Unearthing a Buried Treasure: UC Students Seek to Light Historic Tunnel to Happy Ending Date: March 14, 2000 By: Mary Bridget Reilly Phone: (513) 556-1824 Archive: General News A group of University of Cincinnati freshmen are digging up ideas to resurrect and revive a piece of Ohio's long-buried canal history. The almost-buried-up-to-its-crown Harrison Tunnel is the only remains in Hamilton County of The Cincinnati and Whitewater Canal which provided a vital link between southern Indiana farm country and the metropolitan market of Cincinnati in the 1800s. And it may soon have new life in Cleves thanks to a local group, the Canal Society of Ohio and 18 planning students from UC. These ideas range from creating an amphitheater at the site to establishing a local park that would include walking paths and information about the canals that were once lifelines for commerce and growth. The students will present their ideas to Cleves Mayor Joe Whitton, the Cleves Park Committee, the local planning commission and other members of the community at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 14 at Cleves' Masonic Lodge, 1 South Miami Ave. Students Jerid Bartow, Susan Zulock and Sarah Horn want to transform the end of the tunnel into an amphitheater. The tunnel opening would be excavated and then serve as a dramatic backdrop to the stage. "In time, the amphitheater could bring the wider community to Cleves," explained Bartow, adding that an amphitheater is a perfect fit for the landscape which is naturally bowl-shaped. "The nearby high school could hold theater productions there, community lectures could be held, regional theater troupes, Civil War re-enactments...a lot could be done in such a facility," Bartow said. Amber Thomas and two fellow students would like to transform the area near the tunnel into a recreational park, excavating the tunnel back about 150 feet so visitors could examine the stone, brick and woodwork. "I'm from Cleveland where the canal history has been preserved more so than here. There, you can go and see how the locks worked, see how canals operated. You can even take a canal boat ride. There are few tunnels like this in Ohio, and it's important to our heritage," she said. Miami Township resident Kathy Blazer has been part of the local group, originally formed as the Mayor's Committee for Canal Preservation about three years ago, and is anxious to view the student ideas. After the presentation, she said the committee will select one idea to pursue, perhaps asking a graduate design student to refine the idea while UC engineering faculty (Mark Bowers and T. Michael Baseheart, both associate professors of civil & environmental engineering, have been volunteering on the project) and students survey the land and determine structural needs/implementation costs. "Then, we'll go out and raise funds to get it done. It's of national significance to preserve as there were only nine canal tunnels ever completed in the U.S.," said Blazer who is also director of operations for UC's civil and environmental engineering programs.