WHY I LOVE CINCINNATI!!!

Driving down a suburban road today, one that I travel several times a week, I suddenly noticed how beautiful the drive was.  I was heading uphill; a heavy cover of trees on both sides of the road, with a bright blue sky above and the thought came to mind, how beautiful!  This was not in the country, but rather a well traveled road with houses almost invisible from the road, on both sides.  It is a suburban road.

One idle thought lead to another and suddenly I was musing about why I love Cincinnati so dearly. 

·         First, the geology … nestled among the seven hills of Cincinnati, often likened to the seven hills of Rome (never been there, but so they say…) with the Ohio River meandering through, if you get high enough, you find a beautiful view from any hilltop.  Our city forefathers had enough wisdom amongst them to appreciate the beauty of the hills and forests, and so set aside a considerable sum of acreage to become city parks through the eons.  Gotta love those guys.  Cincinnati is abundantly rich in green space.

·         There was also that event where the Wisconsin Glacier, all those millions of years ago, approached Cincinnati from the northwest and managed to come to a halt in the middle of everything.  So, that is why you have flat fields of corn and soy bean growing in abundance to the north of us and the lovely rolling hills throughout the city, down to rivers edge.  If you really study the boundaries, you can easily find trilobites, etc. left by the receding glacier.  Want a hint?  Try French Creek in the city park of French Park.  

·         Cincinnati’s history is a treasure trove of richness.  Three presidents were born inside our seven hills….Grant, Harrison and Taft.  It played a vital role in the Underground Railroad, even weaving its role into the likes of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin.  The church that stood as a beacon of safety to slaves seeking freedom still stands today.  Migration west on the Ohio River and north from Virginia through the Cumberland Gap into the Ohio River Valley was a contributing factor to the advancement of civilization west of the Allegheny Mountains. While Civil War battles were never waged here Camp Dennison was a major recruiting site for the Union Army and many regiments found their way home via the Ohio River.

Downtown Cincinnati

·         I love, love, love giving Friends and Family tours of the city and surround-ing area.  Ask, any time, any day, I’m there to do the deed.  A Cincinnati Tour starts downtown high above the city atop the Carew Tower.  From that vantage you can see the lay of the land in magnificent detail.  From there it is on to Fountain Square, across the river to view the homes that were sanctuary sites for the Underground RR, then up to Mt. Adams, Cincinnati Union Terminal, Cincinnati Art Museum, the Taft Museum etc., etc.  More interested in the outlying areas, we can go to the Amish Country for fabulous baked  and canned goods, to the site of a meteor strike, ancient Serpent Mound, and again, on and on.  Just ask.

Cincinnati Museum Center

·         Cincinnati Summerfair – founded in 1968, the very year I moved back to Cincinnati from my 10 year stint in Florida, it began as a street fair in Mt. Adams.  During those years I was somewhat involved as an extra pair of hands to a boyfriend who was heavily involved.  From the streets of Mt. Adams to the grasslands of Eden Park and then onward and upward.  Today it is a weekend affair bringing artists of all types to the event to showcase their wares.  Back in the day as an added bonus for those who paid attention, there was a fabulous party 2 weeks prior for volunteers and sponsors.  I think the party was beforehand rather than after as after everyone just crashed and burned!!!

·         Cincinnati Bridges – yep, I did say bridges.  How many cities have a “Purple People Bridge”?  Formerly an auto bridge that reached an age of extinction except that someone had the smarts to convert it to a pedestrian bridge.  There is also the Suspension Bridge, slightly post  Civil War this bridge served as a prototype for the Brooklyn Bridge….no kidding!!!

Suspension Bridge

·         Mt. Adams – One of the seven hills of Cincinnati, its history is so rich and lush it makes me blush!!  In my heyday it was my hangout, where I worked and lived.  But long before I wandered up ‘The Hill’ it was a family destination that took a full day to travel to by horse and buggy from downtown.  (Today you can do it in about 3 minutes).  Nicholas Longworth developed it as a vineyard which was destroyed by 1860 by Black Rot.  Eventually it transitioned into a hilltop neighborhood housing the Cincinnati Art Museum, Rookwood Pottery and one of the famous Cincinnati Inclines.  By the mid-1960’s it became home to a large contingent of ‘those damned hippies’ and by the late 1970’s transitioned even further into a young professional neighborhood.  For those of us who still linger on the hill, it holds wonderful memories.

Eden Park

·         Columbia Parkway – call me weird, but this is a main thoroughfare of the city that runs east to west paralleling the river.  My fondest memory of the 4 lane highway is when I first arrived in Cincinnati, driving out to Batavia to move in with my Aunt Madge.  The road is a 4 lane highway that depending on the time of day could be a serious challenge to drive.  Meaning that the two middle lanes had huge lights above them that were X’s or arrows…red X’s or green arrows.   If it was during morning rush hour and you were traveling into town, the two middle lanes had green arrows above them and you had 3 lanes to travel. The opposite direction had 2 red X’s above them.   If it was evening rush hour the arrows changed to accommodate the outbound traffic.  Now, these many years later it seems like a pretty easy concept to grasp…however, as an inexperienced 19 year old on her own for the first time, those arrows threw me for a loop.  I still remember the panic that set in my first time driving Columbia Parkway.  Sometime not to long after, the arrows went away and the lanes stayed as you would expect them to be.  But, it is a vivid memory.

·         Cincinnati and the region has one of the most stable economies of any city in the US.  Because of the highly diversified manufacturing/business base anywhere, when a downturn occurs, sure it hits us, but not as hard as say an economy that is supported completely by oil, or by steel, or by tourism, or whatever.  We have a little bit of everything in Cincinnati and the surrounding area.

So, I could go on and on, but instead why not come to Cincinnati and find your own treasure trove of wonderful experiences.  You will not be disappointed.