Cincinnati's unused subway

 It’s almost beyond belief: the city of Cincinnati sits atop a 2.2 mile subway system, complete with tracks and stations, that has never gone into service. 

Construction was put on hold in 1920, when resources were diverted to the war effort. Afterwards, priorities shifted and the project was abandoned. It seems there has never been the public interest or political will to resurrect it. 

Even today, as the city plans for transportation, it is building a streetcar system. Yes, above ground, on top of those unused tunnels. 

Read more on Atlas Obscura.

Found on Flickr: city squares

creativecommons by station_nord on Flickr

I stumbled across the photo above while on Flickr looking for something else, and it just took my breath away. There is just something about it. The photographer hasn't identified the location which just adds to the mystery.

Tip: for the full effect, right click the image to open it in a new window, so you can see it enlarged.

This inspired me to search for other interesting city images. Here is some of what I found (and I will come back and add more to this post):



creativecommons image by pennuja on Flickr



citytravelbug book shops

citytravelbug book shops

I have long wanted to gather information on good books on interesting cities to share with others (guides, art, museums, architecture, history, culture, locals, fiction, food and so on). Afterall, I am the citytravelbug!

So have have started building book collections for cities, big and small, some I have visited, some that I haven't, and pulling those together on Amazon (it really is the best place to do it).

Here's the official blurb:

citytravelbug books have been carefully curated to satisfy your curiosity about some of the world's greatest cities. 

Whether you're planning a trip, learning more before returning, preparing to move, reliving memories, doing a little virtual travel, adding to a collection, or just having fun letting your curious mind travel, this collection is for you. 

Yes, if you buy a book online here, citytravelbug earns a little commission, but that's not really the point (though that would be lovely:). It's more important to citytravelbug that you add gems to your booklist - to pick up at your local bookstore, borrow from the library, hunt down in 2nd hand bookstores (we love that too!) or buy online - and enjoy reading them. 

For fun, I have also put some crazy expensive and obscure items in each city's "For the Collector" section. Not really expecting serious collectors (!)... just offering some artsy-travel-virtual-window-shopping!

So far, online citytravelbug book shops have been launched for Amsterdam, Athens, Budapest, Istanbul, Tel Aviv and Zurich.

Have a look, and let me know what you think. And feel free to put in a good word for whatever city you want me to build next.

UPDATE: I have decided to move all of my book related content - blog posts and book shops - into a new separate blog, dedicated to citytravelbug books! Please visit: http://citytravelbooks.blogspot.ca. I have also created a separate twitter handle - @citytravelbooks - just for my book tweets. (September 2, 2013)