Cincinnati, Ohio
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Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the
U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
of
Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
and the
county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the
Licking Licking is the action of passing the tongue over a surface, typically either to deposit saliva onto the surface, or to collect liquid, food or minerals onto the tongue for ingestion, or to communicate with other animals. Many animals both gro ...
and
Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
rivers, the latter of which marks the state line with
Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
. The city is the economic and cultural hub of the Cincinnati metropolitan area. With an estimated population of 2,256,884, it is Ohio's largest metropolitan area and the nation's 30th-largest, and with a city population of 309,317, Cincinnati is the third-largest city in Ohio and 64th in the United States. Throughout much of the 19th century, it was among the top 10 U.S. cities by population, surpassed only by
New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster.
; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...
and the older, established settlements of the United States eastern seaboard, as well as being the sixth-most populous city from 1840 until 1860. As a
river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of w ...
town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...
crossroads at the junction of the North, South, East, and West, Cincinnati developed with fewer immigrants and less influence from Europe than East Coast cities in the same period. However, it received a significant number of German-speaking immigrants, who founded many of the city's cultural institutions. By the end of the 19th century, with the shift from steamboats to railroads drawing off freight shipping, trade patterns had altered and Cincinnati's growth slowed considerably. The city was surpassed in population by other inland cities, particularly
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
, which developed based on strong commodity exploitation, economics, and the railroads, and
St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
, which for decades after the
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
served as the gateway to westward migration. Cincinnati is home to three major sports teams: the Cincinnati Reds of
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
; the Cincinnati Bengals of the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
; and
FC Cincinnati Football Club Cincinnati, commonly known as FC Cincinnati, is an American professional soccer club based in Cincinnati. The club plays in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The team succeeded the lower-division team of the ...
of Major League Soccer; it is also home to the Cincinnati Cyclones, a minor league ice hockey team. The city's largest institution of higher education, the
University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,0 ...
, was founded in 1819 as a municipal college and is now ranked as one of the 50 largest in the United States. Cincinnati is home to historic architecture with many structures in the urban core having remained intact for 200 years. In the late 1800s, Cincinnati was commonly referred to as the "Paris of America", due mainly to such ambitious architectural projects as the Music Hall,
Cincinnatian Hotel The Cincinnatian Hotel is a registered historic building in Downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, listed in the National Register on March 3, 1980. It is a member of the Historic Hotels of America, the official program of the National Trust for Historic Prese ...
, and Shillito Department Store. Cincinnati is the birthplace of
William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...
, the 27th President and former Chief Justice of the United States.


History


Etymology

Two years after the founding of the settlement, Arthur St. Clair, the governor of the Northwest Territory, changed its name to "Cincinnati", possibly at the suggestion of the surveyor
Israel Ludlow Israel Ludlow (1765 – January 1804) was a government surveyor who helped found Cincinnati, Dayton and Hamilton in southwest Ohio. Early life Israel Ludlow was born near Morristown, New Jersey in 1765. Greve 1904 : 165 In 1786, each of the ...
, in honor of the Society of the Cincinnati. St. Clair was at the time president of the Society, made up of Continental Army officers of the Revolutionary War who named their club for Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, a dictator in the early
Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kin ...
who saved Rome from a crisis, and then retired to farming because he did not want to remain in power.


Early history

Cincinnati began in 1788 when Mathias Denman,
Colonel Robert Patterson Colonel Robert Patterson (1753–1827) was an American soldier and settler who helped found the cities of Lexington, Kentucky, and Cincinnati, Ohio, then moved to Dayton, Ohio. Early life Born in Pennsylvania, Patterson emigrated to Kent ...
, and
Israel Ludlow Israel Ludlow (1765 – January 1804) was a government surveyor who helped found Cincinnati, Dayton and Hamilton in southwest Ohio. Early life Israel Ludlow was born near Morristown, New Jersey in 1765. Greve 1904 : 165 In 1786, each of the ...
landed at a spot at the northern bank of the Ohio opposite the mouth of the
Licking Licking is the action of passing the tongue over a surface, typically either to deposit saliva onto the surface, or to collect liquid, food or minerals onto the tongue for ingestion, or to communicate with other animals. Many animals both gro ...
and decided to settle there. The original surveyor,
John Filson John Filson (c. 1747 – October 1788) was an American author, historian of Kentucky, pioneer, surveying, surveyor and one of the founders of Cincinnati, Ohio. Early life John Filson was born in Chester County, Pennsylvania, around 1747. He was ...
, named it "Losantiville". On January 4, 1790, St. Clair changed the name of the settlement to honor the Society of the Cincinnati. In 1811, the introduction of steamboats on the Ohio River opened up the city's trade to more rapid shipping, and the city established commercial ties with
St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
, and
New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster.
; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...
downriver. Cincinnati was incorporated as a city on March 1, 1819. Exporting pork products and hay, it became a center of pork processing in the region. From 1810 to 1830, the city's population nearly tripled, from 9,642 to 24,831. Construction on the Miami and Erie Canal began on July 21, 1825, when it was called the Miami Canal, related to its origin at the
Great Miami River The Great Miami River (also called the Miami River) (Shawnee: ''Msimiyamithiipi'') is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accesse ...
. The first section of the canal was opened for business in 1827. In 1827, the canal connected Cincinnati to nearby Middletown; by 1840, it had reached Toledo. Railroads were the next major form of commercial transportation to come to Cincinnati. In 1836, the
Little Miami Railroad The Little Miami Railroad was a railway of southwestern Ohio, running from the eastern side of Cincinnati to Springfield, Ohio. By merging with the Columbus and Xenia Railroad in 1853, it created the first through-rail route from the important ma ...
was chartered. Construction began soon after, to connect Cincinnati with the Mad River and Lake Erie Railroad, and provide access to the ports of the
Sandusky Bay Sandusky Bay is a bay on Lake Erie in northern Ohio, formed at the mouth of the Sandusky River. It was identified as ''Lac Sandouské'' on a 1718 French map, with early variations recorded that suggest the name was derived from Native American lan ...
on
Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also h ...
. During the time, employers struggled to hire enough people to fill positions. The city had a labor shortage until large waves of immigration by Irish and Germans in the late 1840s. The city grew rapidly over the next two decades, reaching 115,000 people by 1850. During this period of rapid expansion and prominence, residents of Cincinnati began referring to the city as the Queen City.


Industrial development and Gilded Age

Cincinnati's location, on the border between the free state of Ohio and the slave state of Kentucky, made it a prominent location for slaves to escape the slave-owning south. Many prominent abolitionists also called Cincinnati their home during this period, and made it a popular stop on the
Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. ...
. In 2004, the
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center is a museum in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, based on the history of the Underground Railroad. Opened in 2004, the Center also pays tribute to all efforts to "abolish human enslavement and secure fr ...
was completed along Freedom Way in Downtown, honoring the city's involvement in the Underground Railroad. In 1859, Cincinnati laid out six streetcar lines; the cars were pulled by horses and the lines made it easier for people to get around the city. By 1872, Cincinnatians could travel on the streetcars within the city and transfer to rail cars for travel to the hill communities. The Cincinnati Inclined Plane Company began transporting people to the top of Mount Auburn that year. In 1889, the Cincinnati streetcar system began converting its horse-drawn cars to electric streetcars. In 1880, the city government completed the Cincinnati Southern Railway to
Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020 ...
. It is the only municipally-owned interstate railway in the United States. In 1884, outrage over a manslaughter verdict in what many observers thought was a clear case of murder triggered the Courthouse riots, one of the most destructive riots in American history. Over the course of three days, 56 people were killed and over 300 were injured. The riots ended the regime of Republican boss
Thomas C. Campbell Thomas C. Campbell (April 25, 1845 January 4, 1904), also known as T. C. Campbell, was an American lawyer and Republican political boss of Cincinnati, Ohio. Biography Campbell was born on April 25, 1845, in Rochester, New York, to Scottish A ...
.


During the Great Depression

An early rejuvenation of downtown began in the 1920s and continued into the next decade with the construction of Union Terminal, the post office, and the large
Cincinnati and Suburban Telephone Company Building General Contractor was the J. and F. Harig Co., Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati and Suburban Telephone Company Building is a registered historic building in Cincinnati, Ohio, Cincinnati, Ohio. It was designed by Harry Hake, and listed in the National ...
. Cincinnati weathered the Great Depression better than most American cities of its size, largely due to a resurgence in river trade, which was less expensive than transporting goods by rail. The flood of 1937 was one of the worst in the nation's history and destroyed many areas along the
Ohio valley The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...
. Afterward the city built protective
flood wall A flood wall (or floodwall) is a primarily vertical artificial barrier designed to temporarily contain the waters of a river or other waterway which may rise to unusual levels during seasonal or extreme weather events. Flood walls are mainly u ...
s.


Nicknames

Cincinnati has many
nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...
s, including Cincy, The Queen City, The Queen of the West, The Blue Chip City, and The City of Seven Hills. These are more typically associated with professional, academic, and public relations references to the city, including restaurant names such as
Blue Chip Cookies The Blue Chip Cookie Company is an American gourmet cookie licensor and e-commerce gourmet cookie businesses with headquarters in Milford, Ohio, United States, and store locations in Ohio, Kansas, and Kentucky. Founded in March 1983 by the Nader ...
, and are not commonly used by locals in casual conversation. "The City of Seven Hills" stems from the June 1853 edition of the ''West American Review'', "Article III—Cincinnati: Its Relations to the West and South", which described and named seven specific hills. The hills form a crescent around the city: Mount Adams, Walnut Hills, Mount Auburn, Vine Street Hill, College Hill, Fairmont (now rendered Fairmount), and Mount Harrison (now known as Price Hill). The name refers to ancient Rome, reputed to be built on seven hills. "Queen City" is taken from an 1819 newspaper article and further immortalized by the 1854 poem "Catawba Wine". In it,
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include " Paul Revere's Ride", '' The Song of Hiawatha'', and ''Evangeline''. He was the first American to completely tran ...
wrote of the city: For many years, Cincinnati was also known as "Porkopolis"; this less desirable nickname came from the city's large pork interests. Newer nicknames such as "The 'Nati" are emerging and are attempted to be used in different cultural contexts. For example, the local
Keep America Beautiful Keep America Beautiful is a nonprofit organization founded in 1953. It is the largest community improvement organization in the United States, with more than 700 state and community-based affiliate organizations and more than 1,000 partner organiz ...
affiliate, Keep Cincinnati Beautiful, introduced the
catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...
"Don't Trash the 'Nati" in 1998 as part of a
litter Litter consists of waste products that have been discarded incorrectly, without consent, at an unsuitable location. Litter can also be used as a verb; to litter means to drop and leave objects, often man-made, such as aluminum cans, paper cups ...
-prevention campaign.


Society

Cincinnati was platted and proliferated by American settlers, including Ulster Scots known as the Scots Irish,
frontiersmen A frontier is the political and geographical area near or beyond a Border, boundary. A frontier can also be referred to as a "front". The term came from French in the 15th century, with the meaning "borderland"—the region of a country that ...
, and
keelboat A keelboat is a riverine cargo-capable working boat, or a small- to mid-sized recreational sailing yacht. The boats in the first category have shallow structural keels, and are nearly flat-bottomed and often used leeboards if forced in open w ...
ers. To this day, most of Cincinnati's longtime residents have kinships rooted throughout the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Tristate and country. For over a century and a half, Cincinnati was the most prominent of Ohio's cities, as it was the largest: being the historical hub of Ohio culture, Cincinnati is referred to as the "chief city of Ohio" in the 1879 ''
American Cyclopædia American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
''. In addition to this book, countless other books have documented the social history of both the city and its frontier people. The city fathers, of
Anglo-American Anglo-Americans are people who are English-speaking inhabitants of Anglo-America. It typically refers to the nations and ethnic groups in the Americas that speak English as a native language, making up the majority of people in the world who spe ...
families of prominence, were Episcopalian: Anderson, Drake, Emery, Foote, Harrison, Kilgour, Longworth, Lytle, McGuffey, Pendleton, Probasco, Procter, Rawson, Sawyer, Strader, Taft, and Yeatman, to name several. Inspired by its earlier horseback circuit preachers, early
Methodism Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's br ...
was important. The first established Methodist class in the Northwest Territory came 1797 to nearby
Milford Milford may refer to: Place names Canada * Milford (Annapolis), Nova Scotia * Milford (Halifax), Nova Scotia * Milford, Ontario England * Milford, Derbyshire * Milford, Devon, a place in Devon * Milford on Sea, Hampshire * Milford, Shro ...
. By 1879, there were 162 documented church edifices in the city, distributed as follows: Baptist, 14; Christian, 2; Congregational, 4; Disciples of Christ, 4; Friends, 2; German Methodist, 2; German Evangelical Union, 4; German Reformed, 3; Independent Methodist, 1; Hebrew, 5; Lutheran, 4; Methodist Episcopal, 26; Methodist Protestant, 3; Calvinistic Methodist, 1; African Methodist, 1; New Jerusalem, 1; Presbyterian, 16; United Presbyterian, 3; Reformed Presbyterian, 3; Protestant Episcopal, 11; Roman Catholic, 32, and 12 chapels; United Brethren in Christ, 3; Universalist, 1; Unitarian, 3; and Union Bethel, 1. For this reason, from the beginning,
Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
has played a formative role in the Cincinnati ethos. Christ Church Cathedral at Queen City Square continues the legacy of the early Anglican leaders of Cincinnati, noted by historical associations as being a keystone of civic history; and among Methodist institutions were
The Christ Hospital The Christ Hospital is a 555-bed, Nonprofit organization, not-for-profit acute care facility in Cincinnati, Ohio, offering services in Circulatory system, cardiovascular care, Vertebral column, spine treatment, women's health, major surgery, cancer ...
as well as projects of the German Methodist Church. In politics, Presbyterians dominated, and Anti-Papist resistance defined, much of Cincinnati's civic life in the mid-to-late 1800s. It was thought by city leaders that
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
influence and practices are contrary to free society, especially in the American Heartland; the Presbyterians organized marches against papalism, something echoed by John Knox centuries before—the namesake of Cincinnati's Knox Presbyterian Church. In recent times, Cincinnati has been referred to as a capital of the
Bible Belt The Bible Belt is a region of the Southern United States in which socially conservative Protestant Christianity plays a strong role in society and politics, and church attendance across the denominations is generally higher than the nation's a ...
, influenced by such business families as the Lindners, who are Baptist. This oft-derided trait of the city has, however, produced both economic and heavy revivalist activity, such as a visit by
Billy Graham William Franklin Graham Jr. (November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American evangelist and an ordained Southern Baptist minister who became well known internationally in the late 1940s. He was a prominent evangelical Christi ...
at what was then
Paul Brown Stadium Paycor Stadium, previously known as Paul Brown Stadium, is an outdoor football stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is the home venue of the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League and opened on August 19, 2000. Originally named after the B ...
(now Paycor Stadium) and the city hosting the World Choir Games. One of Cincinnati's biggest proponents of Methodism was the Irish immigrant James Gamble, who together with William Procter founded
Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer he ...
; in addition to being a devout Methodist, Gamble and his estate donated money to construct Methodist churches throughout Greater Cincinnati. Cincinnati, being a rivertown crossroads, depended on trade with the slave states south of the Ohio River at a time when thousands of black people were settling in the free state of Ohio. Most of them came after the Civil War and were from Kentucky and Virginia with many of them fugitives who had sought freedom and work in the North. In the antebellum years, the majority of native-born whites in the city came from northern states, primarily
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
. Though 57 percent of whites migrated from free states, 26 percent were from southern states and they retained their cultural support for slavery. This quickly led to tensions between pro-slavery residents and those in favor of abolitionism and lifting restrictions on free black people, as codified in the "Black Code" of 1804. Germans were among the earliest newcomers, migrating from Pennsylvania and the backcountry of Virginia and Tennessee. General David Ziegler succeeded General St. Clair in command at Fort Washington. After the conclusion of the Northwest Indian War and removal of Native Americans to the west, he was elected as Cincinnati's first town president (equivalent to a mayor) in 1802. Cincinnati was influenced by
Irishmen The Irish ( ga, Muintir na hÉireann or ''Na hÉireannaigh'') are an ethnic group and nation native to the island of Ireland, who share a common history and culture. There have been humans in Ireland for about 33,000 years, and it has bee ...
, and
Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
ns and
Saxons The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...
( northern Germans), seeking to emigrate away from crowding and strife. In 1830 residents with German roots made up 5% of the population, as many had migrated from Pennsylvania; ten years later this had increased to 30%. Thousands of Germans entered the city after the Prussian revolution of 1848, and by 1900, more than 60 percent of its population was of Prussian background. The menial-jobbed, aggravated Irish often organized mobs, and the Germans, far away from their Pennsylvania Dutch connections, did the same. Thus, leaders of the city had to use fortifying measures against the arrivals' clashes. Volatile social conditions saw riots in 1829, when many black people lost their homes and property. As the Irish entered the city in the late 1840s, they competed with black people at the lower levels of the economy. White-led riots against black people occurred in 1836, when an abolitionist press was twice destroyed; and in 1842. More than 1,000 black people abandoned the city after the 1829 riots. Black people in Philadelphia and other major cities raised money to help the refugees recover from the destruction. By 1842 black people had become better established in the city; they defended themselves and their property in the riot, and worked politically as well. The emigres, while having been widely discussed, never overtook settlers in population. Nearby Waynesville hosts the yearly Ohio Sauerkraut Festival, and Cincinnati hosts several big yearly events which commemorate connections to the Old World.
Oktoberfest Zinzinnati Oktoberfest Zinzinnati is an annual weekend festival in the city of Cincinnati, Ohio. Based on the original German Oktoberfest, it is billed as the largest Oktoberfest celebration in the United States and second largest in the world. First he ...
, Bockfest, and the
Taste of Cincinnati Taste of Cincinnati is the longest running culinary arts festival in the United States.Cincinnati USA Regional ChamberAbout Taste of CincinnatiAccessed on 11/15/2012. Starting in 1979, the festival has been held annually on Memorial Day weekend in ...
feature local restaurateurs. Cincinnati's Jewish community was developed by those from England and Germany. A large segment of the community, led by
Isaac M. Wise Isaac Mayer Wise (29 March 1819, Lomnička – 26 March 1900, Cincinnati) was an American Reform rabbi, editor, and author. At his death he was called "the foremost rabbi in America". Early life Wise was born on 29 March 1819 in Steingrub in B ...
, developed
Reform Judaism Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its ethical aspects to its ceremonial ones, and belief in a continuous sear ...
in response to the influences of the Enlightenment and making their new lives in the United States. Rabbi Wise, known as a founding father of the Reform movement, and his contemporaries, bore a great influence on the Jewish faith in Cincinnati, the United States, and worldwide.
Jewish Encyclopedia bibliography: *I. M. Wise, ''Reminiscences'', transl. from the German and ed. by David Philipson, Cincinnati, 1901; * *''
The American Israelite ''The American Israelite'' is an English-language Jewish newspaper published weekly in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1854 as ''The Israelite'' and assuming its present name in 1874, it is the longest-running English-language Jewish newspaper sti ...
'', 1854–1900, passim, and the Jubilee number, June 30, 1904.
The NRHP-listed
Potter Stewart United States Courthouse The Potter Stewart United States Courthouse is a courthouse and federal building of the United States government located in Cincinnati, Ohio, and housing the headquarters of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio and ...
is a federal court, the
United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (in case citations, 6th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * Eastern District of Kentucky * Western District of ...
, one of thirteen United States courts of appeals.
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland Cincinnati Branch The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland Cincinnati Branch Office is one of two Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland branch offices ( the other is in Pittsburgh). The Cincinnati Office of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland provides currency distributi ...
is located across the street from the East Fourth Street Historic District.


Economy

Metropolitan Cincinnati has the twenty-eighth largest economy in the United States and the fifth largest in the Midwest, after
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
, Minneapolis-St. Paul,
Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
, and
St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
. In 2016, it had the fastest-growing Midwestern economic capital. Due to its abundant amenities, Cincinnati is a magnet for start-ups. The gross domestic product for the region was $127 billion in 2015. The median home price is $158,200, and the
cost of living Cost of living is the cost of maintaining a certain standard of living. Changes in the cost of living over time can be operationalized in a cost-of-living index. Cost of living calculations are also used to compare the cost of maintaining a cer ...
in Cincinnati is 8% below national average. As of September 2022, the unemployment rate is 3.3%, below the national average. Several Fortune 500 companies are headquartered in Cincinnati, such as
Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer he ...
,
The Kroger Company The Kroger Company, or simply Kroger, is an American retail company that operates (either directly or through its subsidiaries) supermarkets and multi-department stores throughout the United States. Founded by Bernard Kroger in 1883 in Cinc ...
, and
Fifth Third Bank Fifth Third Bank (5/3 Bank), the principal subsidiary of Fifth Third Bancorp is an American bank holding company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Fifth Third is one of the largest consumer banks in the Midwestern United States, Fifth Third ...
.
General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable en ...
has headquartered their Global Operations Center in Cincinnati. The Kroger Company employs 21,646 people locally, making it the largest employer in the city, and the University of Cincinnati is the second largest at 16,000.


Cuisine

Along with
American cuisine American cuisine consists of the cooking style and traditional dishes prepared in the United States. It has been significantly influenced by Europeans, indigenous Native Americans, Africans, Asians, Pacific Islanders, and many other cultures a ...
, Cincinnati is host to numerous flavors infused from around the culinary world.


Restaurants

Frisch's Frisch's Big Boy is a regional Big Boy Restaurants, Big Boy restaurant chain with headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio. For many years a Big Boy franchisee, in 2001, Frisch's became the exclusive owner of the Big Boy trademark in Indiana, Kentucky, a ...
Big Boy,
Graeter's Graeter's is a regional ice cream chain based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1870 by Louis C. Graeter, the company has since expanded to 50 retail locations selling ice cream, candy and baked goods in the Midwestern United States. It further di ...
Ice Cream,
Kroger The Kroger Company, or simply Kroger, is an American retail company that operates (either directly or through its subsidiaries) supermarkets and multi-department stores throughout the United States. Founded by Bernard Kroger in 1883 in Cinci ...
,
LaRosa's ''LaRosa's Pizzeria'' is a chain of pizzerias serving neighborhoods throughout Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. It was founded in 1954 by Donald "Buddy" LaRosa, along with partners Richard "Muzzie" Minella, Mike Soldano and Frank "Head" Serraino. Origi ...
,
Montgomery Inn Montgomery Inn is a barbecue restaurant chain based in the Cincinnati suburb of Montgomery, Ohio, United States. It is best known for its specialty, loin back ribs, and the barbecue sauce used in preparation and serving. History The family-o ...
,
Skyline Chili Skyline Chili is a chain of Cincinnati-style chili restaurants based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1949 by Greek immigrant Nicholas Lambrinides, Skyline Chili is named for the view of Cincinnati's skyline that Lambrinides could see from his fi ...
,
Gold Star Chili Gold Star Chili is a restaurant chain based in Cincinnati, Ohio, that sells Cincinnati chili. The original restaurant was established in the Cincinnati neighborhood of Mt. Washington in 1965 by four Daoud brothers, immigrants from Jordan. Gold S ...
, Aglamesis Bro's and United Dairy Farmers (UDF/Trauth) are Cincinnati eateries that sell their brand commodities in grocery markets and gas stations. Glier's
goetta Goetta ( ) is a meat-and-grain sausage or mush of German inspiration that is popular in Metro Cincinnati. It is primarily composed of ground meat (pork, or sausage and beef), pin-head oats and spices. It was originally a dish meant to stretch ...
is produced in the Cincinnati area and is a popular local food.
The Maisonette The Maisonette (1949-2005) was North America's most highly rated restaurant before it closed. History The Maisonette was opened by Nathan L. Comisar in 1949 in the basement space beneath La Normandie, also owned by Comisar, in the Fountain Squ ...
in Cincinnati was Mobil Travel Guide's longest-running five-star restaurant in the United States, holding that distinction for 41 consecutive years until it closed in 2005. Its former head chef,
Jean-Robert de Cavel Jean-Robert de Cavel (September 12, 1961 – December 23, 2022) was a French-American chef active primarily in Cincinnati. He was chef de cuisine at The Maisonette from 1993 to 2002, executive chef at Jean-Robert at Pigall's from 2002 to 2009 ...
, has opened four new restaurants in the area since 2001. One of the United States's oldest and most celebrated bars, Arnold's Bar and Grill in downtown Cincinnati has won awards from ''Esquire'' magazine's "Best Bars in America",
Thrillist Thrillist is an online media website covering food, drink, travel and entertainment. The company was founded in 2004 and is based in New York City, United States. In October 2016, Thrillist merged with internet brands '' The Dodo'', NowThis Ne ...
's "Most Iconic Bar in Ohio",
The Daily Meal The Daily Meal is a food and drinks website. It is the first site launched by Spanfeller Media Group. Jim Spanfeller is a former CEO of Forbes.com. In 2016, Spanfeller was acquired by Tribune Publishing. Content The Daily Meal produces original co ...
's "150 Best bars in America" and Seriouseats.com's "The Cincinnati 10". "If Arnold's were in New York, San Francisco, Chicago, or Boston—somewhere, in short, that people actually visit—it would be world-famous," wrote David Wondrich.


Cincinnati chili

Cincinnati chili Cincinnati chili (or Cincinnati-style chili) is a Mediterranean-spiced meat sauce used as a topping for spaghetti or hot dogs ("coneys"); both dishes were developed by immigrant restaurateurs in the 1920s. In 2013, ''Smithsonian'' named one ...
, a spiced sauce served over noodles, usually topped with cheese and often with diced onions and/or beans, is the area's "best-known regional food." A variety of recipes are served by respective parlors, including
Skyline Chili Skyline Chili is a chain of Cincinnati-style chili restaurants based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1949 by Greek immigrant Nicholas Lambrinides, Skyline Chili is named for the view of Cincinnati's skyline that Lambrinides could see from his fi ...
,
Gold Star Chili Gold Star Chili is a restaurant chain based in Cincinnati, Ohio, that sells Cincinnati chili. The original restaurant was established in the Cincinnati neighborhood of Mt. Washington in 1965 by four Daoud brothers, immigrants from Jordan. Gold S ...
, and
Dixie Chili and Deli Dixie Chili and Deli, originally Dixie Chili, is a chain of three Cincinnati chili restaurants located in the Northern Kentucky area of Greater Cincinnati. Dixie Chili is famous for their chili, coneys, and sandwiches. Greek immigrant Nicholas S ...
, plus independent chili parlors including
Camp Washington Chili Camp Washington Chili is a Cincinnati chili parlor founded in 1940 by Steve Andon and Fred Zannbus in the neighborhood of Camp Washington, near downtown Cincinnati, in southwestern Ohio. A well known Cincinnati landmark, the parlor is located at ...
, Empress Chili and Moonlight Chili. It was first developed by Macedonian immigrant restaurateurs in the 1920s. Cincinnati has been called the "Chili Capital of America" and "of the World" because it has more chili restaurants per capita than any other city in the United States or in the world.


Goetta

Goetta Goetta ( ) is a meat-and-grain sausage or mush of German inspiration that is popular in Metro Cincinnati. It is primarily composed of ground meat (pork, or sausage and beef), pin-head oats and spices. It was originally a dish meant to stretch ...
is a meat-and-grain
sausage A sausage is a type of meat product usually made from ground meat—often pork, beef, or poultry—along with salt, spices and other flavourings. Other ingredients, such as grains or breadcrumbs may be included as fillers or extenders. ...
or mush of German inspiration. It is primarily composed of
ground meat Ground meat, called mince or minced meat outside North America, is meat finely chopped by a meat grinder or a chopping knife. A common type of ground meat is ground beef, but many other types of meats are prepared in a similar fashion, incl ...
(pork, or pork and beef), pin-head oats and spices.


Mock turtle soup

Similarly to goetta's origins,
mock turtle soup Mock turtle soup is an English soup that was created in the mid-18th century as an imitation of green turtle soup. It often uses brains and organ meats such as calf's head to duplicate the texture and flavour of the original's turtle meat aft ...
was a dish popularized by the influx of German immigrants in the late 19th century. Originally made with
offal Offal (), also called variety meats, pluck or organ meats, is the organs of a butchered animal. The word does not refer to a particular list of edible organs, which varies by culture and region, but usually excludes muscle. Offal may also refe ...
, today Cincinnati-style mock turtle soup is characterized by ground beef, hard-boiled eggs, and ketchup. The only remaining commercial canner of the soup, Worthmore, has produced it in Cincinnati since 1918.


Dialect

The citizens of Cincinnati speak in a
General American General American English or General American (abbreviated GA or GenAm) is the umbrella accent of American English spoken by a majority of Americans. In the United States it is often perceived as lacking any distinctly regional, ethnic, or so ...
dialect. Unlike the rest of the Midwest, Southwest Ohio shares some aspects of its vowel system with northern New Jersey English. Most of the distinctive local features among speakers float as Midland American. There is also some influence from the Southern American dialect found in Kentucky. A touch of northern German is audible in the local vernacular: some residents use the word ''
please ''Please'' is a word used in the English language to indicate politeness and respect while making a request. Derived from shortening the phrase "if you please" or "if it please(s) you", the term has taken on substantial nuance based on its in ...
'' when asking a speaker to repeat a statement. This usage is taken from the German practice, when ''bitte'' (a shortening of the formal "Wie bitte?" or "How please?" rendered word-for-word from German into English), was used as shorthand for asking someone to repeat.


Demographics

In 1950, Cincinnati reached its peak population of 503,998; thereafter, it lost population in every census count from 1960 to 2010. In the late 20th century, industrial restructuring caused a loss of jobs. More recently, the population has begun recovering: the 2020 census reports a population of 309,317, representing a 4.2% increase from 296,945 in 2010. This marked the first increase in population recorded since the 1950 Census, reversing a 60-year trend of population decline. At the 2020 census, there were 309,317 people, 138,696 households, and 62,319 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 161,095 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 50.3%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...
, 41.4%
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 0.1% Native American, 2.2%
Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.1%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...
, 1.2% from
other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 4.6% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...
or
Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...
of any race were 4.2% of the population. There were 138,696 households, of which 25.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 23.2% were married couples living together, 19.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 53.3% were non-families. 43.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.09 and the average family size was 3.00. The median age in the city was 32.5 years. 21.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 14.6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 28.4% were from 25 to 44; 24.1% were from 45 to 64; and 10.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.4% male and 51.6% female. As of 2021 Estimate, the Cincinnati- MiddletownWilmington
Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally incorporated as a city or tow ...
had a population of 2,259,935, making it the 30th-largest metropolitan statistical area in the country. It includes the
Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
counties of
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...
, Butler,
Warren A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval A ...
, Clermont, Clinton, and
Brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model us ...
, as well as the
Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
counties of Boone,
Bracken Bracken (''Pteridium'') is a genus of large, coarse ferns in the family Dennstaedtiaceae. Ferns (Pteridophyta) are vascular plants that have alternating generations, large plants that produce spores and small plants that produce sex cells (eggs ...
,
Campbell Campbell may refer to: People Surname * Campbell (surname), includes a list of people with surname Campbell Given name * Campbell Brown (footballer), an Australian rules footballer * Campbell Brown (journalist) (born 1968), American television ne ...
, Gallatin,
Grant Grant or Grants may refer to: Places *Grant County (disambiguation) Australia * Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia United Kingdom * Castle Grant United States * Grant, Alabama * Grant, Inyo County, ...
, Kenton, and Pendleton, and the
Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
counties of Dearborn,
Franklin Franklin may refer to: People * Franklin (given name) * Franklin (surname) * Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class Places Australia * Franklin, Tasmania, a township * Division of Franklin, federal electoral d ...
,
Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...
, and
Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
.


Cityscape and climate

The city is undergoing significant changes due to new development and private investment. This includes buildings of the long-stalled Banks project that includes apartments, retail, restaurants, and offices, which will stretch from
Great American Ball Park Great American Ball Park is a baseball stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio. It served as the home stadium of the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB), and opened on March 31, 2003, replacing Cinergy Field (formerly Riverfront Stadium), the Reds ...
to
Paycor Stadium Paycor Stadium, previously known as Paul Brown Stadium, is an outdoor football stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is the home venue of the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League and opened on August 19, 2000. Originally named after the B ...
. Phase 1A is already complete and 100 percent occupied as of early 2013. Smale Riverfront Park is being developed along with The Banks, and is Cincinnati's newest park. Nearly $3.5 billion have been invested in the urban core of Cincinnati (including Northern Kentucky). Much of this development has been undertaken by 3CDC. The
Cincinnati Bell Connector The Connector is a streetcar system in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. The system opened to passengers on September 9, 2016. The streetcar operates on a loop from The Banks, Great American Ball Park, and Smale Riverfront Park through Downt ...
began in September 2016. Cincinnati is midway by river between the cities of
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...
, Pennsylvania, and Cairo, Illinois. The downtown lies near the mouth of the
Licking Licking is the action of passing the tongue over a surface, typically either to deposit saliva onto the surface, or to collect liquid, food or minerals onto the tongue for ingestion, or to communicate with other animals. Many animals both gro ...
, a confluence where the first settlement occurred. Metro Cincinnati spans southern Ohio, south-eastern Indiana, and northern Kentucky; the
census bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal Statistical System of the United States, U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the Americans, Ame ...
has measured the city proper at , of which are land and are water. The city spreads over a number of hills, bluffs, and low ridges overlooking the Ohio in the
Bluegrass region The Bluegrass region is a geographic region in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It makes up the central and northern part of the state, roughly bounded by the cities of Frankfort, Paris, Richmond and Stanford. The Bluegrass region is characteriz ...
of the country. The tristate is geographically located within the Midwest at the far northern extremity of the
Upland South The Upland South and Upper South are two overlapping cultural and geographic subregions in the inland part of the Southern and lower Midwestern United States. They differ from the Deep South and Atlantic coastal plain by terrain, history, econom ...
. Three municipalities are enveloped by the city: Norwood, Elmwood Place, and Saint Bernard. Norwood is a business and industrial city, while Elmwood Place and Saint Bernard are small, primarily residential, villages. Cincinnati does not have an exclave, but the city government does own several properties outside the corporation limits: French Park in Amberley Village, the disused runway at the former Blue Ash Airport in
Blue Ash ''Fraxinus quadrangulata'', the blue ash, is a species of ash native primarily to the Midwestern United States from Oklahoma to Michigan, as well as the Bluegrass region of Kentucky and the Nashville Basin region of Tennessee. Isolated populati ...
, and the Cincinnati Southern Railway, which runs between Cincinnati and
Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020 ...
.


Landmarks

Cincinnati has many landmarks across its area. Some of these landmarks are recognized nationwide, others are more recognized among locals. These landmarks include: Union Terminal,
Carew Tower Carew Tower is a 49-story, Art Deco building completed in 1930 in the heart of downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, overlooking the Ohio River waterfront. The structure is the second-tallest building in the city, and it was added to the register of Nati ...
, Great American Tower,
Fountain Square A fountain square is a park or plaza in a city that features a fountain. It may stand alone or as part of a larger public park. In the United States, there are numerous fountain squares, many of which are actually called "fountain square." The ...
, Washington Park, and
Great American Ballpark Great American Ball Park is a baseball stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio. It served as the home stadium of the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB), and opened on March 31, 2003, replacing Cinergy Field (formerly Riverfront Stadium), the Red ...
. These landmarks add to the skyline, and function as good meeting spots in the city


Landscape

Cincinnati is home to numerous embankments that are noteworthy due to their architectural characteristics or historic associations, as well as the
Carew Tower Carew Tower is a 49-story, Art Deco building completed in 1930 in the heart of downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, overlooking the Ohio River waterfront. The structure is the second-tallest building in the city, and it was added to the register of Nati ...
, the Scripps Center, the
Ingalls Building The Ingalls Building, built in 1903 in Cincinnati, Ohio, is the world's first reinforced concrete skyscraper. The 16-story building was designed by the Cincinnati architectural firm Elzner & Anderson and was named for its primary financial investo ...
,
Cincinnati Union Terminal Cincinnati Union Terminal is an intercity train station and museum center in the Queensgate neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio. Commonly abbreviated as CUT, or by its Amtrak station code, CIN, the terminal is served by Amtrak's ''Cardinal'' line ...
, and the
Isaac M. Wise Temple The Isaac M. Wise Temple (formerly the Plum Street Temple) is the historic synagogue erected for Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise and his congregation in Cincinnati, Ohio. Wise was among the founders of American Reform Judaism. The temple building was de ...
. Notable historic public parks and landscapes include the 19th-century
Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum () is a nonprofit rural cemetery and arboretum located at 4521 Spring Grove Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio. It is the third largest cemetery in the United States, after the Calverton National Cemetery and Abraham Li ...
, Eden Park, and
Mount Storm Park Mount Storm Park is a City of Cincinnati municipal park situated on a site on the western slope of a hill overlooking the Mill Creek Valley. In the mid-19th century the property comprised the site of the estate of Robert Bonner Bowler, a dry good ...
, all designed by Prussian émigré landscape architect
Adolph Strauch Adolph Strauch (b. August 30, 1822 – 1883) was a renowned landscape architect born in Silesia, Prussia, known particularly for his layout designs of cemeteries like Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati, Ohio, Forest Lawn in Buffalo, NY and O ...
. Queen City Square opened in January 2011. The building is the tallest in Cincinnati (surpassing the Carew Tower), and is the third tallest in Ohio, reaching a height of . The mile-long
Cincinnati Skywalk The Cincinnati Skywalk was a series of walkways, primarily indoors and elevated, that allowed pedestrians to traverse downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. Built in segments starting in 1971, the skywalk was completed in 1997 at a total cost of more than $ ...
, completed in 1997, was shortened to bring more commerce, yet remains the viable way to walk downtown during poor weather. The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden in Avondale is the second-oldest zoo in the United States.


Waterscape

Downtown Cincinnati Downtown Cincinnati is the central business district of Cincinnati, Ohio, as well the economic and symbiotic center of the Cincinnati metropolitan area. It also contains a number of urban neighborhoods in the low land area between the Ohio Ri ...
towers about
Fountain Square A fountain square is a park or plaza in a city that features a fountain. It may stand alone or as part of a larger public park. In the United States, there are numerous fountain squares, many of which are actually called "fountain square." The ...
, the public square and event locale. Fountain Square was renovated in 2006. Cincinnati rests along of riverfront about northern banks of the Ohio, stretching from
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
to Sayler Park, giving the mighty Ohio and its movements a prominent place in the life of the city. Frequent flooding has hampered the growth of Cincinnati's municipal airport at
Lunken Field Cincinnati Municipal Airport – Lunken Field (Cincinnati Municipal Lunken Airport) is a public airport in Cincinnati, Ohio, three miles (5 km) east of Downtown Cincinnati. It is owned by the city of Cincinnati and serves private aircr ...
and the Coney Island amusement park. Downtown Cincinnati is protected from flooding by the Serpentine Wall at Yeatman's Cove and another flood wall built into
Fort Washington Way Fort Washington Way is an approximately section of freeway in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. The eight-lane divided highway is a concurrent section of Interstate 71 (I-71) and U.S. Route 50 (US 50) that runs from west to east ...
. Parts of Cincinnati also experience flooding from the
Little Miami River The Little Miami River ( sjw, Cakimiyamithiipi) is a Class I tributary of the Ohio River that flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed May 26, 2011 through five counties ...
and Mill Creek. Since April 1, 1922, the Ohio
flood stage Flood stage is the water level or stage at which the surface of a body of water has risen to a sufficient level to cause sufficient inundation of areas that are not normally covered by water, causing an inconvenience or a threat to life and property ...
at Cincinnati has officially been set at , as measured from the
John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge The John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge (formerly the Cincinnati-Covington Bridge) is a suspension bridge that spans the Ohio River between Cincinnati, Ohio, and Covington, Kentucky. When opened on December 1, 1866, it was the longest suspension ...
. At this depth, the
pumping station Pumping stations, also called pumphouses in situations such as drilled wells and drinking water, are facilities containing pumps and equipment for pumping fluids from one place to another. They are used for a variety of infrastructure system ...
at the mouth of Mill Creek is activated. From 1873 to 1898, the flood stage was . From 1899 to March 31, 1922, it was . The Ohio reached its lowest level, less than , in 1881; conversely, its all-time high water mark is , having crested January 26, 1937. Various parts of Cincinnati flood at different points: Riverbend Music Center in the California neighborhood floods at , while Sayler Park floods at and the Freeman Avenue flood gate closes at .


Climate

Cincinnati is at the southern limit (considering the Contour line#Temperature and related subjects, isotherm) of the humid continental climate zone (Köppen climate classification, Köppen: ''Dfa''), bordering the humid subtropical climate zone (''Cfa''). Summers are hot and humid, with significant rainfall in each month and highs reaching or above on 21 days per year, often with high dew points and humidity. July is the warmest month, with a daily average temperature of . Winters tend to be cold and snowy, with January, the coldest month, averaging at . Lows reach on an average 2.6 nights yearly. An average winter will see around of snowfall, contributing to the yearly of precipitation, with rainfall peaking in spring. Extremes range from on January 18, 1977, up to on July 21 and 22, 1934. Severe thunderstorms are common in the warmer months, and tornadoes, while infrequent, are not unknown, with such events striking the Metro Cincinnati area most recently in 1974, 1999, 2012, and 2017.


Sports

Cincinnati has three major league teams, seven minor league teams, five college institutions with sports teams, and seven major sports venues. Cincinnati's three major league teams are Major League Baseball's Cincinnati Reds, Reds, who were named for America's first professional baseball team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings; the Cincinnati Bengals, Bengals of the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
; and
FC Cincinnati Football Club Cincinnati, commonly known as FC Cincinnati, is an American professional soccer club based in Cincinnati. The club plays in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The team succeeded the lower-division team of the ...
, who became a Major League Soccer franchise in 2019. On Major League Baseball Opening Day, Cincinnati has the distinction of holding the "traditional opener" in baseball each year, due to its baseball history. Children have been known to skip school on Opening Day, and it is commonly thought of as a holiday. The Flying Pig Marathon is a yearly event attracting many runners and acts as a qualifier to the Boston Marathon. The Cincinnati Reds have won five World Series titles and had one of the most successful baseball teams of all time in the mid-1970s, known as The Big Red Machine. The Bengals have made three Super Bowl appearances since its founding, in 1981, 1988, and 2021, but have yet to win a championship. Whenever the Bengals and Carolina Panthers play against each other (an interconference matchup that occurs every four years), their games are dubbed the "Queen City Bowl", as Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte, North Carolina, the home city of the Panthers, is also known as the Queen City. The Bengals enjoy strong rivalries with the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers (both of whom are also members of the AFC North). Cincinnati is also home to two men's college basketball teams: The Cincinnati Bearcats and Xavier Musketeers. These two teams face off as one of college basketball's rivalries known as the Crosstown Shootout. In 2011–12 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, 2011, the rivalry game erupted in 2011 Crosstown Shootout brawl, an on-court brawl at the end of the game that saw multiple suspensions follow. The Musketeers have made 10 of the last 11 NCAA tournaments while the Bearcats have made six consecutive appearances. Previously, the Cincinnati Royals competed in the National Basketball Association from 1957 to 1972; they are now known as the Sacramento Kings.
FC Cincinnati Football Club Cincinnati, commonly known as FC Cincinnati, is an American professional soccer club based in Cincinnati. The club plays in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The team succeeded the lower-division team of the ...
is a soccer team that plays in Major League Soccer, MLS. FC Cincinnati made its home debut in the USL Championship, USL on April 9, 2016, before a crowd of more than 14,000 fans. On their next home game vs Louisville City FC, FC Cincinnati broke the all-time USL attendance record with a crowd of 20,497; on May 14, 2016, it broke its own record, bringing in an audience of 23,375 on its 1–0 victory against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds. FC Cincinnati has since broken the USL attendance record on several additional occasions, and moved to Major League Soccer (MLS) for the 2019 season. FC Cincinnati was awarded an MLS bid on May 29, 2018, and moved to a TQL Stadium, new stadium in the West End neighborhood just northwest of downtown in 2021. The Cincinnati Masters, Western & Southern Open, a historic international men's and women's tennis tournament that is part of the ATP Tour Masters 1000 Series and the WTA Premier tournaments, WTA Tour Premier 5, was established in the city in 1899 and has been held at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in suburban Mason, Ohio, Mason since 1979. The Cincinnati Cyclones is a minor league AA-level professional hockey team playing in the ECHL. Founded in 1990, the team plays at the Heritage Bank Center. They won the 2010 Kelly Cup Finals, their 2nd championship in three seasons. The Cincinnati Sizzle is a women's minor professional tackle football team that plays in the Women's Football Alliance. The team was established in 2003, by former Cincinnati Bengals running back Ickey Woods. In 2016 the team claimed their first National Championship Title in the United States Women's Football League. The Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G will debut on the LPGA Tour in 2022 at Kenwood Country Club. It is the first time since 1963 that women's professional golf will return to Cincinnati. The table below shows sports teams in the Cincinnati area that average more than 5,000 fans per game:


Police and fire services

The city of Cincinnati's emergency services for fire, rescue, EMS, hazardous materials and explosive ordnance disposal is handled by the Cincinnati Fire Department. On April 1, 1853, the Cincinnati Fire Department became the first paid professional fire department in United States. The Cincinnati Fire Department operates out of 26 fire stations, located throughout the city in 4 districts, each commanded by a district chief. The Cincinnati Fire Department is organized into 4 bureaus: Operations, Personnel and Training, Administrative Services, and Fire Prevention. Each bureau is commanded by an assistant chief, who in turn reports to the chief of department. The Cincinnati Police Department has more than 1,000 sworn officers. Before the Cincinnati riots of 2001, riots of 2001, Cincinnati's overall crime rate had been dropping steadily and by 1995 had reached its lowest point since 1992 but with more murders and rapes. After the riot, violent crime increased, but crime has been on the decline since. In 2015, there were 71 homicides. The Cincinnati Police Department was featured on TLC (TV channel), TLC's ''Police Women of Cincinnati'' and on A&E's reality show ''The First 48''.


Government and politics


Government

The city proper operates with a Election Results, City Council of Cincinnati, Ohio, nine-member city council, whose members are elected at-large. Prior to 1924, City council members were elected through a system of Ward (politics), wards. The ward system was subject to corruption due to partisan rule. From the 1880s to the 1920s, the History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party dominated city politics, with the political machine of George B. George B. Cox, "Boss" Cox exerting control. A reform movement arose in 1923 which ended machine rule. It was led by another Republican, Murray Seasongood. He founded the Charter Committee, which used ballot initiatives in 1924 to replace the ward system with the current at-large system. They gained approval by voters for a council–manager government form of government, in which the smaller council (compared to the number of previous ward representatives) hires a professional manager to operate the daily affairs of the city. From 1924 to 1957, the council was elected by proportional representation and single transfer voting (STV). Starting with Ashtabula in 1915, several major cities in Ohio adopted this electoral system, which had the practical effect of reducing ward boss and political party power. For that reason, such groups opposed it. In an effort to overturn the charter that provided for proportional representation, opponents in 1957 fanned fears of black political power, at a time of increasing civil rights activism.Douglas J. Amy, "A Brief History of Proportional Representation in the United States"
, revised version of "The Forgotten History of the Single Transferable Vote in the United States", in ''Representation'' 34, number 1 (Winter 1996/7), accessed March 30, 2015
The PR/STV system had enabled minorities to enter local politics and gain seats on the city council more than they had before, in proportion to their share of the population. This made the government more representative of the residents of the city.
, Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 1995, pp. Introduction
Overturning that charter, in 1957, all candidates had to run in a single race for the nine city council positions. The top nine vote-getters were elected (the "9-X system"), which favored candidates who could appeal to the entire geographic area of the city and reach its residents with campaign materials. The mayor was elected by the council. In 1977, 33-year-old Jerry Springer, later a notable television talk show host, was chosen to serve one year as mayor. Residents continued to work to improve their system. To have their votes count more, starting in 1987, the top vote-getter in the city council election was automatically selected as mayor. Starting in 1999, the List of mayors of Cincinnati, Ohio, mayor was elected separately in a general at-large election for the first time. The city manager's role in government was reduced. These reforms were referred to as the "Mayor-council government, strong mayor" reforms, to make the publicate accountable to voters. Cincinnati politics include the participation of the Charter Party of Cincinnati, Ohio, Charter Party, the political party with the third-longest history of winning in local elections. On October 5, 2011, the Council became the first local government in the United States to adopt a resolution recognizing freedom from domestic violence as a fundamental human right. On January 30, 2017, Cincinnati's mayor declared the city a sanctuary city.


Race relations

Due to its location on the Ohio River, Cincinnati was a border town in a free state, across from Kentucky, which was a slave state. Residents of Cincinnati played a major role in Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionism. Many fugitive slaves used the Ohio River at Cincinnati to escape to the North. Cincinnati had numerous stations on the Underground Railroad, but there were also runaway slave catchers active in the city, who put escaping slaves at risk of recapture. Given its southern Ohio location, Cincinnati had also attracted settlers from the Upper South, who traveled along the Ohio River into the territory. Tensions between abolitionists and slavery supporters broke out in repeated violence, with whites attacking black people in 1829. Anti-abolitionists attacked black people in the city in a wave of destruction that resulted in 1,200 black people leaving the city and the country; they resettled in Canada. The riot and its refugees were topics of discussion throughout the country, and black people organized the first Negro Convention in 1830 in Philadelphia to discuss these events. White riots against black people took place again in Cincinnati in 1836 and 1842. In 1836 a mob of 700 pro-slavery men attacked black neighborhoods, as well as a press run by James M. Birney, publisher of the anti-slavery weekly ''The Philanthropist''. Tensions increased after congressional passage in 1850 of the Fugitive Slave Act, which required cooperation by citizens in free states and increased penalties for failing to try to recapture escaped slaves. Levi Coffin made the Cincinnati area the center of his anti-slavery efforts in 1847. Harriet Beecher Stowe lived in Cincinnati for a time, met escaped slaves and used their stories as a basis for her novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (1852). The
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center is a museum in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, based on the history of the Underground Railroad. Opened in 2004, the Center also pays tribute to all efforts to "abolish human enslavement and secure fr ...
, which opened in 2004 on the Cincinnati riverfront in the middle of "The Banks, Cincinnati, The Banks" area between Great American Ballpark and
Paul Brown Stadium Paycor Stadium, previously known as Paul Brown Stadium, is an outdoor football stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is the home venue of the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League and opened on August 19, 2000. Originally named after the B ...
, commemorates the volunteers who aided refugee slaves and their drive for freedom, as well as others who have been leaders for social justice. Located in a free state and attracting many European immigrants, Cincinnati has historically had a predominantly white population. By 1940, the Census Bureau reported the city's population as 87.8 percent white and 12.2 percent black. In the second half of the 20th century, Cincinnati, along with other rust belt cities, underwent a vast demographic transformation. By the early 21st century, the city's population was 40% black. Predominantly white, working-class families who constituted the urban core during the European immigration boom in the 19th and early 20th centuries, moved to newly constructed suburbs before and after World War II. Black people, fleeing the oppression of the Jim Crow South in hopes of better socioeconomic opportunity, had moved to these older city neighborhoods in their Great Migration (African American), Great Migration to the industrial North. The downturn in industry in the late 20th century caused a loss of many jobs, leaving many people in poverty. In 1968 passage of national civil rights legislation had raised hopes for positive change, but the assassination of national leader Martin Luther King Jr. resulted in riots in many black neighborhoods in Cincinnati; unrest occurred in black communities in nearly every major U.S. city after King's murder. More than three decades later, in April 2001, racially charged Cincinnati riots of 2001, riots occurred after police fatally shot a young unarmed black man, Cincinnati riots of 2001#Incident, Timothy Thomas, during a foot pursuit to arrest him, mostly for outstanding traffic warrants. After the 2001 riots, the ACLU, Cincinnati Black United Front, the city and its police union agreed upon a community-oriented policing strategy. The agreement has been used as a model across the country for building relationships between police and local communities. On July 19, 2015, Shooting of Samuel DuBose, Samuel DuBose, an unarmed black motorist, was fatally shot by white University of Cincinnati Police Officer Ray Tensing after a routine traffic stop for a missing front license plate. The resulting legal proceedings in late 2016 have been a recurring focus of national news media. Several protests involving the Black Lives Matter movement have been carried out. Tensing was indicted on charges of murder and voluntary manslaughter, but a November 2016 trial ended in Mistrial (law), mistrial after the jury became Hung jury, deadlocked. A retrial began in May 2017, which also ended in mistrial after deadlock. The prosecution then announced they did not plan to try Tensing a third time. The University of Cincinnati has Settlement (litigation), settled with the DuBose family for $4.8 million and free tuition for each of the 12 children.


Schools

The city has an extensive library system, both the city's public libraries and university facilities. The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County was the third-largest public library nationally in 1998. The
University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,0 ...
, called Cincinnati or nicknamed UC, is a public university. The university is renowned in architecture and engineering, liberal arts, music, nursing, and social science. The Art Academy of Cincinnati, nicknamed AAC was founded as the McMicken School of Design in 1869. The University of Cincinnati Medical Center is the leading institute for community health in Ohio. The College Conservatory of Music taught Kathleen Battle, Al Hirt and Faith Prince. The Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS) include sixteen high schools all with citywide acceptance. CPS, third-largest school cluster by student population, was the biggest one to have an overall 'effective' rating from the State. The district currently includes public Montessori method, Montessori schools, including the first public Montessori high school established in the United States, Clark Montessori High School, Clark Montessori. Cincinnati Public Schools' top-rated school is Walnut Hills High School, ranked 34th on the national list of best public schools by ''Newsweek''. Walnut Hills offers 28 Advanced Placement courses. Cincinnati is also home to the first Kindergarten – 12th grade Arts School in the country, the School for Creative and Performing Arts. Cincinnati State is a small college that includes the Midwest Culinary School. Also located in Cincinnati was Cincinnati Christian University before it permanently closed in 2019. Five hundred years since the Reformation Cincinnati provided a global distinguished lecture marking the layout of books and research for stirred city goers and the Cincinnati Art Museum staff built ''Albrecht Durer: The Age of Reformation and Renaissance'', with more crafting by the university design, art, and architecture program given for the city. The Jewish community has several schools, including the all-girl RITSS (Regional Institute for Torah and Secular Studies) high school, and the all-boy Yeshivas Lubavitch High School. Hebrew Union College- Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR), founded by Isaac Mayer Wise, is a seminary for training of Reform rabbis and others religious. Xavier University (Cincinnati), Xavier University, one of three Roman Catholic colleges along with Chatfield College and Mount St. Joseph University, was at one time affiliated with The Athenaeum of Ohio, the seminary of the Cincinnati Archdiocese. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati operates 16 Diocese of Cincinnati#Schools, high schools in Cincinnati, ten of which are Single-sex school, single-sex. There are six all-female high schools and four all-male high schools in the city, with additional schools in the metro areas. Antonelli College, a career training school, is based in Cincinnati with several satellite campuses in
Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
and Mississippi.


Theater and music

Professional theatre has operated in Cincinnati since at least as early as the 1800s. Among the professional companies based in the city are Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, the Know Theatre of Cincinnati, Stage First Cincinnati, Cincinnati Public Theatre, Cincinnati Opera, The Performance Gallery and Clear Stage Cincinnati. The city is also home to Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, which hosts regional premieres, and the Aronoff Center, which hosts touring Broadway shows each year via Broadway Across America. The city has community theatres, such as the Cincinnati Young People's Theatre, the Showboat Majestic (which is the last surviving showboat in the United States and possibly the world), and the Mariemont Players. Since 2011, Cincinnati Opera and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music have partnered to sponsor the Opera Fusion: New Works project. The Opera Fusion: New Works project acts as a program for composers or librettists to workshop an opera in a 10-day residency. This program is headed by the Director of Artistic Operations at Cincinnati Opera, Marcus Küchle, and the Head of Opera at University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music, CCM, Robin Guarino. Music-related events include the Cincinnati May Festival, Bunbury Music Festival, and Cincinnati Bell/WEBN Riverfest. Cincinnati has hosted the World Choir Games with the catchy mantra "Cincinnati, the City that Sings!" In 2015, Cincinnati held the USITT 2015 Conference and Stage Expo at the Duke Energy Convention Center, bringing 5,000+ students, university educators, theatrical designers and performers, and other personnel to the city. The USITT Conference is considered the main conference for Theatre, Opera, and Dance in the United States. ''A Rage in Harlem'' was filmed entirely in the Cincinnati neighborhood of Over the Rhine because of its similarity to 1950s Harlem. Movies that were filmed in part in Cincinnati include ''The Best Years of Our Lives'' (aerial footage early in the film), ''The Ides of March (2011 film), Ides of March'', ''Fresh Horses (film), Fresh Horses'', ''The Asphalt Jungle'' (the opening is shot from the Public Landing, Cincinnati, Public Landing and takes place in Cincinnati although only Boone County, Kentucky, is mentioned), ''Rain Man'', ''Miles Ahead (film), Miles Ahead'', ''Airborne (1993 film), Airborne'', ''Grimm Reality'', ''Little Man Tate'', ''City of Hope (film), City of Hope'', ''An Innocent Man (film), An Innocent Man'', ''Tango & Cash'', ''A Mom for Christmas'', ''Lost in Yonkers (film), Lost in Yonkers'', ''Summer Catch'', ''Artworks'', ''Dreamer (2005 film), Dreamer'', ''Elizabethtown (film), Elizabethtown'', ''Jimmy and Judy'', ''Eight Men Out'', ''Milk Money (film), Milk Money'', ''Traffic (2000 film), Traffic'', ''The Pride of Jesse Hallam'', ''The Great Buck Howard'', ''In Too Deep (1999 film), In Too Deep'', ''Seven Below'', ''Carol (film), Carol'', ''The Public Eye (film), Public Eye'', ''The Last Late Night'', and ''The Mighty''. In addition, ''Wild Hogs'' is set, though not filmed, in Cincinnati. The Cincinnati skyline was prominently featured in the opening and closing sequences of the CBS/ABC daytime drama ''The Edge of Night'' from its start in 1956 until 1980, when it was replaced by the Los Angeles skyline; the cityscape was the stand-in for the show's setting, Monticello. Procter & Gamble, the show's producer, is based in Cincinnati. The sitcom ''WKRP in Cincinnati'' and its sequel/spin-off ''The New WKRP in Cincinnati'' featured the city's skyline and other exterior shots in its credits, although was not filmed in Cincinnati. The city's skyline has also appeared in an April Fool's episode of ''The Drew Carey Show'', which was set in Carey's hometown of Cleveland. 3 Doors Down's music video "It's Not My Time" was filmed in Cincinnati, and features the skyline and Fountain Square. Also, ''Harry's Law'', the NBC legal dramedy created by David E. Kelley and starring Kathy Bates, was set in Cincinnati. Cincinnati has given rise or been home to popular musicians and singers, Lonnie Mack, Doris Day, Odd Nosdam, Dinah Shore, Fats Waller, Rosemary Clooney, Bootsy Collins, The Isley Brothers, Merle Travis, Hank Ballard, Otis Williams, Mood (band), Mood, Midnight Star (band), Midnight Star, Calloway (band), Calloway, The Afghan Whigs, Over the Rhine (band), Over the Rhine, Blessid Union of Souls, Freddie Meyer, 98 Degrees, The Greenhornes, The Deele, Enduser, Heartless Bastards, The Dopamines, Adrian Belew, The National (band), The National, Foxy Shazam, Why? (American band), Why?, Wussy, H-Bomb Ferguson, Sudan Archives and Walk the Moon, and alternative hip hop producer Hi-Tek calls the Cincinnati – Northern Kentucky metropolitan area, Metro Cincinnati region home. Andy Biersack, the lead vocalist for the rock band Black Veil Brides, was born in Cincinnati. The Cincinnati May Festival Chorus is an amateur choir that has been in existence since 1880. The city is home to the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Opera, Cincinnati Boychoir, and Cincinnati Ballet. Metro Cincinnati is also home to several regional orchestras and youth orchestras, including the Starling Chamber Orchestra and the Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra. Music Director James Conlon and Chorus Director Robert Porco lead the Chorus through an extensive repertoire of classical music. The May Festival Chorus is the mainstay of the oldest continuous choral festival in the Western Hemisphere. Music Hall (Cincinnati), Cincinnati Music Hall was built to house the May Festival. The Hollows (series), Hollows series of books by Kim Harrison is an urban fantasy that takes place in Cincinnati. American Girl's ''Kit Kittredge'' sub-series also took place in the city, although the Kit Kittredge: An American Girl, film based on it was shot in Toronto. Cincinnati also has its own chapter (or "Tent") of ''The Sons of the Desert (The Laurel and Hardy Appreciation Society)'', which meets several times per year. Cincinnati is the subject of a Connie Smith song written by Bill Anderson (singer), Bill Anderson, called Cincinnati, Ohio (song), Cincinnati, Ohio. Cincinnati is the main scenario for the international music production of Italian artist and songwriter Veronica Vitale called "Inside the Outsider". She embedded the sounds of the trains at Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
Downtown Cincinnati Downtown Cincinnati is the central business district of Cincinnati, Ohio, as well the economic and symbiotic center of the Cincinnati metropolitan area. It also contains a number of urban neighborhoods in the low land area between the Ohio Ri ...
, filmed her music single "Mi Sono innamorato di Te" at the American Sign Museum and recorded her heartbeat sound at Cincinnati Children's Hospital replacing it to the drums for her song "The Pulse of Light" during the broadcasting at Ryan Seacrest's studio. Furthermore, she released the music single "Nobody is Perfect" featuring legendary Cincinnati's bass player Bootsy Collins. Cincinnati was a major early music recording center, and was home to King Records (United States), King Records, which helped launch the career of James Brown, who often recorded there, as well as Jewel Records (Cincinnati record label), Jewel Records, which helped launch Lonnie Mack's career, and Fraternity Records. Cincinnati had a vibrant jazz scene from the 1920s to today. Louis Armstrong's first recordings were done in the Cincinnati area, at Gennett Records, as were Jelly Roll Morton's, Hoagy Carmichael's, and Bix Beiderbecke, who took up residency in Cincinnati for a time. Fats Waller was on staff at WLW in the 1930s.


Media


Newspapers

Cincinnati's daily newspaper is ''The Cincinnati Enquirer'', which was established in 1841. The city is home to several alternative, weekly, and monthly publications, among which are free weekly print magazine publications including ''Cincinnati CityBeat, CityBeat'' and ''TSJ Media, La Jornada Latina''. The city's weekly African American newspaper, ''The Cincinnati Herald'', was founded by Gerald Porter in 1955 and purchased by Sesh Communications in 1996.


Television

According to Nielsen Media Research, Cincinnati is the 36th largest Media market, television market in the United States as of the 2021 television season. Twelve television stations broadcast from Cincinnati. Major commercial stations in the area include WLWT 5 (NBC), WCPO-TV 9 (American Broadcasting Company, ABC), WKRC-TV 12 (CBS, with The CW, CW on DT2), WXIX-TV 19 (Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox), and WSTR-TV 64 (MyNetworkTV). In addition, locally owned Block Broadcasting owns one Low-power broadcasting, low-power station, WBQC-LD 25. WCET (TV), WCET channel 48, now known as CET, is the United States' oldest licensed public television station (License #1, issued in 1951). It is now co-owned with WPTD, WPTO 14, a satellite of WPTD in nearby Dayton, Ohio, Dayton.


Radio

As of September 2022, Cincinnati is the 33rd largest Media market, radio market in the United States, with an estimated 1.8 million listeners aged 12 and above. Major radio station operators include iHeartMedia and Cumulus Media. WLW and WCKY (AM), WCKY, both owned by iHeartMedia, are both clear-channel stations that broadcast at 50,000 watts, covering most of the eastern United States at night. Cincinnati Public Radio includes WVXU for news (an NPR member station) and WGUC for classical music.


Online

CincyMusic.com is the city's comprehensive guide to live concerts, local bands, and hyper-local music-related news.


Transportation

The city of Cincinnati has a higher than average percentage of households without a car. In 2015, 19.3 percent of Cincinnati households lacked a car and the figure increased slightly, to 21.2 percent, in 2016. The national average was 8.7 percent in 2016. Cincinnati averaged 1.3 cars per household in 2016, compared to a national average of 1.8. The development of a light rail system has long been a goal for Cincinnati, with several proposals emerging over many decades. The city grew rapidly during Streetcars in Cincinnati, its streetcar era of the late 19th century and early 1900s. Public transit ridership has been in decline for several decades and bicycles and walking has accounted for a relatively small portion of all trips in the past. Like many other Midwestern cities, however, bicycle use grew rapidly in the 2000s and 2010s. In 1916 the Mayor and citizens voted to spend $6 million to build the Cincinnati Subway. The subway was planned to be a loop from Downtown to Norwood to Oakley and back to the east side of Downtown. World War I delayed the construction in 1920 and inflation raised the costs, causing the Oakley portion never to be built. Mayor Seasongood, who took office later on, argued it would cost too much money to finish the system.


Public transportation

A century later, the
Cincinnati Bell Connector The Connector is a streetcar system in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. The system opened to passengers on September 9, 2016. The streetcar operates on a loop from The Banks, Great American Ball Park, and Smale Riverfront Park through Downt ...
streetcar line, which opened for service on September 9, 2016, crosses directly above the unfinished subway on Central Parkway downtown. Cincinnati is served by Amtrak's ''Cardinal (train), Cardinal'', an intercity passenger train which makes three weekly trips in each direction between Chicago and New York City through
Cincinnati Union Terminal Cincinnati Union Terminal is an intercity train station and museum center in the Queensgate neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio. Commonly abbreviated as CUT, or by its Amtrak station code, CIN, the terminal is served by Amtrak's ''Cardinal'' line ...
. Cincinnati is served by the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA), the Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky (TANK) and the Clermont Transportation Connection. SORTA and TANK primarily operate diesel buses, though some lines are served by longer articulated or hybrid-engine buses. SORTA buses operate under the "Metro" name and are referred to by locals as such. In 2012–16, Cincinnati constructed a Cincinnati Bell Connector, streetcar line in Downtown and Over-the-Rhine. This modern version of the streetcar opened in September 2016. The Cincinnati Streetcar project experienced railcar-manufacturing delays and initial funding issues, but was completed on time and within its budget in mid-2016. Today the streetcar boasts over 3.5 miles of track and 16 hours of service per day (on weekdays). A system of public staircases known as the Steps of Cincinnati guides pedestrians up and down the city's many hills. In addition to practical use linking hillside neighborhoods, the 400 stairways provide visitors with scenic views of the Cincinnati area.


Air transportation

The city is served by Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (IATA: CVG) which is actually located in Hebron, Kentucky. The airport is a focus city for Allegiant Air and a global hub for both Amazon Air and DHL Aviation. In addition to that Delta Air Lines, Delta offers daily nonstop flights to Paris, France. Cincinnati Municipal Lunken Airport (IATA: LUK) has daily service on commercial charter flights and is located in
Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
. The airport serves as a hub for Ultimate Air Shuttle and Flamingo Air (Cincinnati airline), Flamingo Air.


Streets and highways

Bus traffic is heavy in Cincinnati. Greyhound Lines, Greyhound and several smaller motor coach companies operate out of Cincinnati, making trips within the Midwest and beyond. The city has a Orbital road, beltway, Interstate 275 (Ohio), Interstate 275 (which is the longest beltway in the Interstate Highway System, at ) and a spur, Interstate 471, to
Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
. It is also served by Interstate 71 (Ohio), Interstate 71, Interstate 74 (Ohio), Interstate 74, Interstate 75 (Ohio), Interstate 75 and numerous U.S. highways: U.S. Highway 22 (Ohio), US 22, U.S. Highway 25 (Ohio), US 25, U.S. Highway 27 (Ohio), US 27, U.S. Highway 42 (Ohio), US 42, U.S. Route 50 in Ohio, US 50, U.S. Highway 52 (Ohio), US 52, and U.S. Highway 127 (Ohio), US 127. The Riverfront Transit Center, built underneath 2nd Street, is about the size of eight football fields. It is only used for sporting events and school field trips. At its construction, it was designed for public transit buses, charter buses, school buses, city coach buses, light rail, and possibly commuter rail. When not in use for sporting events, it is closed off and rented to a private parking vendor.


Notable people


Sister cities

Cincinnati's Sister city, sister cities are: * Amman, Jordan * Gifu, Japan * Harare, Zimbabwe * Kharkiv, Ukraine * Liuzhou, China * Munich, Germany * Mysore, India * Nancy, France, Nancy, France * New Taipei City, New Taipei, Taiwan


See also

* City Plan for Cincinnati * List of Cincinnati neighborhoods * Mount Auburn Presbyterian Church * National Register of Historic Places listings in Cincinnati * Vine Street, Cincinnati


Explanatory notes


References


Further reading

* George W. Engelhardt, ''Cincinnati: The Queen City''. Cincinnati, Ohio: George W. Engelhardt Co., 1901. * Charles Frederic Goss, ''Cincinnati: The Queen City, 1788–1912''. In Four Volumes. Chicago: S.J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1912. *
Volume 1

Volume 2

Volume 3

Volume 4
* * William C. Smith
''Queen City Yesterdays: Sketches of Cincinnati in the Eighties''
Crawfordsville, Indiana: R. E. Banta, 1959. *


External links


Official website

Cincinnati Parks
– Official City of Cincinnati Public Parks website
Greater Cincinnati Convention & Visitors Bureau

Cincinnati USA: Official Visitors and Tourist Site


* {{Authority control Cincinnati, 1788 establishments in the Northwest Territory Cities in Hamilton County, Ohio Cities in Ohio Populated places established in 1788 Populated places on the Underground Railroad