CINCINNATI -- If you walk or drive past Cincinnati City Hall this week, you might notice it looks a little... well, bare.
The trees are gone.
After a windstorm earlier this summer, an arborist found the purple leaf plum trees at the northeast corner of the building (on Plum Street - get it?) were a safety concern and should be removed as quickly as possible.
To be honest, they hadn't been doing too well for a while. Here they are on Google Street View in July 2015, looking a little rough:
Image courtesy Google Street View
So, the city had them chopped down in late July.
The other trees along Plum Street and Central Avenue got the ax over the weekend. They were Bradford pears, also a safety concern after the windstorm. And, while pretty in the springtime, Bradford pears are now despised by many and considered an invasive species.
They looked sort of sad a year ago, too:
Image courtesy Google Street View
The city plans to replace the trees, but there's no exact timetable or decision about what kind of trees will go in.
