|
About Cincinnati
Winston Churchill called Cincinnati "the most beautiful of America's inland cities." Cincinnati's location has much to do with its aesthetic appeal and stable business community. On the north shore of the Ohio River, the downtown section is in a basin surrounded by hills. The city also is near the Ohio River's midpoint and on the Mason-Dixon line, both major factors in its economic development.
Cincinnati was first platted in 1788 by three land speculators. In 1789 Fort Washington was built to protect the settlers from the American Indians, but it was not until the defeat of the Ohio Indians at Fallen Timbers in 1794 that the area became open for further settlement. Cincinnati's accessibility increased in 1811 with the arrival of the New Orleans, the first steamboat to reach its shores. The city celebrates its long riverboat heritage every 3 years with the Tall Stacks Festival.
The construction of the Miami and Erie canals in the late 1820s provided farmers with transportation to the city where they could market their produce. Businessmen created new industries to process such raw products as corn, hogs and wheat into the marketable forms of whiskey, pork and flour. Plagued by religious and political conflicts, many Germans immigrated in the 1830s, followed in the 1840s by Irish driven from their country by the potato famine.
By 1850 Cincinnati was the world's largest pork-packing center, a status that brought the nickname Porkopolis. The South became the city's major market. This caused residents' loyalties to be divided with the approach of the Civil War, but the city eventually supported the Union forces. For a long time it had been a major stop on the Underground Railroad.
Following the war, Cincinnati experienced another burst of prosperity as the resumption of trade between North and South created heavy river commerce. In the 1870s Cincinnati businessmen arranged for the building of a railroad to reach their southern markets. The city's industry stabilized but did not grow during the next several decades.
Modern Cincinnati, with its central location and revitalized downtown atmosphere, attracts many companies, including a large number of corporate headquarters. The award-winning Fountain Square is the hub of downtown. Centered on the historic 1871 Tyler Davidson Fountain, which tops a large underground garage, the square is surrounded by modern office buildings and hotels.
Near Fountain Square are the Cinergy Center Cincinnati Convention Center and Tower Place at the Carew Tower. Great American Ballpark, with Crosley Terrace as the main entry plaza at Second and Main streets, is home to baseball's Reds. The history of Cincinnati's love affair with baseball that peaked with the Big Red machine of the 1970s began with the world's first professional baseball team, formed in 1869. Football's Bengals revel in the state-of-the-art, 21st-century Paul Brown Stadium. The U.S. Bank Arena features hockey, basketball, arena football, circuses, ice shows and concerts.
Yeatman's Cove Park is adorned with fountains, a serpentine wall, concert podium and sculpture garden. Bicentennial Commons at Sawyer Point offers a wide variety of activities with sports facilities, gardens, scenic overlooks and public performance arenas. Each spring 186-acre Eden Park--home to the Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati Art Academy, Murray Seasongood Pavilion, Playhouse in the Park and the Irwin M. Krohn Conservatory--explodes into color with flowering trees and 50,000 daffodils. The riverfront's historical focal point is Public Landing, where riverboats are welcomed and where the Showboat Majestic entertains audiences.
Cincinnati is the home of the 33,000-student University of Cincinnati, founded in 1819; phone (513) 556-6000. Xavier University, founded in 1831, offers free guided tours of its 6,400-student campus upon request; phone (513) 745-3301.
|
|
