CINCINNATI'S TORRENCE ROAD AREA
Apr. 17 2009

These 12 photos focus on only 2 exhibits, comprised of abandoned roads and paths. Most of these pictures are from the abandoned Torrence Road. No, genius, not Torrence Parkway that runs north off US 50. I mean the mostly abandoned road off US 52. The disused Torrence Road once connected with what is now Torrence Court north of US 50. It appears to have still been in use in a 1968 aerial photo, but it was probably abandoned not much later.

Incidentally, this and other abandoned roads in the Cincinnati area seem to be yours for the taking if you need them. With the foreclosure crisis, this may come in handy.






Without futher ado, this is northeast on the old Torrence Road, approaching the rail line that parallels US 52.




This is the rail line. Here, this railroad is midway between US 52 (Riverside Drive) and US 50 (Columbia Parkway). It looks to me like even this railroad might be abandoned now too - though I'll give it the benefit of the doubt and assume it's still live.




When it crosses the rail line, old Torrence makes almost a hairpin turn and starts going northwest.




Continuing northwest! The power lines indicate this is probably still a publicly owned right-of-way.





Looking back downhill (southeast) on Torrence. Peep the Ohio River in the background.





Facing northwest again, this is a nifty manhole out in the middle of Torrence.





Still going up Torrence! Fun, fun, fun!




And looking back down from the top of the abandoned Torrence.




Lancaster Street is even more obscure than the disused Torrence. It runs off the 1900 block of Riverside Drive, and it's not even a street. It's just a narrow path. Here it uses this tunnel going under the rail line. The tunnel bore a date of 1914.




After the tunnel, the path makes a right turn and goes up these barely usable steps.





Looking back down the steps.




The path then goes left up this clearly abandoned set of steps. Someone had thrown several tree trunks across the steps, but I climbed over those and found the stairway blocked by so much overgrowth I couldn't get through it. The steps may have once gone all the way to Columbia Parkway, or they may have turned into an actual street called Long Street.

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