Smale Riverfront Park

This past Friday was the grand opening of the John G. & Phyllis W. Smale Riverfront Park. For months I have followed the progress of this new park through the Cincinnati Parks YouTube channel and it was very exciting to see all the aspects of phase 1 of construction completed.

Opening Ceremony

The opening ceremony took place on the Jacob G. Schmidlapp Event Lawn & Stage with a handful of local bands providing entertainment throughout the night. The neighboring Moerlein Lager House had the “Moer to Go” window open for beer orders as well as a few tents setup selling BBQ and sausages.

The Walnut Street Fountains & Steps

The most impressive feature of the park (besides the lager house) is probably the Walnut Street Fountains & Steps. The fountains and cascades are so wide and large that it is hard to get a picture of the entire structure, but I will have to remember to do that in the future when all the lights are on.

Main Street Fountain

Though wading in the Walnut Street Fountains is prohibited, the nearby Main Street Fountain is a fully interactive fountain for children of all ages. The array of colors that are used to light up the water is simply impressive.

Labyrinth through the Tree Grove

Other features of phase 1 at the park include the Labyrinth, Tree Grove, and Black Brigade Monument. It is really something to see. I hope that they continue to hold events on the lawn so that more people will come down and enjoy the new park. I can’t wait to see additional phases of the park come to life.