Come find unique and original arts and crafts made by local artists. It is a great opportunity to meet the artists, your neighbors support the local arts community and find the perfect holiday gifts for your loved ones. Find locally made pottery, paintings, fiber arts, jewelry, photography, glass works and more !
Our annual winter sales are held at Off the Avenue Studios, 1546 Knowlton Avenue in eclectic Northside, just a half block from the business district on Hamilton Avenue.
For more information click here.

Northside Farmer's Market

Wednesdays from 4:00 to 7:30 PM in the Gardens at the Village Green at 1415 Knowlton Ave.

Celebrating its seventh year, the Northside Farmers' Market is bigger than ever with more free events, live music and children's activities. This year the Northside market made a commitment to support local growers by offering only locally produced products. Shoppers can find everything from homemade chocolate, raspberries and pecans to Shadeau© bread and fresh local cheese. A large variety of perennials, annuals and fresh herb starts are available for those looking to kick-start their own garden. Local artists, seamstresses and soap makers crafted products for the market and live music fills the lot. Looking for answers to reducing energy use? Market goers can discuss environmental questions with a variety of "green" experts. In addition, each week different nonprofit organizations share their services with the community.

The market is every Wednesday 4-7:30 p.m. November and December at the Gardens at the Village Green, 1415 Knowlton Avenue. Discover market events here, Northside Farmer's Market. Email northsidemarket@mac.com to join the market mailing list.

Safe, Clean, Friendly - Northside Summit's Comprehensive Neighborhood Safety Plan

Between August and December 2007, participants at the Northside Summit, a gathering of residents, business representatives, churches, social service agencies and other neighborhood-based organizations, undertook an initiative to create a vision and an action plan for a safe neighborhood.

The goal was to identify what safety-related programming and activities currently are being conducted and by whom, determine what activities are being duplicated and those that could be initiated to more efficiently focus energies within the community and lead to a greater overall sense of safety.

The purpose of this safety plan is to promote and encourage individuals and organizations to collaborate in improving neighborhood safety and livability

The Summit has also created a list of safety call-in numbers, designed so you can cut it out and post it in a covenient place.

Parks and Green Space

An urban village wouldn’t be complete without parks and green space.  Northside has many attractive parks and woods, complete with hiking trails:

• Hoffner Park – at the center of Northside and the site of numerous festivals
• Jergen’s Park – a favorite for families with children.
• Mt. Airy Forest – the largest park in Cincinnati
• Parker's Woods*
• Buttercup Valley*
• Badgeley Run Park*
• Bradford-Felter Tanglewood*

* All kept in their natural state.

Community Activism

• When Northside was threatened with being cut in half by a freeway connector between Hamilton Avenue and I-74, activists rallied and fought for forty years until the project was finally cancelled.
• When the Northside’s streetscape needed refurbishing, activists raised over $4,000,000 dollars to make it happen.
• In 1999, when Kirby Avenue residents informed Northside Community Council that in they had been promised curbs, gutters, new sidewalks, and additional storm water intakes on Kirby Avenue in 1977, the community rallied and the City responded with 4.5 million dollars for the Kirby Avenue Project.
• Citizens on Patrol volunteers walk our streets and keep the neighborhood safe.
• Our Community Problem-Oriented Policing group is working closely with the police to solve problems in our neighborhood.
• With over 200 members, the Northside Community Council is one of the largest and most active in the city.  Its members, committees and affiliates are all dedicated to making Northside the best place to live.

		Great Location Northside is centrally located to all of Greater Cincinnati: By car: - 5 minutes from downtown - 2 minutes from I-75 - 2 minutes from I-74 - 4 minutes from I-71 - 15 minutes from I-275 By bus: - Northside has the second-largest hub in the Metro system.

In short, if you are looking for an urban setting with a small-town feel, where neighbors know and care about one another, then Northside is the neighborhood for you.  But don’t just take our word for it…

Click on the image, above, to find out about some of the hot and eclectic locally owned bars, restaurants, salons, boutiques and services in the Northside area.

For a complete list of all events in Northside, visit our calendar page.

Stay Informed

@ Subscribe to Bits & Pieces, Northside's own email newsletter, to find out about community events, classes, programs and workshops, housing and job opportunities, political events, services and businesses, parties, concerts and festivals.