I'm working on a new project with fellow forum member Umbriago involving some pictures he took of Cincinnati in 1987. I'm having trouble determining some locations, thought maybe you guys would have some good ideas of where they're at:

 

 

- I can't tell if this is Ft. Washington Way or where fourth street now currently dumps onto I-75 North near central Ave.

 

- I realize this business may no longer be open, but does anyone know what building it was in?

 

THanks for the help everyone!

 

I think the first shot is the corner of Main and 7th, looking south.

The second photo is Fort Washington Way looking westbound. The two ramps in the foreground are from the Roebling Bridge into Dixie Terminal, and were used by TANK busses.

 

I'm less certain about the first photo, but if I had to guess I'd say it's facing south on Main Street from the vicinity of 7th or 8th Street, with the 580 building in the background. The street light fixtures are more typical of that area, as opposed to the modern beige fixtures in the central part of downtown.

 

No idea about the third photo...

(Cross-posted with Ram23)

 

Google Street View confirms the 7th/Main location. The two buildings at the far right in the first photo still exist, and are clearly visible.

 

 

THanks guys. Two confirmed, one more to go.... hmm where was King News.

Got any more mystery photos? I love these types of exercises.

Not at the moment, maybe soon in the future! :)

I'm 95% sure King News used to be where the Contemporary Arts Center is today. There was a bunch of small scale retail there including King News. It was one of the stores that challenged the city's pornography laws at different times.

Oh weird.  The Fort Washington Hotel in the first picture is the building used in the movie Traffic for the kids' hourly room to do drugs in.  What is that building now?

Yes, King'a News was where the CAC is now.  It was on Sixth a few doors west of Walnut.  THe Ft. Washington hotel was converted to condos several years ago.

I particularly like that photo of King News. This set of riddles has been solved, but for future reference I offer a suggestion.

 

Most public libraries keep copies of the RL Polk city directories for their areas. The directories' listings are organized both by resident/business name and by street address. In our local library, the directories go back at least to 1915; I'm not sure when they started.

 

Once you determine a location, sometimes you can get more detail about type of construction and a visual of the footprint and surroundings from the Sanborn fire insurance maps.

Cincinnati has directories going back to at least 1840 - definitely at the historical society and most of them @ the Library dt.

Cincinnati has directories going back to at least 1840 - definitely at the historical society and most of them @ the Library dt.

 

Yes, they are available online to read and free download (PDF files) as well: http://virtuallibrary.cincinnatilibrary.org/VirtualLibrary/vl_CityDir.aspx    I recently downloaded the 1892 Business directory and found the old ads really fascinating.