Cincinnati, Ohio

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City of Cincinnati
Flag Seal
Nickname: The Queen City
Motto: Juncta Juvant (Lat. Strength in Unity)
Location in Hamilton County, Ohio, USA
Coordinates: 39°8′10″N 84°30′11″W / 39.13611, -84.50306
Country	United States
State	Ohio
County	Hamilton
Settled	1788
Incorporated	1802 (village)
-	1819 (city)
Government
- Type	Mayor-council government
- Mayor	Mark L. Mallory (D)
Area
- City	79.6 sq mi (206.1 km²)
- Land	78.0 sq mi (202.0 km²)
- Water	1.6 sq mi (4.1 km²)
Elevation	482 ft (147 m)
Population (2006)[1] [2]
- City	332,252
- Density	4,174.0/sq mi (1,612.1/km²)
- Metro	2,133,678
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
Area code(s)	513
FIPS code	39-15000[3]
GNIS feature ID	1066650[4]
Website: http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov

Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County.^[5] The municipality is located in southwestern Ohio and is situated on the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border. With a 2006 population of 332,252, Cincinnati is Ohio's third largest city, behind Columbus and Cleveland, and the 56th largest city in the United States. Residents of Cincinnati are called Cincinnatians.

Cincinnati is considered to have been the first major American boomtown rapidly expanding in the heart of the country in the early nineteenth century to rival the larger coastal cities in size and wealth. As the first major inland city in the country, it is sometimes thought of as the first purely American city, lacking the heavy European influence that was present on the east coast. However, by the end of the century, Cincinnati's growth had slowed considerably, and the city was surpassed in population by many other inland cities.

Cincinnati is home to major sports teams including the Cincinnati Reds (named for the first professional baseball team ^[6]) and the Cincinnati Bengals (an NFL team), as well as events like the Cincinnati Masters (the oldest tennis tournament in the United States played in its original city)^[7],and the Thanksgiving day race (the second oldest race in the country-- after the Boston marathon). The University of Cincinnati traces its foundation to the Medical College of Ohio, which was founded in 1819. ^[8]

Cincinnati is also known for having the largest collection of nineteenth-century Italianate architecture in the U.S., primarily concentrated just north of Downtown, one of the largest historic districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Contents 1 History 2 Geography 3 Climate 4 Cityscape 5 Government 6 Race relations 7 Crime 8 Demographics 9 Economy 10 Education 11 Culture 12 Media and music 13 Sports 14 Transportation 15 Sister cities 16 See also 17 References 18 External links

[edit] History

Main article: History of Cincinnati, Ohio

Cincinnati was founded in 1788 by John Cleves Symmes and Colonel Robert Patterson. ^[9] Surveyor John Filson (also the author of The Adventures of Colonel Daniel Boone) named it "Losantiville" from four terms, each of a different language, meaning "the city opposite the mouth of the Licking River." "Ville" is French for "city," "anti" is Greek for "opposite," "os" is Latin for "mouth," and "L" was all that was included of "Licking River."

In 1790, Arthur St. Clair, the governor of the Northwest Territory, changed the name of the settlement to "Cincinnati" in honor of the Society of the Cincinnati, of which he was a member.^[9] The society honored General George Washington, who was considered a latter day Cincinnatus -- the Roman general who saved his city, then retired from power to his farm. To this day, Cincinnati in particular (and Ohio in general) is home to a disproportionately large number of descendants of Revolutionary War soldiers who were granted lands in the state.

In 1802, Cincinnati was chartered as a village and David Ziegler (1748-1811), a Revolutionary War veteran from Heidelberg, Germany, became the first mayor. Cincinnati was incorporated as a city in 1819. The introduction of steam navigation on the Ohio River in 1811 and the completion of the Miami and Erie Canal helped the city grow to 115,000 citizens by 1850.^[9]

Construction on the Miami and Erie Canal began on July 21, 1825, when it was called the Miami Canal, a reference to the Little Miami River, which was its origin, and water was diverted into the canal bed in 1827.^[10] The canal began by connecting Cincinnati to nearby Middletown in 1827 and, by 1840, the canal had reached Toledo, changing the Miami Canal to the Miami and Erie Canal and signifying the connection between the Little Miami River and Lake Erie.

During this period of rapid expansion, citizens of Cincinnati began referring to the city as the "Queen" city. The phrase was cemented in the poem "Catawba Wine" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who wrote that the city was "the Queen of the West," giving the city its nickname.

Railroads were the next major form of transportation to come to Cincinnati. In 1836, the Little Miami Railroad was chartered.^[11] Construction began soon after, with the purpose of connecting Cincinnati with the Mad River and Lake Erie Railroad, and thus the ports of the Sandusky Bay.^[10]

On April 1, 1853, Cincinnati's Fire Department became a paid department, the first full-time paid fire department in the United States, and the first in the world to use steam fire engines.^[12]

Six years later, in 1859, Cincinnati laid out six streetcar lines, making it easier for people to get around the city.^[11] By 1872, Cincinnatians could travel on the streetcar line within the city and then be transported by rail car to the hill communities. The Cincinnati Inclined Plane Company began transporting people to the top of Mount Auburn in that year.^[10]

The Cincinnati Red Stockings, whose name and heritage inspired today's Cincinnati Reds, began their career in the 1800s as well. In 1868, meetings were held at the law offices of Tilden, Sherman, and Moulton to make Cincinnati’s baseball team a professional one; it became the first regular professional team in the country, being organized formally in 1869.^[11]

During the American Civil War, Cincinnati played a key role as a major source of supplies and troops for the Union Army. It also served as the headquarters for much of the war for the Department of the Ohio, which was charged with the defense of the region, as well as directing the army's offensives into Kentucky and Tennessee. Due to Cincinnati's proximity to and commerce with slave states across the Ohio River, there was significant "Southern sympathy" in the Cincinnati area. This is evidenced by the history of the Copperhead movement in Ohio.^[13]. In July of 1863, Cincinnati was placed under martial law due to the imminent danger posed by the Confederate Morgan's Raiders who came very close to Cincinnati but never actually attacked the city proper (although it should be noted that several outlying villages such as Cheviot and Montgomery fell victim to the Morgan's threat.).

In 1879, Procter & Gamble, one of Cincinnati's major soap manufacturers, began marketing Ivory Soap. It got its appeal because of its ability to float. After a fire at their first factory, Procter & Gamble moved to a new factory on the Mill Creek and began soap production again, which eventually led to the area being known as Ivorydale.^[14]

Cincinnati weathered the Great Depression better than most American cities of its size, largely because of a resurgence of inexpensive river trade. The rejuvenation of downtown began in the 1920s and continued into the next decade with the construction of Union Terminal, the post office, and a large Bell Telephone building. The flood of 1937 was one of the worst in the nation's history, resulting in the building of protective flood walls. After World War II, Cincinnati unveiled a master plan for urban renewal that resulted in modernization of the inner city. Riverfront Stadium and Riverfront Coliseum were completed in the 1970s, as the Cincinnati Reds baseball team emerged as one of the dominant teams of the decade. In December 1979, eleven people were killed in a mass panic prior to a rock-and-roll concert at the Coliseum by the band The Who. In 1989, the 200th anniversary of the city's founding, much attention was focused on the city's Year 2000 plan, which involved further revitalization.

The completion of several major new development projects enhance the city as it enters the early years of the new millennium. Cincinnati's beloved Bengals and Reds teams both have new, state-of-the-art homes: Paul Brown Stadium, opened in 2000; and the Great American Ball Park, opened in 2003, respectively. Two new museums have opened: the Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art in 2003, and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in 2004. With many delays and political setbacks, the City of Cincinnati and Hamilton County are currently planning The Banks--a 24-hour urban neighborhood of restaurants, clubs, offices, and homes with sweeping skyline views, along the city's riverfront. Cincinnati has received such accolades as "Most Liveable City" (1993), Partners for Livable Communities, April 2004; number five U.S. arts destination, American Style Magazine, Summer 2004; was the highest rated city in Ohio for "Best Cities For Young Professionals" and 18th overall, Forbes Magazine, June 2007[2]; and inclusion in the top ten "Cities that Rock," Esquire Magazine, April 2004.^[15]

[edit] Geography

Cincinnati is located at 39°8′10″N, 84°30′11″W (39.136160, -84.503088)^[16], with a core metro area spanning parts of Southern Ohio and Northern Kentucky.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 79.6 square miles (206.1 km²), of which, 78.0 square miles (201.9 km²) of it is land and 1.6 square miles (4.1 km²) of it (2.01%) is water. The city spreads over a number of hills, bluffs, and low ridges overlooking the Ohio River in the Bluegrass region of the country. Although sometimes referred to as part of the Midwest, Cincinnati is geographically located within the periphery of the Upland South. The Cincinnati Northern Kentucky area is the upper point in the Golden Triangle, an area in Kentucky outlined by Cincinnati, Lexington and Louisville that accounts for most of the Kentucky economy and population growth.

[edit] Climate

Cincinnati is located within the northern limit of the humid subtropical climate and the southern limit of the Humid continental climate zone, with average temperatures by U.S. standards. Summers are generally warm and humid with slightly cooler evenings. July is the warmest month, with an average high of 87°F (31°C) and an average low of 68°F (20°C). Winters are colder, with occasional snow fall. January is the coldest month, with an average high of 38°F (3°C) and an average low of 21°F (-6°C). Precipitation is fairly evenly distributed each month, averaging 41 inches of rainfall and 16 inches of snowfall annually. The highest recorded temperature was 109.0 °F (42.8 °C) on July 21, 1934, and the lowest recorded temperature was -25°F (-32 °C) on January 18, 1977.

Weather averages for Cincinnati
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °F (°C)	74 (23)	76 (24)	85 (29)	90 (32)	94 (34)	101 (38)	101 (38)	103 (39)	100 (38)	91 (33)	82 (28)	75 (24)	103 (39)
Average high °F (°C)	38.4 (4)	42.8 (6)	54.4 (12)	65.5 (19)	75.2 (24)	83.3 (28)	86.6 (30)	85.1 (29)	78.8 (26)	67.5 (20)	54.8 (13)	43.1 (6)	64.6 (18)
Average low °F (°C)	21.2 (-6)	24.4 (-4)	34.2 (1)	43 (6)	52.7 (12)	61.5 (16)	66.1 (19)	64.2 (18)	57.2 (14)	44.6 (7)	35.9 (2)	26.7 (-3)	44.3 (7)
Record low °F (°C)	-22 (-30)	-9 (-23)	-6 (-21)	19 (-7)	27 (-3)	39 (4)	47 (8)	43 (6)	32 (0)	18 (-8)	-3 (-19)	-14 (-26)	-22 (-30)
Precipitation inches (mm)	2.5 (63.5)	2.5 (63.5)	4.2 (106.7)	3.7 (94)	4.4 (111.8)	3.4 (86.4)	4.1 (104.1)	3.7 (94)	3.1 (78.7)	2.8 (71.1)	3.3 (83.8)	3.1 (78.7)	40.7 (1,033.8)
Source: Weatherbase[17] April 2008

[edit] Cityscape

Main article: Cityscape of Cincinnati, Ohio

Cincinnati is unique in design as an American city, with its focus centered around Fountain Square, Cincinnati, which then is surrounded by its tallest buildings.

Cincinnati is home to numerous structures that are noteworthy due to their architectural characteristics or historic associations including the Carew Tower, the Scripps Center, the Ingalls Building, Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal, and the Isaac M. Wise Temple.

The city is undergoing significant changes due to an influx of new development and private investment as well as the beginning of the often-stalled Banks project.

A new building will soon be added to the Cincinnati skyline. Queen City Square, which will be anchored by American Financial Group and the Western and Southern Financial Group, is scheduled to be open in 2011. The building will be the tallest in Cincinnati and the third tallest in Ohio, reaching a height of 660 feet. ^[18]

[edit] Government

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The city is governed by a nine-member city council, whose members are elected at large. Prior to 1924, city council was elected through a system of wards. The ward system lent itself to corruption and Cincinnati was run by the Republican political machine of "Boss" Cox from the 1880s through the 1920s with a few brief interludes. A reform movement arose in 1923, led by another Republican, Murray Seasongood. Seasongood eventually founded the Charter Committee, which used ballot initiatives in 1924 to eliminate the ward system and replace it with the current at-large system and also to introduce a city manager form of government. From 1924 to 1957, the council was selected by proportional representation. Beginning in 1957, all candidates ran in a single race and the top nine vote-getters were elected (the "9-X system"). The mayor was selected by the council. In 1977 Jerry Springer, later a controversial television talk show host, was chosen to serve one year as mayor. Starting in 1987, the top vote-getter in the city council election automatically became mayor. Starting in 1999, the mayor was chosen in a separate election and the city manager received a lesser role in government; these reforms were referred to as the "strong mayor" reforms. Cincinnati politics include the participation of the Charter Party, the party with the third-longest history of winning in local elections.

[edit] Race relations

Main article: Race relations of Cincinnati, Ohio

Before the Civil War, Cincinnati was a bordertown between the states that allowed slavery, such as Kentucky, and those that did not, such as Ohio. Cincinnati and surrounding areas played a major role in Abolitionism. The area was a part of the Underground Railroad and was home to Harriet Beecher Stowe. Her characters in Uncle Tom's Cabin were based on escaped slaves she met in the area. Levi Coffin made the Cincinnati area the center of his anti slavery efforts in 1847^[19]. Today, The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center commemorates the era at its center located at 50 East Freedom Way.

In 2001 a series of racially charged riots occurred after the shooting death of an unarmed black male, Timothy Thomas, by police during an on foot pursuit.

[edit] Crime

Before the riot of 2001, Cincinnati's overall crime rate was dropping dramatically and had reached its lowest point since 1992.^[20] After the riot, violent crime increased, but is still well below the level of the 1970s^{[citation needed]}. The police force "work slowdown" correlates with this increase. In 2007 though an article published in the Cincinnati Enquirer on May 30, 2007 affirmed that incidences of violent crime, including homicides, were 15.3 percent lower than they had been in the first four months of 2006. Children's Hospital saw a 78 percent decrease in gunshot wounds, and University Hospital had a 17 percent drop. ^[21]

In May and June 2006, together with the Hamilton County Sheriff, the Cincinnati Police Department created a task force to crack down on crime. This consisted of an extra twenty deputies assigned to Over-the-Rhine and helped reduce the crime rate of downtown Cincinnati by 29%^{[citation needed]}. This marks a dramatic decrease in crime but has not reduced the crime levels to pre-riot levels.

In the general elections on November 7, 2006, Hamilton County voters rejected a quarter-cent sales tax increase which would have been used to build a new jail system.

The city has attempted to reduce gun violence in Cincinnati by using the Out of the Crossfire program at University Hospital, which is a rehabilitation program for patients with gunshot wounds. The program attempts to prevent them from falling back into the cycle of violence which many gunshot victims return to after leaving the hospital. ^[22]Mayor Mark Mallory is a member of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition^[23], a bi-partisan group with a stated goal of "making the public safer by getting illegal guns off the streets.

2007 saw 68 homicides, nearly a 25% drop from 2006 in which there were 89. Part of this is due to the Out of the Crossfire and Ceasefire programs, which help gunshot victims avoid a life back on the streets after they are released from the hospital. However, this is still not lower than 2000 count of 15 homicides.^[24]

[edit] Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1810	2,540		—
1820	9,642		279.6%
1830	24,831		157.5%
1840	46,338		86.6%
1850	115,435		149.1%
1860	161,044		39.5%
1870	216,239		34.3%
1880	255,139		18.0%
1890	296,908		16.4%
1900	325,902		9.8%
1910	363,591		11.6%
1920	401,247		10.4%
1930	451,160		12.4%
1940	455,610		1.0%
1950	503,998		10.6%
1960	502,550		-0.3%
1970	452,524		-10.0%
1980	385,457		-14.8%
1990	364,040		-5.6%
2000	331,285		-9.0%
Est. 2006	332,252		0.3%
Population 1810-1970.[25] Population 1980-2000.[26]

As of 2006, the U.S. Census estimates^[3] there were 332,252 people, 166,012 households, and 72,566 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,879.8.0 people per square mile (1,498.0/km²) with a housing density of 2,129.2/sq mi (822.1/km²).

The racial makeup of the city was 52.97% White, 42.92% Black or African American, 0.21% Native American, 1.55% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.63% from other races, and 1.68% from two or more races. 1.28% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. The top 5 largest ancestries include German (19.8%), Irish (10.4%), English (5.4%), American (4.8%), Italian (3.3%).

The age distribution is 24.5% under the age of 18, 12.9% from 18 to 24, 31.6% from 25 to 44, 18.7% from 45 to 64, and 12.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 89.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.6 males.

There were 148,095 households out of which 25.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 26.6% were married couples living together, 18.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 51.0% were non-families. 42.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.15 and the average family size was 3.02.

The median income for a household in the city was $29,493, and the median income for a family was $37,543. Males had a median income of $33,063 versus $26,946 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,962. About 18.2% of families and 21.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 32.0% of those under age 18 and 14.8% of those age 65 or over.

For several decades the Census Bureau had been reporting a steady decline in the city's population. But according to a story printed in The Cincinnati Enquirer on October 30, 2006, for the first time in over half a century, the U.S. Census Bureau has reported that the City of Cincinnati has actually gained population. Based on the new 2006 estimate of 332,252^[1], this represents an increase of over 20,000 new residents since the previously assumed population of around 308,728 in 2005.^[27] Despite the fact that this reversal was due to an official challenge by the city however, Mayor Mark Mallory has repeatedly argued that the city's population is actually at 378,259 after a drill-drown study was performed by an independent, non-profit group based in Washington, D.C.^[28] As a result, the city has served as a posterchild for census challenges within Hamilton County, the State of Ohio, and nationwide.

The Cincinnati-Middletown-Wilmington Combined Statistical Area has a population of 2,113,011 people and is the 24th largest in the country. It includes the Ohio counties of Hamilton, Butler, Warren, Clermont, and Brown, as well as the Kentucky counties of Boone, Bracken, Campbell, Gallatin, Grant, Kenton, and Pendleton, and the Indiana counties of Dearborn, Franklin, and Ohio.

By 2010, the U.S. Census Bureau expects Greater Cincinnati to grow northward through the Miami Valley and merge with Greater Dayton resulting in a combined population of nearly 3 million, and becoming the 15th most populous region in the US ^[29].

[edit] Economy

Cincinnati is home to major corporations such as Procter & Gamble, The Kroger Company, Sunny Delight Beverages Co, GE Aviation (suburb of Evendale), Macy's, Inc. (owner of Macy's and Bloomingdale's), Convergys, Chiquita Brands International, Great American Insurance Company, Western & Southern Financial Group, The E. W. Scripps Company, the United States Playing Card Company (enclave of Norwood), and Fifth Third Bank. Kao Corporation's United States headquarters are in Cincinnati as well. All in all, there are 10 Fortune 500 companies and 18 Fortune 1000 companies headquartered in the Cincinnati area. Statistically, Greater Cincinnati ranks sixth in the U.S. with 4.98 Fortune 500 companies per million residents and fourth in the U.S. with 8.96 Fortune 1000 companies per million residents.^[30]

See also: List of companies in Greater Cincinnati

[edit] Education

Main article: Education in Cincinnati

See also: List of high schools in Cincinnati, Ohio

The Cincinnati Public School district includes 16 high schools, each accepting students on a city-wide basis. The district includes many public Montessori schools, one of which, Clark Montessori, was the first public Montessori high school established in the United States.^[31]

The city and region is also home to a variety of other schools, both public and private. In August 2007, Cincinnati Magazine published an article rating 36 private high schools in greater Cincinnati^[32]. According to the 2000 census, the Cincinnati area has some of the highest private school attendance rates in the United States, with Hamilton County ranking second only to St. Louis County, Missouri among the country's 100 largest counties.^[33]

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati accounts for several high schools in metro Cincinnati; ten of which are single-sex: four all-male^[34], and six all-female ^[35]. Cincinnati is also home to the all-girl RITSS (Regional Institute for Torah and Secular Studies) high school, a small Orthodox Jewish institution ^[36].

Cincinnati is home to the University of Cincinnati and Xavier University, among other colleges and universities. Also in the Greater Cincinnati area are Miami University (one of the original so-called "Public Ivies"), and Northern Kentucky University, among others.

[edit] Culture

Main article: Culture in Cincinnati, Ohio

Cincinnati is home to numerous festivals and events throughout the year, including:

• The Cincinnati Flower Show, organized by the Cincinnati Horticultural Society in late April. This floral event, endorsed by the Royal Horticultural Society, is staged at Lake Como at Coney Island and claims to be the biggest outdoor flower show in the United States.
• Oktoberfest, celebrating Cincinnati's German heritage, is the largest Octoberfest in the US.
• Thanksgiving Day Race, the sixth-oldest race in the country.
• The Taste of Cincinnati and the Jazz Festival, held during the summer months.
• The Tall Stacks Festival, held every three or four years to celebrate Cincinnati's riverboat history.
• The Festival of Lights, hosted by the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden during the year-end holiday season.
• The Cincinnati Bell/WEBN Riverfest fireworks display on Labor Day weekend, attracting annual crowds of over 400,000.

The city plays host to numerous musical and theater operations, operates a large park system, and has a diverse dining culture. Cincinnati's Fountain Square serves as one of the cultural cornerstones of the region.

Cincinnati is famous for its unique culinary delicacies. "Cincinnati chili" is commonly served by several independent chains, such as Skyline Chili, Gold Star Chili, Empress Chili, Camp Washington Chili, and Dixie Chili and Deli. In addition, Goetta is a meat product popular in Cincinnati, usually eaten as a breakfast meat. Cincinnati also has many gourmet restaurants. Until 2005, when the restaurant closed, The Maisonette carried the distinction of being Mobil Travel Guide's longest running five-star restaurant in the country. Jean-Robert de Cavel has opened four new restaurants in the area since 2001, including Jean-Robert's at Pigall's. Cincinnati's German heritage is evidenced by the many eateries that specialize in schnitzels and hearty Bavarian cooking.

Findlay Market is Ohio's oldest continuously-operated public market and one of Cincinnati's most famous institutions. The market is the last remaining market among the many that once served Cincinnati.

[edit] Media and music

Main article: Media in Cincinnati, Ohio

Cincinnati is served by The Cincinnati Enquirer, a daily newspaper. The city is home to several alternative, weekly, and monthly publications, as well as twelve television stations and many radio stations.

Movies that were filmed in part in Cincinnati include The Asphalt Jungle (open shot from the Public Landing, takes place in Cincinnati but only Boone County, KY is mentioned), Rain Man, Airborne, Grimm Reality, Little Man Tate, Milk Money, Batman Forever, Traffic, The Pride of Jesse Hallam, In Too Deep, Public Eye, The Last Late Night,^[37] and The Mighty.^[38] In addition, Wild Hogs is set, though not filmed, in Cincinnati.^[39]

The Cincinnati skyline was prominently featured in the opening and closing sequences of the daytime drama The Edge of Night from its start in 1956 until 1980, when it was superseded 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 featured the city's skyline in its credits, as well as obviously being set, though not shot 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.

Cincinnati gave rise to many popular bands and musicians, including The Isley Brothers, James Brown, Mood, Calloway, The Afghan Whigs, Over the Rhine (which traces its roots to Cincinnati's Over-the-Rhine district), Bootsy Collins, Blessid Union of Souls, 98 Degrees, The Greenhornes, The National, and Heartless Bastards. In addition, many other bands and musicians call the Greater Cincinnati region their home, including Adrian Belew, Peter Frampton and alternative Hip Hop DJ, DJ Hi-Tek, who is one half of Reflection Eternal.

3 Doors Down's music video "It's Not My Time" was filmed in Cincinnati showing parts of the skyline as well as Fountain Square.

Cincinnati is also home to the region's only non-profit for the experimental and noise arts, Art Damage Inc as well as the broadcasting home of The Future of Rock& Roll, woxy.com.

The Cincinnati May Festival Chorus is a prestigious amateur choir that has been in existence since 1880. 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. Cincinnati's Music Hall was built specifically to house the May Festival.

Cincinnati is home to the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Opera, Cincinnati Boychoir and Cincinnati Ballet. The Greater Cincinnati area is also home to several regional orchestras and youth orchestras, including the Starling Chamber Orchestra.

[edit] Sports

Main article: Sports in Cincinnati, Ohio

Cincinnati has seven major sports venues, two major league teams, six minor league teams, and five college institutions with their own sports teams. It is home to baseball's Reds, who were named for America's first professional baseball team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings[3][4][5]; the Bengals of the National Football League; and the historic international men's and women's tennis tournament, The A.T.P. Masters Series Cincinnati Masters. It is also home to three professional soccer teams, two outdoor teams, the Cincinnati Kings (men's) and Cincinnati LadyHawks (women's), and one indoor team, the Cincinnati Excite (men's). Major League Lacrosse has announced that Cincinnati is in the running for one of the two expansion teams that will start play in 2008.

Fans often refer to the city and its teams as "Cincy" for short. Even the Reds' official website uses that name frequently. [6]

Club	Sport	Founded	League	Venue
Cincinnati Reds	Baseball	1882	MLB, National League	Great American Ball Park
Cincinnati Bengals	Football	1968	National Football League	Paul Brown Stadium
Cincinnati Cyclones	Ice Hockey	1990	East Coast Hockey League	U.S. Bank Arena
Cincinnati Kings	Soccer	2005	USL Premier Development League	Town and Country Sports Club
Florence Freedom	Baseball	1994	Frontier League	Champion Window Field

[edit] Transportation

Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) is the major airport serving the metropolitan area and is located across the river in Kentucky. The airport is the second largest hub for Delta and the largest for its subsidiary, Comair. The city has three other airports; Lunken Airport, a municipal airfield used for smaller business jets and private planes; a smaller airport, Cincinnati West Airport, is located in Harrison, Ohio; and lastly the Blue Ash Airport, in Blue Ash.^[40]

Cincinnati is served by the Metro city passenger bus system, operated by the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA). The Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky (TANK) serves Northern Kentucky and operates bus links in Cincinnati at Metro's main Government Square hub. There is also rail service by Amtrak with ticket offices and boarding stations at Cincinnati Union Terminal. Of the several railroad freight services serving the city, the largest is provided by CSX Transportation which operates a railroad yard west of Interstate 75.

The city has a river ferry and many bridges. The Anderson Ferry has been in continuous operation since 1817. ^[41] Cincinnati’s major bridges include:

• The Newport Southbank Bridge (a.k.a. the Purple People Bridge because of its status as a pedestrian-only bridge as well as its color)
• The John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge Opened in 1866, this bridge was the prototype for the Brooklyn Bridge, also designed by Roebling.
• The Daniel Carter Beard Bridge
• The Brent Spence Bridge
• The Clay Wade Bailey Bridge.

Cincinnati is served by three major interstate highways. Interstate 75 is a north-south route through the Mill Creek valley. Interstate 71 runs northeast towards Mount Adams and Walnut Hills. Interstate 74 begins at Interstate 75 west of downtown and connects to Indiana.

The city has an outer-belt, Interstate 275, and a spur to Kentucky, Interstate 471. It is also served by numerous U.S. highways: US 22, US 27, US 42, US 50, US 52, and US 127.

Cincinnati has an incomplete subway system. It was abandoned in 1925 before completion due to cost overruns and is now used as a conduit for fiber optic and water lines. There have been several attempts by SORTA to utilize the subways for a modern light-rail system within Hamilton County. All of these initiatives have thus far failed when placed on the ballot, with the most recent (a $2.8 billion plan) failing 2 to 1 in 2002.^{[citation needed]}

There have been numerous attempts over the past decade^{[42] [43]} to build commuter rail from Milford (in nearby Clermont County) to the Downtown Transit Center in Cincinnati. The most recent of these began gaining support in early July 2007. The $411 million plan currently calls for using and upgrading existing rail lines and new diesel cars called DMUs (diesel multiple units).^[44] Cincinnati is also currently planning a streetcar line to connect Downtown, Over-the-Rhine and the area around the University of Cincinnati.[7] An initial study conducted by Omaha-based HDR Engineers was completed on May 31, 2007 and estimated the cost to be around $100 million dollars. The first line connecting Over-the-Rhine to the Banks is expected to be ready by 2009 and is expected to spur the establishment of 1,200 to 3,400 new households resulting in $1.4 billion in redeveloped property, $34 million in new tax income for the city per year, and $17 million in new retail spending.^[45]

[edit] Sister cities

Cincinnati has nine sister cities:^[46]

- Munich (Germany) - Harare (Zimbabwe) - Kharkiv (Ukraine)

- Liuzhou (China) - Rome (Italy) - Gifu (Japan)

- Nancy (France) - Taipei (Taiwan) - Netanya (Israel)

[edit] See also

• The Banks
• Cincinnati nicknames
• Cincinnati Communities
• Cincinnati Flower Show
• List of people from Cincinnati
• List of Cincinnati neighborhoods
• List of mayors of Cincinnati, Ohio
• Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
• P.A. Deny (ship)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Find more about Cincinnati on Wikipedia's sister projects:
	Dictionary definitions
	Textbooks
	Quotations
	Source texts
	Images and media
	News stories
	Learning resources

• Cincinnati travel guide from Wikitravel
• Official Cincinnati, Ohio web-site
• Greater Cincinnati Convention & Visitors Bureau
• Cincinnati USA: Official Visitors and Tourist Site
• Northern Cincinnati Convention & Visitors Bureau
• Photo Gallery of Cincinnati images, including Skyline & Neighborhoods
• Cincy: The Magazine for Business Professionals
• Cincinnati Magazine

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