“America 250: Cincinnati in Transit(ion)” exhibition now open at the Archives and Rare Books Library

By Julianna Witt, Assistant Archivist

“America 250: Cincinnati in Transit(ion)” is an exploration of Cincinnati’s growth and transit transformation from its founding in 1788 to the present day. Over the last 288 years, Cincinnati has journeyed from steamboats to railroads, to interstate highways and to international airports. The exhibition can be viewed inside and outside the Archive and Rare Books (ARB) Library’s Reading Room in Blegen Library.

A glance into the exhibition

The exhibition includes a variety of mediums that illustrate the vast use of transportation in Cincinnati. This consists of photographs, postcards, published books, maps, tickets, posters, land surveys and correspondence. The exhibition is arranged into sections based on different modes of transportation and details the reasoning behind transportation trends throughout Cincinnati’s history. As a celebration of America 250, the exhibition features the establishment of Cincinnati by the city’s incorporators and ties that into transportation to, from, and inside the city.

To learn more about ARB please visit our website.

Learn more about the books and collections in the exhibition

• City of Cincinnati Engineer- Rapid Transit Records, ON-87-3
• Ruebel Family papers, GA-26-01
• John Day Caldwell papers, UA-81-22
• Robert Howe papers, UA-11-16
• United States, Army Corps of Engineers, Ohio River Division Records US-08-04
• Nelson and Florence Hoffman Cincinnati Postcard Collection, US-12-03
• Burgheim, Max. Cincinnati in Wort und Bild: nach authentischen Quellen bearbeitet und zusammengestellt. M. & R. Burgheim, 1888. (R.B. F499.C5 B94)
• Cutler, William Parker. Speeches and Papers Presented by the Hon. W. P. Cutler of Warren, Ohio, 1857
• Hall, James. Memorial of the Citizens of Cincinnati to the Congress of the United States, Relative to the Navigation of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. L’Hommedieu & co., 1843
• Motorways. Cincinnati City Planning Commission: Cincinnati, Ohio, 1947
• Report on the Plan of Main Thoroughfares for Hamilton County, Ohio. Hamilton County Regional Planning Commission, 1936
• Stowitts, George P. Progress Photographs: Of the Construction of the Cincinnati Union Terminal and Western Hills Viaduct and Auxiliary Mill Creek Valley Structures: Coal Tipple, Engine Supply House, Engine Terminal, Engineer’s Building, Mail Handling Building, Powerhouse, Railway Express Agency Building, Utility Building, Water Tanks, and Yard Service Building. s.n., 1929