While Tide Pool, which held its inaugural open house on Saturday, is modeled after its sister organization, it will be unique to Hamilton, said co-owners Kate Yerigan and Heather Bernal, both of whom are Hamilton residents.
“We’re going to build off what (Wave Pool founder Cal Cullen) built, but conform it to the Hamilton East End community,” said Bernal. “We really want this to be our own version.”
Yerigan said with no set rules to follow, she and Bernal can make Tide Pool work for the community, and “we’re excited to see what happens and comes of this place,” especially since the arts are important to the city.
Credit: Michael D. Pitman
Credit: Michael D. Pitman
“Hamilton is the arts,” Bernal said. “We are the City of Sculpture, we have Pyramid Hill, we have the Fitton Center, we have Artspace. We just want to be another piece of that puzzle.”
Tide Pool’s name and arts-based offering aren’t the only similarities to Wave Pool in the Cincinnati neighborhood of Camp Washington. Wave Pool is also in an old fire station and is a safe place.
“We’re really looking to be a safe third space for the children in the neighborhood, and there’s not a lot of third spaces in the neighborhood,” Bernal said of Hamilton’s East End community. “They need somewhere else to go and feel comfortable and feel welcome.”
The project has been four years in the making, with Yerigan and Bernal having purchased the decommissioned Hamilton fire station from the city for $500. They chose the area because they believe in the city’s revitalization efforts and want to see more of it move towards East End.
“The revitalization in Hamilton has been wonderful, and we look forward to being a catalyst in this area and bringing that revitalization this way,” Yerigan said.
Tide Pool, which won’t actually have any type of pool, will have open hours and youth and adult art classes a few days a week. For more information, visit tidepoolhamilton.org, email tidepoolhamilton@gmail.com or call 513-659-8238.
As renovations continue for the 501(c)3 non-profit, more features and events will be added. Part of the second floor will be converted into an artist-in-residence apartment.
Credit: Michael D. Pitman
Credit: Michael D. Pitman
Eventually, there will be a gallery space, and Tide Pool plans to cater to the musical community with open mic nights and performances. They have a partnership with the Richard Allen School, a charter school next door. This fall, Indigo Hippo, an art supply thrift store in Cincinnati, has plans to have space inside the fire station.
“We’ll be offering all sorts of art, inside and outside the box, to the community,” Bernal said.
Yerigan said they want to fulfill any community needs through art-based projects.
“We like to listen to the community and see what they’d like to see here and have something that supports the area in the east Hamilton neighborhood,” she said.
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