Hamilton County is still looking for the best place to build a veterans memorial featuring part of a Cold War era submarine.
Commissioner Todd Portune says the sail of the USS Cincinnati should be near the Ohio River.
The sail, or tower, of the USS Cincinnati will be the centerpiece when the memorial is built. The Los Angeles class nuclear submarine was decommissioned in 1996.
“We don’t have a single location identified yet,” Portune says, “But through a lot of work, there are four public sites down at the Cincinnati central riverfront, down at the Banks, that may work.”
The four sites include near the current Lot E next to Paul Brown Stadium; on the greenspace in front of the Freedom Center; near the corner of Main and Mehring Way; and on the far western end of the Public Landing.
“These all have to be vetted with pros and cons, and there are some positive features about each, and some potentially negative about each as well. And that’s an issue that’s going to have to be brought to us as a board to work on,” he says.
Portune says the Cincinnati Museum Center is a “fall-back position.” However, he says the “general desire” is to have it near the Ohio River. He plans to ask the full commission to pick the final location soon. The memorial will be paid for with donations.
Portune is scheduled to talk about the possible sites Wednesday night at a dinner for the Cincinnati Navy League.
