Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 04.djvu/853

This page needs to be proofread.
*
749
*

CINCINNATI. 749 CINCINNATI. and Saint Francis de Sales Catholic Church, on Walnut Hills, are all worthy of note. The First I'resbyteriau tower with spire, 285 feet in height, capped by a colossal gilded hand "heavenward ]iuinting,' is a prominent feature as viewed from the river. It is now somewhat dwarfed by a neighboring "sky-scraper' of twenty one sto- ries, one of few edifices of its kind in Cincin- nati. Cincinnati is the seat of a Roman Catho- lic -Archbishop and of a Protestant Episcopal Bishop, and contains over 200 churches. The buililings of the municipal markets are valued at over .•? 100,000. P.RKS. The several fine parks, well wooded and i)icturesque. cover an area of 540 acres. The famous Eden Park, or "Garden of Eden,' on Jlount Adams, has 216 acres inclosed, and con- tains the Art Museum and Art School. The Elsinore Gateway is a striking mediaeval repro- duction; and from the lofty water-tower, a prominent object, the finest view of the sur- rounding country is obtained. The chief reser- voir of the city's water-works in the park is a fine, ornamental sheet of water. Burnet Woods, another delightful park, embraces 00 acres. The Zoological Garden, containing CO acres of hills, valleys, and ravines, is well stocked with wild animals of all kinds. There are 26 cemeteries; Spring Grove, the best kno^vn, has 600 acres of land, lies six miles from the city, and is approached by an avenue 100 feet wide. Among its costly monuments are the Dexter. Fleischmann. and Robinson mausoleums, and a bronze statue commemorating the soldiers who died in the Civil ^^'ar. The most noted piece of ornamentation in the .city is the Tyler- Davidson Fountain, on the Esplanade of Foun- tain Square, Fifth Street. It was cast at the Royal Foundry- in Munich, and cost $200,000. The Garfield statue, at Eighth and Race streets, and the equestrian statue of Gen. W. H. Harrison, first Governor of Ohio, at Eighth and Vine streets, are works of great merit. Instititioxs. The educational advantages of the city arc unsurpassed. There are several high schools, and many public schools and inter- mediate schools. The higher institutions include a normal school: the University of Cincinnati, an outgrowth of McMicken University, with collegiate buildings in Burnet Woods Park and an astronomical department with an observatory at Mount Lookout: Wcsleyan Female College; a Hebrew Union College; Saint .Toseph's and Saint Xavier's .Jesuit colleges; the Lane Theo- logical Seminary, at Walnut Hills; the Franklin School; the Hughes and Woodward high schools; several medical, musical, and commercial col- leges ; and colleges of law, pharmacy, and den- tistrs". The Ohio Mechanics' Institute is a strong fac- tor in the education of the masses. It has many pupils, who attend the day and night schools, where they are instructed in liter.iture. science, and mathematics. The Museum and .rt School in Eden Park, founded by the ladies of Cin- cinnati, has two large buildings, modeled after the South Kensington Museum of England. The Museum contains a fine collection of paint- ings, statues, and works of art: and the school is attended by hundreds of students. There are many libraries, including the Voung ^fen's Mer- cantile; the Law: the Historical; the Mechan- ics; and the Public Librarv. The last is situ- ated in a conunodious building on Vine Street, is well equip])ed, containing over ;500,000 works, with numerous reading and circulating branches in outlying districts. The Cuvier Club and the Museum of the Historical and Philosophical So- ciety, poorly housed on East Broadway, have fine collections which are open to the public. The latter is rich in relics of aboriginal mound- dwellers, discovered in the vicinity, and esjiecial- ly at iladisonville. Besides the public charities already mentioned, there are numerous benevolent institutions, em- bracing almost every conceivable need, and sup- ported by private munificence. HorEL.s, The.ire.s, axd Pleasure Resorts. The chief hotels are the Grand, Saint Nicholas, Burnet House, Gibson House, Emery (with a fine commercial arcade). Palace, Honing, and the Dennison. There are several good clubs; the Avondale Club House, with its well laid-out grounds, is an elaborate suburban establishment of world-wide fame. Among the Imildings de- voted to amusement, the splendid Music Hall, founded and mainly endowed by Reuben Springer, is justly celebrated. It is used also as au ex- position building. It is 300 by 500 feet, will seat 5400 persons, and has one of the largest organs in the United States. Pike's Opera House, the Grand Opera Hou.se, Walnut Street Theatre, Columbia Theatre, College Hall, Green- wood Hall, the Lyceum, Arbeiter Hall, Turner Hall. Ilouck's Opera House, and Robinson's Oper.a House are also notewortliy structures. Owing to the large number of German residents, the city has become noted for its nnisical so- cieties, while it is also taking rank as a literary and art centre. The annual musical festivals are distinctive features of its art-life. 'Over the Rhine' is the designation of that part of the city which lies between the canal and the hills, is inhabited almost exclusively by Germans.and is famous for its concert and beer gardens. The elab- orately installed summer pleasure resorts include Coney Island, 10 miles up the river, reached by hourly excursion steamers ; the Lagoon, on the Kentuckv side ; and Chester Park, near Spring Grove Cemetery. Ixni'STRiEs Axn Transportatiox. The com- manding position of Cincinnati permits of admir- able commercial relations with the Mississippi and Ohio valleys. Mill Creek and the Miami and Erie Canal, connecting with Lake Erie, are ex- cellent waterways for the steamboats and barges that bring the coal and iron and lumber from the Alleghanies and the produce of the South to the shores of the 'Queen City.' The commerce by water has diminished since the advent of rail- roads; but, owing to its cheap charges, it is still considerable. Local companies control nuich of the trade of the 1000 miles of the Ohio River and 200 miles of the tributary streams; and there is periodical communication with Louis- ville and with Xew Orleans. Cincinnati is an important railroad centre. The imposing Cen- tral Union Depot on Central .venue and Third Street is a converging station for the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and Saint Louis: the Balti- more and Ohio; the Chesapeake and Ohio; the Queen and Crescent ; the Louisville and Nash- ville: and other lines. The Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton, the Pennsylvania, and some minor local railways have separate stations. The city has nearly 8000 industrial establish-