Posted February 5, 200718 yr This is the coolest. http://www.uwm.edu/Libraries/digilib/cities/ Just search for Cincinnati, Cleveland, or Columbus... or any number of other cities around the world. A few teaser Cincinnati shots, from 1947 and 1949. These are not the full resolution, by the way. I told a friend that by posting these I would be your new god, so if you want to start worshiping me, that's cool. :-D (Sorry, the proceedings of a Super Bowl party caused me to write that.) (Apologies if this link happens to already have been posted; I miss a lot these days.)
February 5, 200718 yr Wonderful first shot. I was at the Cincinnati Museum Center yesterday and never knew until then that the city's inclines could accommodate streetcars. But I didn't see any pictures there that illustrated it quite so graphically.
February 5, 200718 yr It looks like a building is under construction in steel frame in the second photo. I would guess it is the Netherland Hilton at SW cor 6th & Vine. Not sure though because I thought that was a 1950's blg. Amazing how seemless/integrated Mt. Adams is to Downtown in the first two shots.
February 6, 200718 yr Not as much as you think compared to other cities, I mean, we dident have the masses and masses and masses of demolitions, trust me, we havent lost nearly as much as most midwestern cities.
February 6, 200718 yr I've seen a few photos of the inclines that I thought showed them carrying streetcars, but I couldn't be sure. That first photo is by far the best I've seen of that. It's pretty amazing! Is praise enough, or should we try to find a virgin to sacrifice? Notice I said try.
February 6, 200718 yr Cincinnati had 5 inclines, not to be confused with an additional 3 cable car routes. (Goes to bookshelf; picks up "Cincinnati Streetcars No. 2 The Inclines, Wagner and Wright".) The Mt. Auburn or Main Street incline opened in 1872 with fixed coaches. In 1878 the cabs were rebuilt to haul horsecars. In 1889 the incline began hauling electric cars. The Mount Auburn incline operated until 1898. The Price Hill incline opened in 1874. Two planes were built side by side. The first side was constructed in 1874 and had two cars to carry passengers. The freight side was built in 1876 and had two open platforms that could carry three or four heavily loaded wagons with teams. The Price Hill incline operated until 1942 but never carried streetcars. The Bellevue incline opened in 1876. At first it carried only foot passengers but in 1890 it was rebuilt to carry vehicles and streetcars. It operated until 1927. The Mt. Adams incline opened in 1876. In 1880 a platform was added to carry horsecars. In 1920 the platforms were lengthened to cary dougle-truck streetcars. The car line was abandoned in 1947 but the incline continued to haul buses until 1948. The Fairview Incline was built in 1892 to carry streetcars. In 1921 stationary car bodies were mounted on the platforms to carry foot passengers. It operated until 1923. So there you go. (Puts book back on bookshelf.)
February 6, 200718 yr Amazing how seemless/integrated Mt. Adams is to Downtown in the first two shots. Yeah pretty amazing what highways can accomplish...*curses under breath while shaking head* :x
February 6, 200718 yr It looks like a building is under construction in steel frame in the second photo. I would guess it is the Netherland Hilton at SW cor 6th & Vine. Not sure though because I thought that was a 1950's blg. The Netherland Hilton is part of the Carew Tower complex. I believe you are correct though, that its at 6th & Vine, which would make it the old Crown Plaza Hotel. I do believe that it was built in the '40s.
February 6, 200718 yr glad i was inclined to check this thread out. baa dump. sorry. so is there ever any talk of re-opening the old inclines?
February 7, 200718 yr These are great! Thanks, Pigboy. It's awesome to see photos of the old neighborhoods along the river and at the bottom of Mt. Adams. Also, that building under construction was the Terrace Hilton, a major modern landmark when it was built in the late forties.
February 7, 200718 yr Also, that building under construction was the Terrace Hilton, a major modern landmark when it was built in the late forties. A professor of mine in college told me of how when he was in college that building was considered to be one of the best, and he made pilgrimage from Cornell via Union Terminal to see it! Now arch students are making the same trip for the Zaha building half a block away (though not many take the train, I'm sure).
February 11, 200718 yr Also, that building under construction was the Terrace Hilton, a major modern landmark when it was built in the late forties. A professor of mine in college told me of how when he was in college that building was considered to be one of the best, and he made pilgrimage from Cornell via Union Terminal to see it! Now arch students are making the same trip for the Zaha building half a block away (though not many take the train, I'm sure). The Terrace Hotel has gone to hell in a handbasket. I had the misfortune of staying there when I attended the Cincinnati forum meet early last summer; the physical property had been let go, my room was shabby, and the service was crap. It was over $100/night with tax, and I've stayed in $40 motels that were much better in all respects.
February 11, 200718 yr mrnyc - talk of opening one of the inclines, particularly the Mt. Adams incline, pops up every couple of years. The right of way is still there on all 5. The Fairview and Main Street rights of way have been converted to hillside steps. The other three have reverted back to forest. Some may be blocked by new buildings at the top. The Mt. Adams incline wouldn't be very useful anymore as it is cut off from downtown by freeways. None of the 5 would be economically viable, as there is little potential for traffic. You have to remember that people used the inclines as part of a longer route, and when the inclines were built there simply wasn't a better way. The hills were too steep for horse drawn vehicles, and the steam engine was the only power available. When electric streetcars and then automobiles were invented, and better roads were built, there just wasn't a need for inclines. Also, the inclines were very slow, taking about 2 minutes per ride. The Mt. Adams incline lasted long enough to become an attraction, but even then it didn't have the traffic to support the operation. Would it pay off today? Probably not. Yes, Pittsburgh still has inclines, and Chattanooga has a very steep cable car line, but Cincinnati is relatively tame compared to those.
February 11, 200718 yr The Baum St. building furthest to the right on this photo (red-brown brick) is the address on my birth certificate, I lived there until I was about 2 so I don't remember it although my mom has some pictures of me watching construction of the big retaining wall that are pretty neat. The cranes were only about 20 feet from our window, a boy's paradise, although the foundation slipped because of them and we were evicted immediately and had to go move in with grandma. Mt. Adams rent was super-cheap back then, the place was probably $150/mo. I-75 takes the brunt of the blame but I-71 and I-471 were both highly destructive to historic Cincinnati. I've long thought that I-71 was more or less completely avoidable -- a 4 lane parkway could have been built along Duck Creek south of the Lateral running into Reading and Gilbert as I-71 does currently. The Lytle Tunnel destroyed Lytle Park and several nice buildings, I-471's approach destroyed the lower half of Mt. Adams due to the numerous landslides it caused not to mention the demolitions across the river. Rob, I'm guessing you are as much a fan of the old slide film as I am. I'd still be shooting slides all the time if I had a lot of extra money sitting around for the film and a scanner. It ends up costing around 50 cents a shot, and digital's (esp RAW adjustments) made me into such an exposure and color temperature perfectionist I can't avoid 1/2 stop bracketing meaning each location ends up costing me $4 or $5.
Create an account or sign in to comment