Monday, June 14, 1999

Getting his street smarts

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At 3,247 streets, Larry Brzezinski steps closer to his goal

BY MARK CURNUTTE
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Larry Brzezinski examines the stone entrance leading from the 2500 block of Harrison Avenue to Hoadly Court in Westwood. (Glenn Hartong photo) | ZOOM |

        Larry Brzezinski II walks east on Harrison Avenue in Westwood, not far from Werk Road.

        He spots a street sign that, at first glance, appears to lead nowhere. It reads “2952 Hoadly Ct.” and points to a stone gateway among the trees and a long, narrow flight of concrete stairs.

        He recognizes them as part of the city's hillside step program, one of 393 sets of steps built primarily from the 1910s through the '40s. He counts the steps between landings when he trots down: 17, 15, 12 and 12.

        “I'm surprised they're not all the same number,” says Mr. Brzezinski, walking out into the daylight on Hoadly Court. “It's nice down here. The noise from the street either gets absorbed by the trees or goes right over your head.” @subhed:Running as independent @rbody:

        Hoadly Court is among the latest of the 3,247 Cincinnati streets Mr. Brzezinski has stepped foot on in the last five years. The goal of the 32-year-old College Hill man is to walk at least part of each of Cincinnati's 3,983 streets. He plans to complete his odyssey July 4, 2000, on Vineyard Place in front of his wife's alma mater, St. Ursula Villa School in Columbia Tusculum.

        On a recent warm spring afternoon in Westwood, he crossed off another 14 streets, adding to his knowledge about the city he loves and hopes to serve as soon as this fall.

ABOUT THE SERIES

This is one in a periodic series chronicling Larry Brzezinski's quest to walk on every Cincinnati street.

        “I am running for council,” he says, “but I'm not going to be able to spend enough money to win.”

        He'll run as a independent and would like to push council to do more to help the city's neighborhoods help themselves. His first step will be getting the required 500 signatures on a petition to get his name on the ballot. @subhed:Childhood tries @rbody:

        But Mr. Brzezinski didn't start his walk to have a campaign hook. He describes himself as a goal-oriented person and says the walk satisfies a childhood longing.

        “My parents are blind,” he says, “so we didn't get out much. I originally just wanted to see every city neighborhood. Each one is distinct.”

        He has stepped foot on each street in 43 of Cincinnati's 52 neighborhoods and is partially done with a few others, including its largest, Westwood.

        He started a recent walk on Lafeuille Avenue, parking his 1995 purple Tracer and donning his new Cincinnati Reds cap (the model with the black top and red bill).

        He notes the maple trees lining Lafeuille next to the curb and the number of houses in the immediate area with red tile roofs. A block east on Ravogli Avenue, Mr. Brzezinski spots a sign declaring that a home owner has been awarded the Westwood Civic Association Yard of the Month.

        “A lot of pride around here,” he says.

        “Listen,” he adds a few seconds later. “Notice how quiet it is? You can go 30, 40 seconds and not hear anything.” @subhed:Mistakes on the map @rbody:

        He carries a copy of the “Graphic Street Guide of Greater Cincinnati,” his official map, and a few sheets of printed street names he printed out that morning.

        He is a consultant for Metro Graphics and has sent the company more than 200 corrections for its Cincinnati map.

        “A lot of misspellings,” he says.

        He has walked a few dozen streets each weekend from spring through fall since 1994. He does research each winter, which is where he has discovered incorrect spellings and paper streets — streets that were planned at one time but never settled, or even cleared or paved.

        Throughout it all, he learns.

        For instance, as he steps onto Bracken Woods Lane in Westwood, near Harrison Avenue, Mr. Brzezinski says: “This street was probably named for Theodore Bracken. He was a prominent wharf master in the teens when river trade was big.”

        And he scouts locations.

        His mother, Sandra Brzezinski, 54, would like to retire soon and open a summertime dairy somewhere in Cincinnati. She is a Braille proofreader at Clovernook Center for the Blind in North College Hill.

        “I'm looking for neighborhoods that don't have a dairy bar and would support her,” Mr. Brzezinski says.

       

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