Book-Online-Hotel.com Information United States Cincinnati

Currently, the City of Cincinnati generally votes Democratic, the rest of the metropolitan area generally votes Republican.
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 1880's through the 1920's 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. From 1924 to 1957, the council was selected by proportional representation. As of 1957, all candidates run in a single race and the top nine vote-getters are elected (the "9-X system"). The mayor was selected by the council. Starting in 1987, the top vote-getter in the city council race automatically became mayor. Starting in 1999, the mayor was chosen in a separate election and the city manager accepted a lesser role in government; these reforms were referred to as the "strong mayor" reforms. Cincinnati politics includes the participation of the Charter Party, the third-party with the longest history of winning in local elections.

Race Relations

Ohio was a border state to the Southern slavery states. It was a focal point for huge commerce to the South as well as being a well known goal for runaway slaves as once they set foot in Cincinnati, they were officially out of slavery. Many local laws and incidents in history confound the pristine concept of it being a truly "free" city, as there were very famous incidents of riots, racial purges and tragic confrontations of runaway slaves or freeman kidnapped into bondage.
The neighborhoods in Cincinnati are highly segregated. This separation does not appear explicitly created in lawbooks or social procedures but is easily seen when considering the density of one racial domination of a particular area. Typical distribution is most Blacks are closer to downtown (such as Over-the-Rhine and Avondale) with isolated pockets of White clusters (such as Mount Adams and northern Clifton). There are neighborhoods of high integration between Whites and Blacks but these are usually surrounded by other areas which are much more polarized.

Underground Railroad

Cincinnati was an important port for the Underground Railroad in pre-Civil War times. It borders a slave state, Kentucky, and is often mentioned as a destination for many people escaping the bonds of slavery. There are many harrowing stories involving abolitionists, runaways, slave traders and free men.
The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, located in downtown Cincinnati on the banks of the Ohio River, largely focuses on the history of slavery in the U.S., but has an underlying mission of promoting freedom in a contemporary fashion for the world. Its grand opening ceremony was a gala event involving many national stars, musical acts, fireworks, and a visit from the current First Lady of the U.S. It is physically located between Great American Ballpark and Paul Brown Stadium, which were both built and opened shortly before the Freedom Center was opened.

History of Race Riots

There is a long history of racial tension between White and Black citizens in Cincinnati that have erupted violently.

1829 Riots begun by Whites to terrorize the Black community resulted in thousands of Blacks leaving for Canada.
1836 a pro-slavery riot took place
1841 Irish dock workers rioted against Black dock workers. When the Black dock workers banded together to defend their community from the approaching Whites, the White riotors retreated and then commandeered a 6-pound cannon and shot it through the streets of Cincinnati.
1884 The deadliest riot in U.S. history took place. It was started by a White mob in reaction to their anger over a murder trial involving a Black and White defendant. 56 people were killed and the city's courthouse was burned down.
1967 the first riot initiated by Blacks occurred. The incident which sparked the violence was a domestic dispute between a Black couple which had gunfire involved but turned quickly into a race riot.
1968 After Martin Luther King Jr's death riots raged nationwide. In the riots in Cincinnati two people died.
2001 Main article: 2001 Cincinnati Riots After 15 consecutive deaths of young Black males during police confrontations, during which time no other race or gender died, riots broke out in downtown Cincinnati. The death of Timothy Thomas occurred on the backdrop of a federal case brought against the city and police department alleging racial profiling rallying around Roger Owensby, Jr while the civil trial investigating the police involved in Owensby's death See: Roger Owensby Jr Criminal Trial. That combination is considered the catalyst for what some refer to as riots and others an uprising. Please see the main article for details.

Demographics

City of Cincinnati
Population by year [3]
1810 - 2,540
1820 - 9,642
1830 - 24,831
1840 - 46,338
1850 - 115,435
1860 - 161,044
1870 - 216,239
1880 - 255,139
1890 - 296,908
1900 - 325,902
1910 - 363,591
1920 - 401,247
1930 - 451,160
1940 - 455,610
1950 - 503,998
1960 - 502,550
1970 - 452,524
1980 - 385,457
1990 - 364,040
2000 - 331,285
As of the census GR2 of 2003, there are 317,361 people, 166,012 households, and 72,566 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,640.5/km² (4,249.0/mi²). There are 166,012 housing units at an average density of 822.1/km² (2,129.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 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 are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 148,095 households out of which 25.1% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 26.6% are married couples living together, 18.6% have a female householder with no husband present, and 51.0% are non-families. 42.8% of all households are made up of individuals and 11.1% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.15 and the average family size is 3.02.
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 are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 32 years. For every 100 females there are 89.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 85.6 males.
Although the city was ranked as one of the poorest cities in the United States in 2003, the median income for a household in the city is $29,493, and the median income for a family is $37,543. Males have a median income of $33,063 versus $26,946 for females. The per capita income for the city is $19,962. 21.9% of the population and 18.2% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 32.0% of those under the age of 18 and 14.8% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
There has been concerted effort by the local government to stem the tide of emigrants. The amount of those living in Cincinnati have decreased. Many of those leaving are living in the suburbs just outside of Cincinnati (often considered "Greater Cincinnati"), however, even considering the Greater Cincinnati area there has been an overall loss of population. Several reasons are mentioned for this phenomenon, including job opportunities, entertainment, racial tensions, education opportunities and others.

Riverfront

Being situated on the Ohio River, Cincinnati is home to several prominent bridges that connect the downtown to Covington, Kentucky and Newport, Kentucky, including the picturesque John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge; the Daniel Carter Beard Bridge (aka The Big Mac Bridge); and the Purple People Bridge.

Media

Cincinnati is served by two daily newspapers: The Cincinnati Herald), a Jewish newspaper, (The American Israelite) and weekly newspapers Cincinnati Magazine comes out once a month.

Television

The following TV stations serve the Cincinnati area:

WLWT Channel 5 (NBC), owned by Hearst-Argyle
WCPO Channel 9 (ABC), owned by Scripps-Howard
WKRC Channel 12 (CBS), owned by Clear Channel
WXIX Channel 19 (FOX), owned by Raycom Media
WSTR-TV Channel 64 (WB), owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group
WOTH Channel 25, owned by WBQC (below)-- (low power)
WBQC Channel 38 (UPN)-- (low power)
WCET Channel 48 (PBS)

These are the major talk and music radio stations in the Cincinnati area:

55WKRC AM Talk Radio "The Talk Station" [5]
NewsRadio 700 WLW AM "The Big One" [6]
Sacred Heart Radio 740 AM [7]
News Talk 1160 WBOB AM [8]
1360 Homer AM "The Sports Animal" Sports Radio [9]
1530 WCKY AM "The Revolution of Talk Radio" [10]
WAIF "What Radio Was Meant To Be" Community radio 88.3 FM [11]
WJVS "Joint Vocational School" Mon-Fri 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM on 88.3 FM
WGUC 90.9 FM NPR; Classical Music [12]
WVXU 91.7 FM NPR; Public Radio [13]
WOFX "The FOX" Classic Rock 92.5 FM [14]
WAKW "New Life 93" Christian 93.3 FM [15]
WVMX "Mix 94.1" Adult Contemporary FM [16]
WMOJ "Jammin' Oldies" Oldies 94.9 FM [17]
WYGY "The Star" Country 96.5 FM [18]
WAQZ "Cincinnati's New Rock 97.3" Alternative Rock 97.3 FM [19]
WOXY (FM) "97.7 Max FM"
WRRM "Warm 98" Soft Rock 98.5 FM [20]
WIZF "The Wiz" Urban Contemporary 100.9 FM [21]
WKRQ "Q 102" Top 40 101.9 FM [22]
WEBN "WEBN" Rock 102.7 FM [23]
WGRR "Oldies 103.5" Oldies 103.5 FM [24]
WNLT "K Love" Contemporary Christian 104.3 FM [25]
WNKU "Best Public Radio in the country" Eclectic music 89.7 FM [26]
WUBE "B 105" Country 105.1 FM [27]
WPFB "The Rebel" Country 105.9 FM [28]
WKFS "KISS 107 FM" Top 40 107.1 [29]
WDBZ "The Buzz of Cincinnati" 1320 AM Black Talk

Online Media

The following are online media outlets, including new aggregators, in the Cincinnati area:

The Dean of Cincinnati -- now at The Cincinnati Beacon [30]
513 Green PAC [31]
AroundCinci.com [32]
Blue Chip Review [33]
Cincinnati.com [34]
The Cincinnati Nation [35]
NKY.com [36]
Queen City Forum [37]
WOXY (internet radio) [38]
Cincymusic.com [39]

Culture

Mt. Adams
Clifton Gaslight District
Big Pig Gig
Cornhole originated on the West Side of Cincinnati, and consists of bags filled with corn being tossed onto upright boards with a hole in the middle.

Attractions

Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden
Cincinnati Museum Center [40]combines the Cincinnati Children's Museum, the Cincinnati Museum of Natural History and Science, the OmniMax Cinema, and the Cincinnati History Museum in the classic Art-Deco Union Terminal, the largest half-dome on the planet Earth.
Krohn Conservatory
Mt. Airy Arboretum
Spring Grove Cemetery
Coney Island of Cincinnati
Paramount's Kings Island, located in Mason, a suburb 20 miles northeast of Cincinnati
Boomerang Bay Waterpark, also in Mason, also owned by Paramount
The Beach Waterpark, also in Mason
TPC at River's Bend, a golf club that hosts a Champions Tour event (men's senior golf)
Western & Southern Financial Group Masters, an important tennis tournament held in Mason
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center
Taft Museum of Art

Buildings

Cincinnati Music Hall

Cincinnati Music Hall
Carew Tower tallest building in Cincinnati and a National Histroic Landmark; open air observation deck on 49th story; prototype for Empire State Building
PNC Tower 5th tallest in the world (tallest in the US outside of New York City) when it was built in 1914
Scripps Center Home of the world headquarters for Scripps Howard
Ingalls Building The world's first reinforced concrete skyscraper
Star Tower
Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal A former train station; now a museum; example of Art Deco style. Amtrak station has returned to Union Terminal since renovation.
US Bank Tower
The Contemporary Arts Center By Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid, 2004 winner of the Pritzker Prize. Called by the New York Times the "most important American building to be completed since the end of the Cold War."
Aronoff Center Performing art center, by architect César Pelli.
Aronoff Center for Design and Art Home of the University of Cincinnati College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning, by architect Peter Eisenman.
Vontz Center for Molecular Studies at University of Cincinnati, by architect Frank Gehry, 1989 winner of the Pritzker Prize.
Engineering Resarch Center at University of Cincinnati, by architect Michael Graves.
College Conservatory of Music at Henry Cobb partner of I.M. Pei.
Campus Recreation Center at University of Cincinnati, by architect Thom Mayne, 2005 winner of the Pritzker Prize.
Athletic Center at University of Cincinnati, by architect Bernard Tschumi. Opening 2006.

Galleries

Carl Solway Gallery
Cincinnati Art Galleries
The Design Consortium Gallery
Miller Gallery
Visual History Gallery
Weston Art Gallery

Famous Cincinnati natives

William Howard Taft – President of the United States, Chief Justice of the United States
William Henry Harrison – President of the United States
Sarah Jessica Parker – actress
Carmen Electra – entertainer
Bootsy Collins – musician
Jerry Springer – talk show host and former mayor of Cincinnati
Roger Staubach – football player
Barry Larkin – baseball player
Oscar Robertson – Former Cincinnati guard and NBA Great
Ken Griffey, Jr. – baseball player (born in Pennsylvania, raised in Cincinnati)
Pete Rose – baseball player
Frank Duveneck – painter
Ulysses S. Grant – President of the United States, General
Henry Heimlich – co-developer of the Heimlich maneuver
Powel Crosley Jr. – inventor, industrialist, and entrepreneur
Steven Spielberg – producer/director
George Clooney – Actor
Ted Turner – Media Mogul
Roy Rogers – The Singing Cowboy
Bill Hemmer – FOX News Channel Anchor
Andy Williams – singer
Doris Day – actress
Tony Snow – FOX News Channel Anchor and radio host
Charles Manson – infamous murderer
Rosemary Clooney – Singer/Actress
William McGuffey – 19th century writer of the McGuffey Readers
Daniel Carter Beard – founder of the Boy Scouts of America
Harriet Beecher Stowe – author of Uncle Tom's Cabin, abolitionist
Thomas Worthington Whittredge – painter [41]
Linda Vester – FOX News Channel Anchor
Leon Wesley Walls – Singer, Songwriter
Nick Lachey – Singer, Member of 98 Degrees
Suzanne Farrell – Ballerina
Shaun Alexander – football player
Neil Armstrong – astronaut
John Boehner – House Majority Leader
Julie Hagerty – Actress

Museums

American Classical Music Hall of Fame and Museum
Cincinnati Art Museum
The Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education
Cincinnati Fire Museum
John Hauck House
Heritage Village Museum
Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal
Cincinnati Observatory Center
The Contemporary Arts Center
Drake Planetarium
Greater Cincinnati Science Education Center
Harriet Beecher Stowe House
National Signs of the Times Museum
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center
Newport Aquarium (in Newport, Kentucky)
The Taft Museum of Art

Theater

For a city of its size, Cincinnati boasts a vibrant community of theatre artists, educators, and producers. Audiences can attend professional, semi-professional, community, and educational theatre opportunities year-round in the Cincinnati League of Cincinnati Theatres.
Professional (Equity) Theatre

Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park
Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati

Professional (Non-Equity) Theatre

Know Theatre Tribe
Clear Stage Cincinnati
Cincinnati Shakespeare Festival
Cincinnati Public Theatre
Stage First Cincinnati
New Edgecliff Theater
The Performance Gallery
The Children's Theatre

Community (Non-Professional) Theatre

Mariemont Players
Falcon Productions
Ovation Theatre Company
Cincinnati Music Theatre
If Theatre Collective
Showbiz Players

Educational Theatre
In addition to theatre experiences offered through most high schools, which are critiqued by local students through the annual Cappie Awards, Cincinnati offers a number of college-level theatre/performing arts training and performing opportunities including:

University of Cincinnati
Xavier University
Northern Kentucky University

Food culture

Cincinnati chili

Skyline Chili
Camp Washington Chili
Gold Star Chili
Price Hill Chili Goetta
Montgomery Inn -- "The Ribs King"
Graeter's Ice Cream
LaRosa's Pizza
Izzy's
Findlay Market
United Dairy Farmers
Aglamesis Bros. Ice Cream Parlor
Jeff Ruby Steakhouses

Company headquarters in Cincinnati

These companies have headquarters in Cincinnati:

Procter & Gamble – the world's largest consumer products company; recently acquired Gillette
Kroger – The largest supermarket chain company in the United States; 17th largest corporation in the U.S.
Fifth Third Bank – One of the top 20 largest banks in the United States.
Cinergy Corporation – Soon to merge with Duke Energy; the resulting company's headquarters will be in North Carolina.
Cincinnati Bell
Cincinnati Financial Corporation
Comair Airlines - Delta Connection (in Erlanger, Kentucky)
Chiquita Brands International
Durobag Manufacturing Company (in Ludlow, Kentucky)
Federated Department Stores – The largest department store chain owner in the U.S. after the acquisition of May Department Stores. Federated Store brands (Lazarus, Rich's, Burdines, etc) have all been rebranded either as Macy's or Bloomingdale's.
GE Aircraft Engines- one of the world's largest aircraft engine manufacturers; a division of the GE conglomerate based in Evendale, Ohio (suburb of Cincinnati)
US Playing Card Company – World's largest and most renowned playing card company
The Andrew Jergens Company, a subsidiary of Kao, Inc.
Luxottica Retail (in Mason, Ohio)-division of Luxottica sPA of Milan, Italy; manages the Lenscrafters, Pearle Vision, Sunglass Hut, and Watch Station retail brands.
Omnicare (in Covington, Kentucky)
Roto-Rooter
Toyota Motor Manufacturing North America (in Erlanger, Kentucky)
Fujitec America (in Lebanon, Ohio)
Western & Southern Financial Group
E.W. Scripps Company – A media company that owns many newspapers, cable channels and news stations. Also hosts the National Spelling Bee.
Convergys
Portion PAC (in Mason, Ohio)
Formica Corporation
Cintas (in Mason, Ohio)
Mitsubishi Automotive Electric America (in Mason, Ohio)
Skyline Chili
Paycor, Inc.