Ohio Love Staff Picks: March 2025

You love Ohio. We love Ohio. 

Each month, the Ohio Magazine editorial team shares what we adore about the Buckeye State right now. From a tasty local breakfast in Pancake Town USA and an iconic Cincinnati Landmark to an underwater oasis in Cleveland and an incredible heritage park in Mount Vernon, we hope you find something to love in our March 2025 picks. 

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Legendary Location

Before I even knew what architecture was, one building captured my imagination more than any other. It was the Hall of Justice on the 1970s Saturday-morning cartoon “Super Friends.” I can still recall actor Ted Knight’s voice booming “Meanwhile, at the Hall of Justice” through the  speaker of my parents’ bulky console television, as the animated exterior of the half-dome building and its wall of windows popped up on-screen.

I didn’t know it at the time but the look of the headquarters for D.C. Comics’ band of superheroes, which included Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and others, had a real-world inspiration: Cincinnati’s Union Terminal — an elaborate, art deco-style building that opened in March of 1933 to serve train travelers.

I learned about this connection many years later and was always curious about it. But it wasn’t until last November that I finally visited Union Terminal. It now houses the Cincinnati Museum Center, which includes the Cincinnati History Museum, the Cincinnati History Library and Archives, The Children’s Museum, Museum of Natural History & Science and an Omnimax theater. Collectively, they draw around 1.8 million visitors a year.

It would be tough to explore every facet of Cincinnati Museum Center in a single visit, but I did my best. First, I checked out the Cincinnati History Museum, spending more time than I’ll admit here viewing the elaborate model train display that replicates the streets of Cincinnati during the 1940s. Its intricacy is mind boggling and watching the model trains is mesmerizing. (Union Terminal is event represented within the display.

Every aspect of Union Terminal, which fell into disrepair and was in danger of being demolished, tells some part of Cincinnati’s story, from the Winold Reiss murals in the grand lobby to the Natural History & Science wing that offers both a walk through the Ice Age and a journey through a cave.

In the end, I didn’t see everything, but it was a rare treat to explore a building that has shaped not only the city it calls home but also a fictional world beloved by millions where a Man of Steel fights for truth, justice and the American way.  

For more information about Union Terminal and the Cincinnati Museum Center, visit cincymuseum.org.

Birds-Eye View

I’ve never been a fan of heights. It took me 18 years to ride a roller coaster, and I chose a 19-hour drive to Florida on my honeymoon over a two-hour plane trip. So, when I first arrived at Ariel-Foundation Park in Mount Vernon, well, let’s just say I was skeptical.

I was a freshman in college the first time I explored this Knox County destination that is the former site of Pittsburgh Plate Glass. My university had just let out for fall break and my dad came to pick me up for a long weekend at home. Car rides with my dad have always been my favorite, because you’re guaranteed to stop for a bite to eat and hear some really great stories while taking the long way home.

This particular pit stop brought us to a 250-acre expanse in Mount Vernon, which offers a look at the history of the Pittsburgh Plate Glass factory through building “ruins,” as well as three lakes and walking paths. The centerpiece of the park though is the Rastin Observation Tower, which was once a smokestack for the factory. 

Of course, since the tower is 280-feet tall (the observation deck is 140 feet up), the 224 steps to the top had me clinging to the railing and trying not to look down. But I knew my dad wouldn’t have brought me up this far if it wasn’t safe. We pushed through the gates and eventually made it to the top (albeit, trying to catch our breath all the way). What unfolded before me was a stunning view of changing leaves and rolling hills. 

I came back to the park three years later in a full circle moment that shows me that my dad’s sense of adventure is instilled in me. On the morning of my 21st birthday, my now-husband and I were driving back up to our school when I saw the Rastin Observation Tower in the distance, so I instinctively pulled into the parking lot and promised him that the climb would be worth it.

For more information about Ariel Foundation Park, visit arielfoundationpark.org

Underwater Oasis

In the colder months, entertaining three kids under 5 can get … challenging. Luckily, living just outside of Cleveland gives us opportunities to get out of the house and do something fun. A few weeks ago, that meant heading downtown to the Greater Cleveland Aquarium.

I love that the aquarium is the perfect size to be walkable for little ones, while still showing off an impressive array of marine wildlife. The first gallery you walk into showcases plants and animals you can find in Ohio’s lakes and rivers. A large open-top tank is the centerpiece, filled with catfish, sturgeon and spotted turtles. As you continue through the galleries, fish of all shapes, sizes and colors welcome visitors.

My oldest son loves coming face to face with the giant ocellate river stingray in the tropical forest gallery. In the same gallery, kids press up against the poison dart frog tank, counting the different colors of the thumb-size amphibians like a live-action game of iSpy. My 2-year-old fell in love with the snowflake eels hiding in the tunnels of their exhibit in the Industry & Habitat gallery. This space is also home to my favorite fish, the venomous lionfish.

The highlight of our many visits is the stingray pool in the Coastal Boardwalk gallery. Folks of all ages gather at the edge of the tank hoping to touch the tops of the stingray who circle the water. If you’re lucky enough to touch one, you may be surprised by the soft, velvety texture of their skin. After a thorough hand-sanitizer scrub-down, we pass through a tunnel to the shark gallery, complete with a 175-foot sea tube. Nurse, sand tiger and sandbar sharks swim slowing past, or over, visitors, showcasing their many rows of teeth to awed children. And hold your nerve, parents, for all visitors must exit through the gift shop, trying hard to resist buying yet another stuffed animal.

For more information about the Greater Cleveland Aquarium, visit greaterclevelandaquarium.com.

Pancake Paradise

Growing up in northeast Ohio, maple syrup always had an omnipresence in my life during this time of the year. I remember attending the Geauga County Maple Festival, tapping trees at my school in Huntsburg and boiling sap in the sugar shack, and — my personal favorite maple-centric activity — attending the pancake breakfast hosted by the Burton Fire Department.

Each March, as far back as I can remember, my family would drive down to Burton on a crisp Sunday morning to celebrate a time-honored tradition in what is affectionally known as Pancake Town USA.

During the breakfast, the fire trucks are vacated from their home in the station’s garage to make way for the people lining up outside the main dining area, where the smells of fresh pancakes, sausage and maple syrup waft out.

As a child, the wait felt tortuous. As I got older, however, the line itself became part of the fun. It’s a chance to chat and catch up with friends and family, or even spark a conversation with a total stranger.

As the minutes ticked down, we would slowly make it to the front of the line and take those final steps that led to the pancake-laden paradise. We purchased our tickets, which are good for all the pancakes you can eat, plus breakfast sausage and a container of orange juice and a carton of milk.

We grabbed our cafeteria-style trays and piled our plates high with pancakes — which come in blueberry, plain and buckwheat. (The buckwheat are always the pancake of choice for my parents and grandparents, but to this day I really don’t understand the appeal.) I always opt for blueberry.

We then settle down with our feasts at the tables covered with red-and-white checkered tablecloths and supplied with butter, coffee creamer and extra maple syrup (of course). Volunteers walk the isles offering hot coffee and fresh pancakes to fill up your plate when they notice your supply running low.

You can spend as much time there as you want, eating, chatting and laughing. Needless to say, no one leaves hungry.

For more information about Pancake Town USA, visit pancaketown-usa.com.

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