1. Calhoun and McMillian Street
Located directly next to campus, Calhoun and McMillian Street are every student’s first taste to life in Clifton. Running parallel to each other, Calhoun and McMillian Street are home to so many amazing restaurants and shops.
On McMillian street, you can find Fuzzy’s Taco Shop, Penn Station and my favorite restaurant of all time, Drunken Bento. Drunken Bento is a hot spot in Clifton featuring half price sushi and a variety of drinks. One of the most popular menu items (and my personal favorite) is the Sunday Morning roll, which is made of cream cheese and salmon wrapped in fried seaweed. When in Clifton, Drunken Bento is a must-try.
On Calhoun Street, you can find Buffalo Wild Wings, Krishna Indian, Starbucks and a Target. During the school semesters, it is very common to see students clustered outside of Starbucks doing homework together. Being a trendy city, of course Cincinnati has to have Urban Outfitters. This store is a big attraction of the Clifton neighborhood because it is the only Urban Outfitters in Cincinnati, the nearest being in Columbus. If you can’t find one of your DAAP friends, you can most likely find them scavenging the clearance racks here. Both Calhoun and McMillian street are home to so many great things to do when you aren’t knees-deep in school work.
2. UC Shuttle and Night Ride
As you probably already know, the University of Cincinnati’s campus is quite large. In addition to this, many students live within a mile radius of campus. Now I know a mile is not a far walk, but when you wake up late for an 8 a.m. lecture or it’s freezing outside, a mile seems like a marathon. Luckily, UC students have free access to a shuttle system! The shuttle has many different routes all around campus. They will pick you up from a certain location, and drop you off at different stops, depending on the route you chose. Most shuttles will take you to campus buildings, but there are some shuttles that will take you to downtown, or even the airport! You can access all of the different routes at uc.doublemap.com.
In addition to the daytime shuttle, UC also has a service called NightRide, which will pick you up and take you anywhere within a mile of campus between eight PM and two AM. To order a NightRide, there is a phone number to call on the back of your Bearcat Card, or your school ID. Most NightRides will arrive within 15 minutes of the call. Many students use NightRide to take them home after a night out on the town, and students also use it to get home from night classes. Being a woman living alone in a big city, I frequently use it to make it safely back home after my late-night studios. Another perk of these services is that throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic, all drivers and passengers are required to wear facial coverings when riding. Why not utilize all of the free services your university offers?
3. Crosley Tower
Lastly, one of my favorite things to talk about in Cincinnati, Crosley Tower. Crosley is a building on UC’s campus, located right next to DAAP and Rieveschl Hall. It is home to offices for many departments in the College of Arts and Sciences, such as political science and sociology. Crosley is not your average campus building. It is a 16-story building crafted from a single pour of concrete, and wow, is it an eyesore. In fact, Crosley is featured in Architectural Digest’s “The 8 Ugliest University Buildings in America” article from 2017 by Hannah Huber. Huber says, “Crafted from a single pour of concrete, this 16-story building looks more like a Disney villain’s lair than a part of the University of Cincinnati’s campus.”
Having only been inside Crosley Tower one time, I can confirm this. In order to access the building, you need to go through the 6th floor of Rieveschl Hall, as Crosley has no direct access. There have been many rumors and conspiracy theories surrounding Crosley, such as a construction worker embedded in the concrete walls, however none have been deemed credible. There has been talk of demolition, so come and see Crosley Tower while you still can!