Tag Archives: Urban Studies

Cincinnati Subway and Street Images Digitization Project

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By:  Kevin Grace

Today’s image from the project is certainly an intriguing one: when the Rapid Transit Commission in Cincinnati went ahead with their intent to turn the Miami-Erie Canal route into a subway system, they hired a photographer to document every step of the project.  His images detailing the particular day, time, and street location of the subway construction in the 1920s form the bulk of our digitization endeavor.  He captured extraordinary exterior views of the canal bed being widened and deepened as tunnels were built, showing the streets and buildings along the route that is now Central Parkway in Cincinnati.  However, the construction also led to these buildings being damaged – cracks in ceilings, walls, and foundations in private homes and businesses, for which the owners were submitting claims for repairs and restitution.

Photographer for City Engineer

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Cincinnati Subway and Street Project Grant Underway

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By Angela Vanderbilt

Digital Archivist, Cincinnati City Engineer Digitization Project

Angela VanderbiltAs the month of October begins, so too begins a new project for the Archives and Rare Books Library – digitizing and making available on the web the collection of negatives and prints documenting Cincinnati’s early 20th century subway development and street improvement program. New projects often require new hands to help facilitate, and it is my pleasure to join this project as Digital Archivist, marking my own beginning as I strike out on a new project in a new city. Continue reading →

Richardson's rocks: DAAP-designed Cincinnati memorial in Burnet Woods turns 40

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UC Magazine recently published a story celebrating the Richardson Stones in Burnett Woods.  Read the story below or to view the original story, go to magazine.uc.edu/favorites/web-only/richardsons_rocks.html  You can also find a collection on the Richardson Stones at the Archives and Rare Books Library.  The finding aid is available on the OhioLINK Finding Aid Repository.

Richardson Stones

UC architecture faculty and students who integrated H.H. Richardson and his works into their ongoing studies completed this memorial in Burnet Woods Park in 1972. photo/Jay Yocis

Former UC architectural history professor Bill Rudd shares the story behind the student-led construction of the Burnet Woods memorial to famed architect H.H. Richardson’s Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce Building. Henry Hobson Richardson is highly regarded, along with Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, as one of “the recognized trinity of American architecture.” The style he popularized is named for him: Richardsonian Romanesque.

Among the last buildings Richardson designed was the one-time Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce building on 4th Street. That building, dedicated in 1889, would stand among the most significant public structures in the region — along with works like the Suspension Bridge, the Carew Tower, City Hall, Music Hall and Union Terminal — had it not been destroyed by fire a century ago, in 1911. The memorial was completed in 1972.

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The Sleep Cycle Comes to an End

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By Lauren Fink, ARB Intern, 2011-2012

As the school year comes to a close today so does my internship at the Archives & Rare Books Library.  Throughout my internship I have had the opportunity to work on a variety of projects and have truly come to appreciate the role the Archives & Rare Books Library plays in documenting Cincinnati’s history.  Not originally from this town, through processing the Nelson and Florence Hoffman Cincinnati Post Card Collection and The Gaylord Oscar Shepherd Collection of Strobridge Lithography Company Calendar Cards, I was able learn about Cincinnati’s rich past and all of the events and people that gave rise to the present culture of the city.

Strobridge Calendar Card August 1896Postcard showing Cincinnati Art MuseumPostcard Showing Cincinnati's Coney IslandStrobridge Calendar Card for July 1902

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Cincinnati Ballet at 50

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In 2013, the Cincinnati Ballet will be celebrating its 50th anniversary.  This renowned local ballet company has long and enduring ties to the University of Cincinnati, and the University of Cincinnati holds records of the Cincinnati Ballet and David McLain, one of its earliest directors.  The Archives and Rare Books Library will be working with the Cincinnati Ballet over the next year as they celebrate this important milestone.

As part of the celebration, the ballet is looking to collect more material related to its history including items that might be held by former dancers, former staff, long-time ballet fans and sponsors, and any members of the public.  The ballet will be hosting an Ice Cream Social on Sunday July 29th from 2:00-4:00 at their location at 1555 Central Parkway as a way for individuals to share any treasures they hold related to the ballet and their memories of the ballet.  Click on the announcement to the right for more information on this event. Continue reading →

New Addition to ARB's Strobridge Lithography Company Calendar Card Holdings

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By Lauren Fink, ARB Intern, 2011-2012

March 1902 Calendar CardAn exciting collection of Strobridge Calendar cards has just been processed in the Archives & Rare Books Library.  The new Gaylord Oscar Shepherd Collection of Strobridge Lithography Company Calendar Cards contains 53 cards and is a wonderful complement to the 114 cards already held in The Lawrence F. Albers and George J. Albers Collection.  All of the cards in the new collection have been scanned and are available for online viewing in this web exhibit.

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Post about Cincinnati: The Nelson and Florence Hoffmann Cincinnati Postcard Collection

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By Lauren Fink, Archives and Rare Books Library Intern

The Nelson and Florence Hoffmann Cincinnati Postcard Collection is now available for viewing in the Archives & Rare Books Library.  The 1,675 postcards in the collection were acquired by Nelson Hoffman over several decades, documenting Cincinnati’s history and culture from the late 1800s through the late 1900s.  Through their images and texts, the postcards in this collection provide fascinating reflections of life in Cincinnati, both recreationally and professionally.

Saturday on the Ohio RiverEden Park Band StandOver-the-Rhine CanalUnion Terminal

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Leigh Harline Brought Memorable Characters to Life

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Pinocchio Recordings

Record Cover for Recordings of the Music from Pinocchio

Walt Disney Studios is known for their great animated films filled with memorable songs, songs that we remember from our childhood and that last with us through adulthood.  They are songs we share with our own children as they grow.  We usually remember the names of the actors who brought the characters to life, but not everyone pays attention to the names of those who wrote those songs that stay with us.  Leigh Harline, a prolific composer, was one of those people who brought the early Disney characters to life through his songs.

Harline was the son of Swedish immigrants who converted to Mormonism.  He was born in Utah on March 26, 1907, and was his parent’s thirteenth child.  His family recognized his musical talents early in his life, and he played the organ on Sundays at the Mormon Tabernacle when he was twelve years old.   He attended the Latter Day Saints High School and then the University of Utah, where he majored in music and studied piano and organ with J. Spencer Cornwall, the conductor of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Continue reading →

City Reports Offer Wealth of Information for Cincinnati Researchers

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Loan Sharks

In 1912 the Department of Charities and Correction launched a crusade against loan sharks who were targeting the poor of Cincinnati

By Janice Schulz

The Archives & Rare Books Library holds City of Cincinnati Annual Reports from 1853-1870, 1875-1876, 1905-1914, and 1926-1958. These reports contain valuable information for anyone researching the history of Cincinnati, its departments, its people, and its issues.

While reports included in each volume vary, the Mayor’s report is always available.  Also available may be various city financial reports and reports from City Council, schools, the Health Department and health care facilities, the House of Refuge, the Fire Department, the Police Department, Public Works, the City Engineer, jails, Civil Service Commission, City Solicitor, Parks Department, the University of Cincinnati, and other city commissions. Until 1914, each individual annual report is published in full, but after that time the reports take on more of a summarized format under the title Municipal Activities. Continue reading →

Documenting a Lifetime of Service: The Papers of Theodore M. Berry Now Available

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Theodore M. BerryBy Kevin Grace, UC Archivist and Head of the Archives and Rare Books Library

Theodore M. Berry (1905-2000) was a key figure in American civil rights in the 20th century, a man who marked his life with a formidable sense of justice. From the 1930s, when he graduated from the University of Cincinnati with bachelor’s and law degrees, until his death just before a new century, Berry worked tirelessly to promote racial harmony and served with distinction in President Lyndon Johnson’s programs for civil rights during the 1960s.

Three decades ago, Berry donated his papers to the University of Cincinnati where they are housed in the Archives and Rare Books Library.

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