Bold Face Park
Introduction
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Bold Face Park opened in 1918 at the site of a former municipal dump. Since 1918 it has remained a staple of the community as a gathering place for children and families to enjoy leisurely activities. The history of the park is rich with lore, ranging from stories of Pete Rose to a Native American Chief for which the park was named. In the present day, the park is managed by the Cincinnati Recreation Commission.
Images
This limestone structure built in 1918 once held changing rooms for the two pools which flanked the structure.
Standing at the top of the stairwells, the remaining buildings on Sedam Street, Steiner Street, and Delhi Street can be seen in the distance along the edge of the hill that leads to Mt. Echo Park
Patrons of the swimming pool would have entered the structure through these walkways. A sign on the eastern face of the structure warns against entering the building due to risk for falling concrete
Fairbanks Avenue, leading to Price Hill, sits at the top of this staircase. Both Fairbanks Avenue and River Road were raised 15 feet to prevent flooding during improvements. The elevation of the roads is indicated here.
Local Cincinnati Baseball Legend Pete Rose learned to play ball at Bold Face Park. Rose is pictured second to the right on the bottom row. Photo Courtesy of the Donald and Pamela Balzer Private Collection.
Backstory and Context
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Before it was a park, the eight acres of land on the western side of River Road was a municipal dump. In 1918 a local businessman and City Councilman Alex Patterson lobbied for the dump to be transformed into a public park. The park would go on to host a range of leisure activities, along with a public pool and baseball fields which stood along Bold Face Creek. On the western edge of the park, a large stone structure remains as the only remnant of the public pool that once drew local children to the park during the summer months. The limestone shelter once held bathrooms and changing rooms for the two pools, which have been filled in and covered with grass.
Among the patrons of Bold Face Park was Cincinnati Reds legend Pete Rose who spent summers at the home of his grandmother Eva who lived next to the park. The stories of a young Pete Rose playing baseball at this park can be heard by local Sedamsville residents who grew up in this era.
The park's name has an interesting origin. In Cincinnati: A Guide to the Queen City and Its Neighbors, 1943 a compilation of essays written by the Writers’ Program of the Work Projects Administration, authors describe the origin story of Bold Face Park. The writers describe that the park was likely named, in part, for the rocky bluff that stands along the western edge of the park. Yet, they also suggest that the park was named for the Miami Chief Boldface, who came in contact with Jacob Wetzel, a woodsman who called Sedamsville home. According to legend, the encounter between Boldface and Wetzel took place on October 10, 1790. While hunting turkeys near Lick Run, was attacked by a Native American. After fighting and killing the Native warrior, Wetzel heard the rumblings of a band of Natives who came looking for their fallen comrade. To avoid certain death, Wetzel made his escape in a dug-out canoe that he came across in the inlet of Yeatman’s Cove on the Ohio River. As he paddled to safety, Wetzel heard cries of anguish from the band of Natives, who had certainly discovered their fallen leader: Chief Boldface.
Sources
CINCINNATI A Guide to the Queen City and Its Neighbors. American Guide Series. Cincinnati, Ohio. The Wiesen-Hart Press, 1943.
Daugherty, Paul. "Pete Rose: The boy from Braddock Street." Cincinnati.com(Cincinnati)June 14, 2015.
Redman Rengsdorf, Susan. "A Neighborhood in Transition: Sedamsville 1880-1950." Cincinnati Historical Society Bulletin, vol. 39, no. 3, 175-194. Published 1981. America: History & Life.
Giglierano, Geoffery J.. Overmyer, Deborah A.. Propas, Frederic L.. The Bicentennial Guide to Greater Cincinnati: A portrait of Two Hundred Years. Vol. 2. Cincinnati, Ohio. Cincinnati Historical Society, 1989.