Friday, June 18, 1999

Strollin' on the river

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Take a walk through history along the Ohio's banks in Cincinnati, Newport and Covington

BY POLLY CAMPBELL
The Cincinnati Enquirer

A statue of Suspension Bridge designer John Roebling stands in Covington. | ZOOM |

        The Ohio River is the starting point of Cincinnati history. The river has connected east to west, separated north and south. It has been transportation corridor, site of industry and both a source of drinking water and a sewer.

        A lot people have lived and worked on the river for two centuries; now the main use for its banks is living it up.

        To really experience the Ohio, you can't just speed over it in a car. You have to spend some time walking over and along it.

INFOGRAPHIC

The writer's path

        As part of Cincinnati's Bicentennial celebration in 1988, a Riverwalk was established to give people a chance to cross and walk along the riverbanks in Newport, Covington and Cincinnati. Originally, Riverwalk crossed the Suspension Bridge and the Central Bridge, but I found that a slightly different route using the L&N bridge allows for a larger loop with less backtracking.

Daneil Carter Beard's home in the Riverside district. | ZOOM |

        I started by parking at Sawyer Point and walking through the tunnel under the Cincinnati Gateway Sculpture (with the flying pigs). Go left after the tower — which displays marks of flood heights — and walk past the playground. Circle around and walk back on the path closer to the river so you can follow the geological timeline imprinted into the sidewalk.

        It's a perfect way to begin an excursion through history. Starting with the beginning of life on earth, the timeline stretches for 1,600 feet, curving past three lookouts over the river. Human history occupies the last î-inch of the walk. Talk about putting history into perspective.

        Once you reach the statue of Cincinnatus and go under the brick arches, turn right. You won't see them at first, but there are steps going to the top of the arches on the L&N Bridge.

Across to Newport
        There's an overlook here with historical plaques about bridges across the Ohio, and the history of transportation in and out of Cincinnati. Walk across the bridge to Newport. There's a pedestrian walkway between the two-lane road and the defunct railroad bridge. This crossing is on a human scale, rather quiet. Unlike zipping over the interstate bridges in a car, you'll get a sense of just how wide the river is.

        The bridge ends on Newport's Fourth Street. To the right is the site for Newport on the Levee, which is scheduled to open next summer. The Riverwalk will be extended along the flood wall as part of that development, but for now, just walk along Fourth street.

        Travel as if you're going to the new Newport Aquarium. Take the steps or the elevator to the plaza level (where there's a drinking fountain and public restroom) and walk to the river overlook. Continue past the front of the aquarium, then take the stairs down to Riverboat Row. The flood wall is interrupted here by the Southgate Bridge, so you have to go under the bridge. On the other side, there are stairs going back up.

        This is where Riverwalk officially begins, with a map and a description. From here and through Covington, you'll be following round ceramic markers set into the sidewalk. Newport completed its section of Riverwalk in time for its Bicentennial in 1995, and there are historical notes and markers along this part.

        Flags and ironwork sculptures that take their inspiration from the ironwork on the now-gone Central Bridge also are part of the walk in Newport. There's an elevated, breezy feeling to this section along the top of the grass-covered levee. It's a nice place to jog or to take a stroll after dinner at one of the Riverboat Row restaurants.

Gen. James Taylor Park
        The flood wall curves when it reaches the Licking River, which empties into the Ohio here. You can go down the steps to the Gen. James Taylor Park. There's a Bicentennial overlook there, with more historical markers (also looking a bit shabby, but Newport plans to refurbish it), a small playground and picnic tables. The Riverwalk follows the levee, then connects to the Fourth Street Memorial Bridge, spanning the Licking between Newport and Covington.

        Cross the bridge, and you're suddenly in a different environment: the historical houses and tree-lined streets of Covington's Riverside district. This is the part of the walk that has kept its historical character, rather than referring to it.

        The Riverwalk markers will take you right on Garrard Street. Make a short detour to the right onto Third Street, if you'd like to see the house where Daniel Carter Beard grew up. He was the Kentuckian who founded the Sons of Daniel Boone, which became the Boy Scouts of America. There's a statue of him and a scout outside the house. Because of the Beard connection, Scouts can get a badge for walking a version of the Riverwalk trail, (though it is a little longer, going into downtown Cincinnati).

Two wonderful mansions
        Turn around and go back to Garrard Street, turn right, and then right on Second Street. You'll walk between two wonderful mansions built before the Civil War, the Mimosa House and the Carneal House. The latter operates as a bed and breakfast.

        Second Street becomes Shelby, then curves around to meet Riverside Drive. Here you'll find bronze sculptures of historical figures who passed through or made their mark on the region. John James Audubon and Chief Little Turtle of the Miamis look to the river in the plaza on this end of Riverside Drive. Abolitionist James Bradley reads on a bench.

        The view is dominated by the Firstar Center (formerly the Crown, formerly Riverfront Coliseum) and its neon lights across the river, but it's still a nice stroll in the evening. People bring their lawn chairs, and some walk down to the strip of sand on the water's edge — one of the few places on the walk where you can easily walk directly down to the river.

        Cross the street into George Rogers Clark Park, where there's a trickling fountain and statues of riverboat captain Mary Greene and explorer Simon Kenton. Pass Mike Fink's restaurant. The street ends, but the walk continues and takes you to Greenup Street. Turn left, and then right on Second street to get to the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge. (If there are markers here, I lost them. I took the steps just before Second Street, and they connect to the bridge.)

        Be sure to cross the bridge on its east-side walkway. This was the first bridge to be built across the Ohio at Cincinnati. First proposed in 1839, it wasn't completed until 1866, showing that riverfront development always has been slow. Note that the bridge doesn't line up directly with any Cincinnati street. The steamship and ferry owners were against the bridge, and its position was their last-ditch effort to bedevil the project.

        The bridge was named for its engineer, who later designed the Brooklyn Bridge. Though everyone is familiar with its silhouette, not everyone has crossed the state line on foot, and it's a delightful thing to do. Built for horse traffic, then fortified for electric steet cars, the Suspension Bridge easily is shared by cars and pedestrians, and you're accompanied all the way by the “singing” of the cars on the metal grid roadway.

        When you reach the other side, there are steps down. Now your job is to get across the hulking mass of concrete that is Cinergy Field. At the bottom of the stairs are three unhelpful Riverwalk markers that don't tell you where to go. The official version is to go into the stadium parking lot and up the ramps to the plaza level. In the parking garage, look for a sign that says Southwest Service Level. That's where the ramp begins. Another option is to walk along Mehring Way, which is depressing and ugly, as you're walking under a stadium that was built as if the river wasn't there.

Down to the Public Landing
        Once you're on the plaza, you have a high view. You'll pick up the markers here. They take you to the walkway that leads to the Firstar Center.

        When you're almost past Firstar Center, take the steps on your right down to the Public Landing. This is where the Riverboat Majestic is docked, and where the Delta Queen stops when it's in town.

        You'll walk along the Serpentine Wall through Yeatman's Cove. If it's a hot day, you can take a wade or a dunk in the Concourse Fountains. At the far end of Yeatman's Cove, you're back at the brick arches, and you can get back to the parking lot.

        Riverwalk, which is about four miles, can take as long as you like. Explore Sawyer Point, stop for lunch in Covington, take in the aquarium, read the markers or sit and watch the river, and you could turn the walk into a day-long excursion.

       

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