Cincinnati now has 3 'Free Blockbusters' bringing back the community video store

Briana Rice
Cincinnati Enquirer
For all nostalgic movie-lovers reminiscing on days past of Blockbusters, Cincinnati now has an alternative.
26-year-old Shadow Valashard Woolf has been putting "Free Blockbusters" all over Greater Cincinnati, with locations in Covington, Clifton and Northside.

For all nostalgic movie-lovers reminiscing on days past of Blockbusters, Cincinnati now has an alternative.

Shadow Valashard Woolf, 26, has been putting "Free Blockbusters" all over Greater Cincinnati, with locations in Covington, Clifton and Northside.

The concept is the same as free libraries, except these former magazine and newspaper boxes will now hold VHS tapes, video games and DVDs.

"I just sort of got nostalgic for that feeling of getting physical media because we haven't had that emphasized in years," Woolf said. "People have this longing again to hold these movies and to physically connect with something."

Cincinnati isn't the first place to have boxes like this. The "Free Blockbuster" movement has reached cities across the nation, from California to Massachusetts. Outside of Greater Cincinnati, the nearest Free Blockbusters are in Detroit.

It all works on an honor system. You can take or leave as many movies as you want, but Woolf encourages you not to get too greedy and leave some movies for others. Movies do not have to be returned, they are yours to keep.

For all nostalgic movie-lovers reminiscing on days past of Blockbusters, Cincinnati now has an alternative.

26-year-old Shadow Valashard Woolf has been putting "Free Blockbusters" all over Greater Cincinnati, with locations in Covington, Clifton and Northside.

The main principle is to take a movie and leave a movie, keeping a constant exchange.

Right now, Woolf is finding the boxes, decorating them and finding permanent homes for them all by himself. He says he got permission from the City of Cincinnati's Department of Transportation to find abandoned boxes, repurpose them and find new homes for them.

The first box was placed outside of Earth to Kentucky on March 28. Since then, Woolf has put a box outside of Arcade Legacy in Northside and the Esquire Theatre in Clifton. He's working on a fourth box and talking with other businesses that might be interested in hosting.

"I'm trying to position them with businesses that I personally support, and have relationships with, and bring in the kind of crowd that would be excited by this," Woolf said.

The hope is that the weather will not affect the movies. "People keep movies in damp attics for years and usually they can still play," Woolf said.

Woolf was a bit young for the physical media era, he says. The 26-year-old Clifton resident says most people who created Free Blockbuster boxes are in their 40s, 50s and older.

"If there is a family that gets to goes and gets to pick out a movie, the way I got to with my family at video stores, that's really all the reward I'm hoping for," Woolf says. "Maybe they'll discover something they wouldn't find just scrolling through Netflix. There's a cool benefit from having a limited selection."

Woolf, a full-time motion graphics artist at Pure Romance, makes custom action figures and VHS sleeves for guests. He sells his work on an Instagram page called @valashard_toys_n_tapes.

Woolf is also sharing information about the Free Blockbusters at @freeblockbustercincinnati.

You can visit the Free Blockbusters at:

  • 836 Main St. Covington
  • 3929 Spring Grove Ave. Cincinnati
  • 320 Ludlow Ave. Cincinnati