Art Climb

Thursday
Another hot day, so we thought it would be a good day to visit the nicely air-conditioned Art Museum! As with most things in these Covid times, you have to reserve an entry time on line, so they can limit numbers, and masks are required. One of the things I wanted to see was the new artistic flight of steps they have put in, and dubbed Art Climb, which attractively marries form and function through an artfully arranged nine-story staircase. The Art Climb is 164 carefully laid steps that connect the Cincinnati Art Museum to its neighbors. It has only just opened a few weeks back, so much of the landscaping is new, though they did try to preserve as many of the existing trees as they could, whilst cutting down dead and diseased trees and getting rid of the invasive honeysuckle. In the months to come, some outdoor sculptures will be added. The steps are lit at night, both in white and multi-colour lights.
In the top photograph, looking down the steps, the building at the left is the Baldwin, formerly home of the Baldwin Piano company, once a big name in American pianos, and now converted into apartments. The company traced its origins back to 1857, when Dwight Hamilton Baldwin began teaching piano, organ, and violin in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1862, Baldwin started a Decker Brothers piano dealership and, in 1866, hired Lucien Wulsin as a clerk. Wulsin became a partner in the dealership, by then known as D.H. Baldwin & Company, in 1873, and, under his leadership, the Baldwin Company became the largest piano dealer in the Midwestern United States by the 1890s. At that point they expanded and began manufacturing pianos, and by 1913, business had become brisk, with Baldwin exporting to thirty-two countries in addition to having retailers throughout the United States.
The earliest time I was able to get at the museum was 12.30, so we had lunch there in their cafe. We stayed until about 3.10, then headed to the “Y” to get a swim in for our daily exercise.