Cincinnati

About Cincinnati

Cincinnati is a hilly river city in the southwest corner of Ohio, set on the north bank of the Ohio River facing Kentucky. Founded in 1788 and named for the Society of the Cincinnati, a group of Revolutionary War officers, it grew rapidly as a steamboat port and became the first great boomtown of the American West. By the mid-1800s it was one of the largest cities in the country, nicknamed Porkopolis for its meatpacking, and waves of German immigrants filled the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood with breweries, churches and Italianate rowhouses. Cincinnati was also an important stop on the Underground Railroad, just across the river from a slave state.

Today Cincinnati has about 310,000 residents in the city and more than two million in the metro area, which reaches into Kentucky and Indiana. Its historic core has been dramatically revived: Over-the-Rhine, one of the largest historic districts in the country, is now full of restaurants, craft breweries and shops around Findlay Market and Washington Park, and the riverfront has been transformed by Smale Riverfront Park and The Banks between the stadiums. The city is famous for its unique Cincinnati chili served over spaghetti, its goetta and Graeter's ice cream.

Visitors will find excellent museums and family attractions. The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center tells the story of the struggle for freedom on the banks of the Ohio, Union Terminal, a magnificent art deco station, houses the Cincinnati Museum Center, and the Cincinnati Art Museum and Taft Museum hold fine collections. The Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden is one of the oldest and most acclaimed zoos in the country, the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge was the model for the Brooklyn Bridge, and Reds baseball at Great American Ball Park celebrates the city of the first professional team.