OHIO RIVER

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A-to-Z Guide to Greater Cincinnati:
"Best Place to Live in North America"

River brings business, fun, floods

It's safe to say there would be no metropolis known as Greater Cincinnati if it were not located on the shores of the Ohio River, because the river was and is a major factor in the area's growth.

People first came to Cincinnati, Covington, Newport and the other river towns on flat boats and keel boats in the late 18th century. They kept coming, attracted by the beauty of the valley with its many hills and by the opportunities to work in the industries that blossomed here, again in many instances because of the river.

River trade boomed and by 1880 Cincinnati was the sixth largest city in America. But soon railroads came to dominate the nation's commerce. However, even in the age of jets and interstate trucking, the Ohio River still is a major source of commerce. The Port of Cincinnati handles more than 46 million tons of commerce each year - more than passes through the Panama Canal. Nearly 200 barges per day carry roughly the equivalent of 11,500 truckloads of coal, oil and petroleum products, and grain.

The downtown riverfront is a center of development, entertainment and recreation.

Development

Other Riverfront West development plans include housing; office, retail and hotel space; and possibly even a casino if Ohio voters approve casino gambling in November.

One riverboat casino is already operating downriver out of Rising Sun, Ind., and another was scheduled to cast off from Lawrenceburg, Ind., in November.

On the Kentucky side, Newport beat out Cincinnati to win a $40 million aquarium, to be built in the city's Third Street development area. Plans are to be finalized by February. The city expects the aquarium to draw 1.2 million visitors yearly. It would open in 1999.

Covington has enjoyed a boon since 1990, when it launched its $100 million RiverCenter development featuring Covington Landing, a floating entertainment complex.

Entertainment

Two of the Tristate's biggest events take place on the downtown riverfront.

Some 500,000 people come to the annual Riverfest celebration on the Sunday before Labor Day to watch one of the most fabulous fireworks displays in the world. Since 1988, Cincinnati has celebrated its riverboat heritage every few years by hosting Tall Stacks, a gathering of riverboats from ports all over the country. The three-day celebration in 1995, the third of its kind, drew 19 boats and 800,000 people. The next Tall Stacks is scheduled for 1999.

Recreation

In 1988, Cincinnati opened a downtown riverside park, Bicentennial Commons at Sawyer Point. It features an entertainment pavilion, tennis and sand volleyball courts, an outdoor skating rink, playground and fishing pier.

Other attractions are the historic houses in the Licking Riverside Historic District of Covington, and the Showboat Majestic, the only remaining riverboat theater in America, moored on the Public Landing between the stadium and Riverfront Coliseum.

Of course, the river and the valley still present a beautiful view from a number of vantage spots, including Mount Echo Park on the west side of Cincinnati, Eden Park on the east side, and Devou Park in Covington. Several hilltop restaurants also offer a splendid river view.

A dark side, too

The worst flood of all, in 1937, took nine lives, drove 50,000 people from their homes and did $36 million damage - an enormous loss in those days.