With summer in full swing, many Cincinnatians are looking forward to vacations spent touring other parts of the country or world. But many never stop to consider the history, architecture and heritage that are right under their noses every day.
This year, pledge to be a tourist in your own town and learn something about Cincinnati by taking one of the many tours available locally. No matter what your interest from gangsters to ghosts, buildings to breweries, stars to Shakers, there's probably a tour out there that will appeal to you. Advance registration is required or recommended for most tours, so read on and plan ahead.
OUR WEIRD HISTORY
Prohibition Resistance Tours
513-604-9812, www.cincinnatibrewerytours.com
The Brewery District Community Urban Redevelopment Corp. offers tours focused on Over-the-Rhine's brewing heritage and the historical, cultural and social aspects of that heritage. Tours take participants inside some of the neighborhood's old brewery locations, and what's more, a portion of the proceeds goes toward preserving and repairing those buildings, according to Brewery District Executive Director Steve Hampton.
"The Lager Tour"
When: 1 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through mid-September
Where: Starts at the Over-the-Rhine Beer Garden at Findlay Market
What: Step inside the former Clyffside Brewery to see the spaces where they brewed the beer, then go 30 feet below ground to the lager cellars of Jackson Brewery during this hour and 45 minute tour.
Cost: $15
The group also offers longer, more detailed tours during Oktoberfest weekend, Sept. 17-18, and Bockfest weekend, traditionally the first weekend in March. Check the website for updates.
Reservations are recommended for all tours.
American Legacy Tours
859-951-8560, www.americanlegacytours.com
American Legacy Tours strives to make learning about local history engaging and lighthearted, inserting humor and human interest stories into its various walking tours, according to marketing director Jerome Gels. Some tours do sell out, so book your tickets online before you go.
"Newport Gangster Tour"
When: 10:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. Saturdays through Oct. 31; check the website for updates after that
Where: Begins at Gangsters Dueling Piano Bar, 18 E. Fifth St., Newport
Cost: $15 per person; $10 for children under 12
Now in its third season, the Newport Gangster Tour includes a 20-minute slide show followed by a four-block walk through Newport's notorious past, "When it was considered the gambling mecca of the United States," Gels said. Once home to 12 major casinos, 100-plus clubs offering gambling, numerous brothels and organized crime, the city attracted 1.2 million visitors per year with those activities between 1935 and 1959 or 1960, he said.
In addition to its regular tours, the group is offering two special tours in August. A "Newport Gangster Behind the Scenes" tour at 3 p.m. Aug. 6 will take participants inside at least six buildings with gangster connections. The cost is $40, which includes dessert. Tickets are available online now.
Plans are also in the works for two separate "Gangsters and Grub" tours at 5:30 p.m. Aug. 17. The tours will take two different routes, each visiting three different restaurants - one for appetizers, another for dinner and a third for dessert - with information about the city's gangster history in between. Tickets will cost between $40 and $45 and be available at the end of July.
"Queen City Underground: Bosses, Breweries and Burials"
When: noon and 3 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays through the month of July; 9:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 a.m. Saturday; 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. Sunday (does not include crypts). Times valid through Oct. 31; check the website after that.
Where: Begins at the Cincy Haus, 1218 Vine St.
Cost: $20; $10 children 12 and under
Queen City Underground highlights what Cincinnati looked like between 1870 and 1920, when it was called the "Paris of the West," Gels said.
The tour covers about seven-tenths of a mile, looking at some of the historic landmarks in the Gateway District, then going underground to see the crypts below St. Francis Seraph and tunnels below the city streets that were used in the city's brewing heyday. Participants will also learn about infamous political boss George Barnsdale Cox ("Boss" Cox) and his "gangster-esque" way of operating, Gels said.
"Civil War: Heroes, Halls and Holy Houses"
When: 1:30 p.m. Saturdays through July; then on the first Saturday of August, September and October. Check the website for dates after that.
Where: Starts at the Cincy Haus, 1218 Vine St.
Cost: $15; $10 for children under 12
This mile-long tour covers the people - including Germans, African-Americans and Irish - places - such as Memorial Hall, the Emery Theater, Old St. Mary's - and events related to Cincinnati's role in the Civil War, including the many regiments that came out of Over-the-Rhine.
Museum Center
513-287-7031, www.cincymuseum.org
Cincinnati Museum Center Heritage Programs offers about 20 tours per year showcasing our area's rich history, according to Janice Forte, volunteer Heritage Programs docent. Topics vary, and tours tend to fill up quickly, so those interested in participating are encouraged to sign up as soon as possible, she said.
The group also offers the "Subway Walk and Talk" tour of the city's two-mile subway tunnel under Central Parkway, which was part of a proposed 16-mile rapid transit loop. Next year's date will be announced in January; call 513-287-7031 to get on the group's mailing list.
Free 45-minute "Union Terminal Rotunda Tours" are also available at noon, 1, 2 and 3 p.m. Saturdays and at 1, 2 and 3 p.m. Sundays.
With the exception of "Starry, Starry Night," all tours meet at the Cincinnati Museum Center.
"Union Terminal Photo Shoot"
When: 4 to 7 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 21
Cost: $25 members; $30 non-members
Register by: Aug. 17
"Starry, Starry Night"
When: 7 to 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 31
What: Meet at the Cincinnati Observatory to dig into some appetizers before digging into the history of the facility and taking a peek through its telescope.
Cost: $30 members; $35 non-members
Register by: Aug. 18
"Shakers of Southwest Ohio"
When: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10
What: Tour two Shaker sites -White Water Shaker Village, an offshoot of the Lebanon community, and the Union Village Shakers in Lebanon.
Cost: $75 members; $80 non-members; lunch at the Golden Lamb is included.
Register by: Sept. 2
"High Steel Tour of Union Terminal"
When: 10 a.m. or 1 p.m. Nov. 5
What: Get over and above the building's rotunda to see the seven trusses that comprise it during this approximately two-hour tour.
Cost: $20 members; $25 non-members
Register by: Nov. 4
GREAT ARCHITECTURE
Architreks/CincinnatiWALKS
Contacts: 513-421-4469, www.cincinnati-walks.org
Now in its 10th season, Architreks/CincinnatiWALKS offers 10 regularly scheduled tours that, as its tagline suggests, help participants "explore places, discover history, connect the unexpected."
"In two miles and two hours, looking at 25 or 30 sites on each tour, we're going to cause our customers to connect the unexpected and hopefully say, 'wow, I didn't know'," said Trudy Backus, the group's volunteer coordinator.
Jointly sponsored by the Architectural Foundation of Cincinnati and the Cincinnati Preservation Association, the all-volunteer group offers two tours downtown, two in Over-the-Rhine, one at Findlay Market and one each in what would have been the city's first suburbs - Mount Adams, Walnut Hills, East Walnut Hills, Clifton and Northside.
Tours are offered from May through October, with off-season tours available on request.
Tickets are $15; $5 for children; $120 for groups (up to 10 people), which includes a take-home booklet about the sites visited on the tour.
Downtown:
"A River City - First, Last and Always" meets the first and third Saturdays of each month at 10 a.m. at The Contemporary Arts Center, 44 East Sixth St.
"Church and State - Separate and Together Downtown" meets the first and third Saturdays of each month at 10 a.m. at the Architectural Foundation of Cincinnati, 811 Race St.
Over-the-Rhine:
"Why Over-the-Rhine" and "Best in the Country" both meet on the second and fourth Saturdays of each month at 10 a.m. at the Coffee Emporium Cyber Cafe, 110 E. Central Parkway
"Caves in the Hills, a Goldfinger, Fats Waller's Dentists" meets the first and third Saturdays of each month at 10 a.m. at the north side of the market house at the Corporation for Findlay Market sales venue.
Mount Adams:
"The Hill" meets the second Sunday of each month at 2 p.m. at the Bow Tie Cafe, 1101 St. Gregory St.
Walnut Hills:
"Cables, Inclines and Streetcars, Oh My!" meets the first Sunday of each month at 2 p.m. at Parkside Cafe, 1026 E. McMillan St.
East Walnut Hills:
"The Swiss Chalet, Apartments for the Middle Classes, an Eclectic Community" meets the first Sunday of each month at 2 p.m. at Parkside Cafe, 1026 E. McMillan St.
Clifton:
"Town and Gown, The ABC's of Cincinnati's Academic Enclave" meets the third Sunday of each month at 2 p.m. at the corner of Middleton and Rawson Woods Lane.
Northside:
"Helltown Cleaned Up" meets the fourth Sunday of each month at 2 p.m. at Take The Cake, 4035 Hamilton Ave.
In addition to its regular tours, the group offers special tours on "fifth weekends" of the month.
This month will bring two special offerings: "Vanishing Cincinnati" on July 30. Based on drawings of Pendleton Art Center artists David and Barbara Day, the tour covers places that have vanished from our cityscape, including the Albee Theater; Wesley Chapel, where John Quincy Adams spoke and William Henry Harrison's funeral was held; and Shubert Theater. It will meet at 2 p.m. at the 5th Street Gallery, 55 W. Fifth St.
"Literary Cincinnati" will include nine sites with literary significance in the city, including the location of the former Semicolon Club, a gathering spot for writers, including Harriet Beecher Stowe, in the 1830s, and the place where Wendell Phillips Dabney, the first president of the local chapter of the NAACP, produced his newspaper "The Union." The tour will begin at 2 p.m. July 31 at the Mercantile Library, 414 Walnut St.
OTHER INTERESTS
Taft Museum of Art
513-684-4515, www.taftmuseum.org
The Taft offers occasional neighborhood and specialty tours; up next is:
"Historic Lytle Park from Ground Level"
When: 2 to 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 23
What: This walking tour takes a look at the Lytle Park Historic District, which is anchored by the Taft. The area's federal architecture and the history of the buildings, including the creative reuse of area structures, will be among the topics covered.
Cost: $5 for members and students; $12 for general public.
Call the museum for reservations.
» Ok, we promised: Here's the list of haunted places, or at least spooky tours.
