Tag: history

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Arts & Entertainment News

Historic Over-the-Rhine brewery tours expand offerings

Five years ago a group of people started to reveal a bit of Cincinnati’s history by offering the very first Prohibition Resistance Tours in the historic Over-the-Rhine Brewery District.

Since those first tours the reaction has been positive and overwhelming as they have continually sold out when offered, first at the annual Bockfest celebration and then starting during Oktoberfest weekend last year.

“When we started the Prohibition Resistance Tours in 2006, we were entering new territory.  We believed that there were a lot of other people out there like us who would be fascinated by Cincinnati’s brewing history and intrigued by our literal brewing underground,” says Michael D. Morgan, Brewery District CURC board member and author of Over-the-Rhine: When Beer was King.

The Prohibition Resistance Tours: The Lager Tour will be offered all summer long and commence at the Findlay Market Biergarten promptly at 1pm each Saturday and Sunday. These walking tours will run about ninety minutes long and include visits into the old Clyffside Brewery as well as a trip into the Clifton hillside lagering cellars at the historic Jackson Brewery building.

With a limit of 50 people per tour, it is highly recommended that reservations be made in advance through their website. A portion of the proceeds from each ticket sold go back to helping preserve the building stock that makes up Cincinnati’s brewing history in Over-the-Rhine.

The Lager Tour will be offered every weekend from now until mid September which leads right into Oktoberfest weekend when The Marzen Tours are scheduled to coincide with both Cincinnati’s famous Oktoberfest as well as the reincarnation of the Hudy 14k run.

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Arts & Entertainment News

German Day Weekend reminds Cincinnatians of German roots

The 2010 German Day Parade.

Cincinnati’s German heritage will be evident this Saturday and Sunday at the 116th German Day Weekend.  The event will begin at 11am Saturday June 4 at Findlay Market with a parade and opening ceremony.  German dance and singing groups will perform, and representatives from numerous area German-American societies will be on hand.

Dr. Don Heinrich Tolzmann, president of the German-American Citizen’s League and author of several books including German Cincinnati, says that “Germans influenced just about everything in the area: even the symbol of the city, the Tyler Davidson fountain which was brought from Munich, and the suspension bridge, which was built by Roebling, a German immigrant.”


2010 German Day Parade.

Along with St. Louis and Milwaukee, Cincinnati forms a part of the German Triangle, consisting of the three major centers of German heritage in the United States.  The first Germans came to this area in the late 18th century, and many followed in the 19th and 20th century.  “Germans were involved in all different industries in addition to brewing, like baking, banking, and music,” said Tolzmann, a retired UC professor.

On Sunday, June 5, join the fun at Hofbräuhaus Newport, where German music can be enjoyed throughout the day along with German food and plenty of beer.  Hourly raffle prizes will culminate in a grand raffle at 5:30pm: a dinner party for 20 at Hofbräuhaus.  Raffles will support the GACL and Cincinnati’s German Heritage Museum. 

The museum, which showcases memorabilia, artifacts and pictures relating to Cincinnati’s German history, located at 4764 West Fork Road, is open 1pm to 5pm on Sundays and by appointment.

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Arts & Entertainment News

Architreks walking tours connect Cincinnati with history

Why was Northside called “Helltown,” and what role did local soap mogul, Andrew Jergens, have in cleaning up its image? Every Saturday and Sunday until October, the Cincinnati Walks Architreks walking tours take participants on guided, two-hour jaunts through the city’s first communities. Walk about Downtown, Over-the-Rhine, Mt Adams, Walnut Hills, Clifton or Northside and learn how these 19th century neighborhoods took shape.

“Our objective is to inspire our participants to discover Cincinnati’s history and connect to the unexpected,” says Trudy Backus, Architreks/Cincinnati Walks founder and volunteer coordinator. “Our tours explore the hidden gems and architectural landmarks of Cincinnati so that both visitors to our city and local residents walk away with a new perspective.”

This is Architreks/Cincinnati Walks’ 10th season, and as always, proceeds benefit community preservation and education. Sponsored by the Architectural Foundation of Cincinnati and the Cincinnati Preservation Association, all two-mile tours are wheel-chair accessible, and there is a wheelchair available at the Contemporary Arts Center for customers downtown.

No reservations are necessary to reserve spots on the tours, and groups and businesses may arrange custom tours by request. Tours are $5 for children, $15 for adults, and $120 for groups of 10 or more. Subscriptions are only $30. You can stay connected by becoming a fan of Architreks on Facebook.

Visit the website or the Architreks/Cincinnati Walks Facebook Page for tour schedules and other information.

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Arts & Entertainment News

Circus poster exhibit at Cincinnati Art Museum brings lithographic prints to life

Before the appearance of movies, television, and zoos, the circus was all of those things bundled into a single great traveling show. Advertisement of that product took the form of large lithograph prints, many of them produced here in Cincinnati by the Strobridge Lithographing Company. The Amazing American Circus Poster exhibit, on display at the Cincinnati Art Museum (CAM) now through July 10, features 80 posters taken from the collection the company gave the museum upon its dissolution in 1971.

Produced between 1878 and 1939, the posters reflect a progression of artistic styles, advances in printing techniques, and the evolution of the circuses themselves. The character of the posters and the acts they advertised were not random – they are the product of the earliest marketing studies, creating the blueprint for mass marketing by 20th-century corporations. Conspicuous is the rise of star women performers: female acrobats, lion tamers, weight lifters, etc., captured the public’s interest, and therefore its disposable income, more than men performing the same acts.

This presents several dilemmas: should the circus operators be applauded for empowering women (and also foreigners, Siamese twins, and other outsiders on their payrolls), or should they be admonished for giving the appearance of empowerment while simply exploiting these individuals? And to what extent did the circus posters themselves shape exoticism?

The cultural complexities created and reflected by the circuses and how they were advertised will be the subject of the Circus Poster Symposium this Sunday, May 1, at the Cincinnati Art Museum. Admission to the symposium is $10 general public; $5 students, seniors, Enjoy the Arts members; free Art Museum members. Reservations recommended.

The Amazing American Circus Poster exhibit is on display at the Cincinnati Art Museum through July 10. The Cincinnati Art Museum, at 953 Eden Park Drive, is open 11am to 5pm Tuesday through Sunday. Admission is free to the public; parking is $4 for non-members. The Terrace Café, located in the museum, is open 11am to 3pm Tuesday through Sunday.

Emily Schneider contributed to this story.

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Arts & Entertainment News Transportation

CPA to lead walking tour of Cincinnati Streetcar route this Saturday

At one point in Cincinnati’s history, the city had the largest electrified transit network of any city its size in North America. A good deal of that network consisted of 220 miles of streetcars running all throughout the city, and now city leaders are working to introduce a modern streetcar system in Cincinnati.

The Cincinnati Preservation Association (CPA) would like to show off the proposed modern streetcar route to those interested, and discuss the positive impacts such a system would have on the city’s historic building stock.

“The city’s core neighborhoods developed along transit lines,” said Margo Warminski, Preservation Director, CPA. “They have the urbanity and great buildings people are looking for in cities today.”


Artist rendition of modern streetcar on Race Street in Over-the-Rhine.

Warminski says that at the recently held Cincinnati Neighborhood Summit speaker after speaker said the same thing about the important value of walkability and access to transit to improve neighborhoods. And the CPA believes that projects like the Cincinnati Streetcar help to promote that vision, while also presenting exciting revitalization opportunities.

“Over-the-Rhine has seen a lot of new investment in recent years, but it still has hundreds of vacant, condemned and blighted buildings at-risk of demolition,” Warminski explained. “While no one project can transform a neighborhood, people are already buying buildings and opening businesses along the proposed streetcar route.”

Those interested in participating in CPA’s Walk the Streetcar Route, can do so on Saturday, April 30 from 9:30am to 12pm. Margo Warminski will lead the walking tour, which will meet at Vine Street and Central Parkway (map), and show off the development opportunities present along the Cincinnati Streetcar route through Over-the-Rhine.

A $5 donation is appreciated, and go towards supporting CPA’s advocacy and outreach efforts that include the Gamble House, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Oakley Train Station, Village of Greenhills, monthly educational programs and other projects.