Washington Park is bounded by West 12th, West 14th, Race, and Elm Streets in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood of

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The park is owned and operated by the Cincinnati Park Board. The park served as

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

and Episcopal cemeteries before it was acquired by the city from 1858 to 1863. The park has an old-fashioned bandstand and many trees. Several

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

cannons and busts of Civil War heroes Frederick Hecker and Colonel Robert Latimer McCook, who commanded the German 9th Ohio Infantry (Die Neuner) are in the park. There is also a bronze tablet (1931) given by Sons and Daughters of the (Die Neuner) 9th O.V.I. The Centennial Exposition of the Ohio Valley and Central States was held at the park in 1888. It was, in addition to the celebration of Ohio's progress, designed to celebrate the settlement of the

Northwest Territory The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and formally known as the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, was formed from part of the unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolution. Established ...

. The park stands in the shadow of the Cincinnati Music Hall. While the now-demolished Washington Park School was located at its north end, a new School for Creative and Performing Arts currently stands across Twelfth Street at its south end.

Renovation

Cincinnati Park Board and nonprofit 3CDC finished renovation of the park in July 2012 after being closed for almost 18 months. The park officially opened on Friday, July 6, 2012 with a ribbon cutting ceremony and a concert by the Mukunoki Chorus of Gifu, Japan, in town for the World Choir Games, which had just begun in Cincinnati. The renovations cost about $46 million. This includes expansion of the park from to and construction of a parking garage beneath it for up to 450 cars. In a similar renovation of Fountain Square, 3CDC used profits from parking to pay off loans it took out to develop the project. 3CDC is responsible for programming at the park and plans to offer programs regularly. Some events that have taken place since the renovation include a concert series with jazz, R&B, and bluegrass; movie screenings; yoga; a kickball league; and a concert by the band Over the Rhine.

References

External links

3CDC's Washington Park project websiteWashington Park redevelopment website
{{Cincinnati parks Parks in Cincinnati Urban public parks Over-the-Rhine 1855 establishments in Ohio