Ok, ok, you got me. I'm not really from Cincinnati. I was born and raised in a city that's about 25-30 miles north of the "big city". So, I've pretty much always said "Yeah, I'm from Cincinnati." because no one knows where Hamilton, Ohio is.
Anyway, I had the opportunity to take an amazing tour around Cincinnati today, and I have to say, it was absolutely awesome! I highly recommend that anyone living inside or outside the city take this tour. I was quite surprised to learn about a lot of the history of this city. It's humble beginnings, the boom of the beer industry, and we even visited the first Catholic church of the tri-state area (Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana). The tour that we took was called the Queen City Underground: Bosses, Breweries and Burials. We visited many old buildings, and walked around the city, and even took a trip underground to the old Kaufman Brewery. It's a long walk through the Gateway district of Cincy, which is also located in Over The Rhine, which was voted the most violent city in the country in 2009. This area was once known as the "Paris of the United States" in its heyday and with all the stories we heard today it's not hard to see why.
Cincinnati was a thriving city where many German and Irish immigrants found themselves living to start a new life here. In the early 19th century Cincinnati was the first American boomtowns of the midwest. Over The Rhine is actually one of the largest historic districts in the country. We heard stories about German beer gardens that were started here, a huge theatre district, pretty much any type of entertainment you wanted back in those days you could find in Cincinnati. Even Buffalo Bill's infamous meeting of Annie Oakley actually happened not even 25 minutes from where I currently live!
I usually spend my thoughts on many other things like kittens, puppies, and unicorns and of course...ice cream. But today my pride in my heritage and the place I consider my hometown was renewed. And I have the Queen City Underground to thank for it. The group holds other tours, and if you're interested you should definitely check out the website www.queencityunderground.com
mmmm interesting!
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Hey, I know where Hamilton, OH is...but that's because I'm from Cincinnati, too! I just started blogging and am looking to connect with other Tri-State Area bloggers. I think your title is brilliant and you should definitely keep up the film blog too. I love a good 80s flick anytime! Good luck with your writing! Come visit me sometime at http://yessaidyes.blogspot.com/
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