Oakley

Welcome to Oakley, a small, bustling neighborhood of Cincinnati! Often forgotten between its bigger neighboring communities, Hyde Park and Mount Lookout, Oakley is a true gem, despite being sometimes hidden. Oakley is a mixed neighborhood that includes residential housing as well as a variety of businesses.The primary school in the Oakley area is John P. Parker School (parker.cps-k12.org) for kindergarten through eighth grades. Residents send their older children to a variety of public and private high schools including Withrow International High School (withrowinternational.cps-k12.org), Clark Montessori Junior and Senior High School, the first public Montessori high school in the United States, and the US News Gold Medal winning Walnut Hills, a Cincinnati public school for which students must pass an entrance exam in order to attend.
For more information about Oakley, visit the community website.

The Oakley community is an affordable, walker friendly neighborhood with comfortable mostly two story homes with big front porches and large trees lining the streets. Oakley houses are typically three bedroom homes with about two baths, selling for $190,155 on average. Homeowners here pay approximately $1,683 in taxes per $100,000 in income, and receive an average 38.6% return on their investment in their residence in five years. In 2007, 188 homes sold in Oakley, receiving 95.6% of their original asking price on average.

The Oakley community shares a name with Annie Oakley, the stage name for Phoebe A. Moses, a well-known gunwoman and entertainer from the 1870’s. Moses, who performed in the Cincinnati area and around the world in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, is believed to have taken her stage name from this little Cincinnati neighborhood where she resided at the beginning of her performance career.
In the 1800’s, the Oakley neighborhood was a frequent stop for wagons traveling through the area on what is now Madison Road, the four lane street that now runs through the center of the modern Oakley community. One historical landmark in Oakley is the 20^th Century Theatre. Opened in 1941, this theatre was the first in Cincinnati to offer air conditioning and free valet parking.

Being smaller than some Cincinnati communities, Oakley is full of neighborhood events for residents to connect and spend time together. Halloween Fest in October is a fun food and game festival where both youth and adults show off creative costumes in the Hyde Park Plaza. In early December each year, the Oakley Community Council hosts a community holiday dinner celebration at the Community Center for individuals of all religious affiliations. Also at the Oakley Community Center in the spring is the annual Easter egg hunt on the Center’s playground for children in the community. When summer finally rolls around, Oakley has the Community Council’s summer picnic and the ever-popular St. Cecilia Church Festival, both typically in July.
Also, throughout the warm months Oakley offers “Oakley After-Hours” formerly known as Final Fridays. Occurring on the last Friday of each month, Oakley After-Hours is a weekly community event during which shops and restaurants are open late with special deals along with live music on Oakley Square.

Throughout Oakley, and particularly in Oakley Square, there are several unique places to eat and drink. Craving pizza? Why not stop into Dewey’s, where pizza is taken to a new level. Founded in 1998 right here in Oakley, Dewey’s popular innovative pizzeria has spread through Ohio and Northern Kentucky as well as having locations in St. Louis, Missouri. A fun, a comfortable restaurant, Dewey’s Pizza offers a variety of on tap beers, fresh salads, calzones and innovative, creatively named pizzas such as the Green Lantern, the Bronx Bomber and the Edgar Allen Poe. Visitors can also create their own pizzas choosing from two different sauces and over forty toppings.
Ready for dessert? You’re in luck because Oakley is home to Aglimesis Brothers’ Ice Cream Parlor. (www.aglamesis.com) At Aglimesis’ visitors are treated to handmade ice cream and gourmet chocolate candies in an antique style ice cream parlor that has remained practically unchanged since the Oakley store opened 1913. Celebrating over 100 years of being a successful family business and recognized on a national level for quality in the New York Times and the Chicago Tribune, Aglimesis Brothers’ Ice Cream is the place to go for something sweet in Oakley.
For a smaller meal or a calming place to get a warm drink, Oakley has the Essencha Tea House (www.essencha.com). Essencha offers customers a mind-boggling array of fresh tea, from green to black, Asian to European, herbal to organic, year-round to seasonal, even the biggest tea connoisseur will find something new to love and savor. For those unfamiliar with tea, the staff at Essencha is happy to make recommendations as well to explain how to get the best flavor out of tea at home. Feel free to sit inside or outside and enjoy a fresh sandwich, salad or gourmet dessert off Essencha’s food menu to compliment your tea. If you would like to take some tea home to enjoy, Essencha not only sells loose tea in bulk and sample sizes, but also a variety of tea related products including kettles, cups, scoops and filters.

When you’re not eating in Oakley, there is also plenty of shopping and entertainment to keep you occupied. Try going to an event at the 20^th Century Theatre (www.the20thcenturytheatre.com). Originally opened as the first air conditioned movie theatre in Cincinnati in 1941, the 20^th Century Theatre space has held everything from a flooring company to a church before becoming the concert, special and private event venue that it is today. From nationally known musicians, to locally DJ’ed dances and parties, the 20^th Century Theatre hosts a number of public events in addition to private parties and wedding receptions throughout the year. Though the theatre still has an old movie theatre sign and marquee on the outside, it is completely renovated inside with a big beautiful dance floor and a special VIP room as well.
Looking to shop? Lillian C. Limited (www.lillianclimited.com) in Oakley Square is a fine gift shop offering home and entertaining accessories, baby and wedding gifts, jewelry and gifts for the gentlemen in your life. If you want something particularly individualized for someone special, Lillian C. Limited can create customized gifts options on some of their products. Also is the Square is The Nest (www.nestgifts.com). Self-proclaimed to be “urban chic with a vintage twist”, The Nest offers jewelry, handbags, stuffed animals and other gift items. Located in a cozy, treasure filled shop The Nest is another great stop when you’re looking for a gift for someone else or even yourself!
If you’re looking more specifically for children’s gifts, then you have to check out Oakley’s own King Arthur’s Court Toys (http://www.kingarthurstoys.com/), one of the largest specialty stores in the United States. King Arthur’s is a shopping playground for adults and children looking for name brand, quality children’s toys. From truck and trains, to dollhouses and dress-up, arts and crafts and educational toys, King Arthur’s Court Toys has something for children from infants to young teens, all at affordable prices. King Arthur’s also offers the King’s K.L.U.B for loyal customers. Membership in this club accumulates 10% of all purchases over the course of a year which is turned into a store credit each November, just in time for Christmas shopping!
Off Oakley Square you can find a variety of fine wine at Oakley’s The Wine Merchant (http://www.winemerchantcincinnati.com/), a wine store which sells a wide range of wine types at different price ranges. The Wine Merchant offers two wine of the month clubs at the “best buy” and “premium” levels as well as weekly wine tasting events and a newsletter which informs customers about upcoming events, gives details about new or seasonal wines, spotlights travel destinations known for quality wines and presents recipes which utilize wine to enhance the flavor of the food. Not sure what to buy? The Wine Merchant’s website and its in-store staff can explain which wines go best with which foods in order to create the best wining and dining experience.
Want to make something fresh for dinner to go with that bottle of wine? Well, just next door to the Wine Merchant is the Hyde Park Fish Market (www.hydeparkfishmarket.com) (though on the border of Hyde Park, this store is actually located in Oakley). Established in 2003, the Fish Market offers some of the freshest seafood in the area. The helpful staff here is full of information on how to purchase and prepare seafood, offering recipes and facts about different types of fish. Craving seafood, but don’t want to make it yourself? The Fish Market also makes its own fresh and tasty crab, shrimp and salmon cakes as well as several seafood chowders.

Close to Oakley are several Cincinnati public parks including Ault Park (www.aultparkac.org), a large, quiet Cincinnati public park which features shaded walking/jogging trails, beautiful wooded areas, four picnic areas and two children’s playgrounds, the newly renovated Otto Armleder Memorial Park (http://www.hamiltoncountyparks.org/parks/armleder.htm) with a playground and walking trails for people, as well as a large fenced dog park area, and Alms Park, a hilltop park which contains a small playground, wooded areas and a great view of the Ohio River.
Would you rather get your physical activity done inside? Oakley’s Revolution Fitness (www.revolution-fitness.com) is a great locally owned gym offering spinning, cardio and strength areas as well as massage therapy. In addition to these, Revolution Fitness offers a variety of group fitness classes from Pilates and yoga to hip hop dance and pre/post-natal classes. In fact, Revolution was named Cincinnati Magazine’s Best of the City 2008 for best post-natal workout.