THE CROWN MURAL

Western Hills Viaduct

The Western Hills Viaduct was built in 1931 in conjunction with the construction of Union Terminal and the Cincinnati Department of Public Works. Each end of the 2,800-foot double-decked bridge is marked by arch spans, the east arch bridging Spring Grove Avenue and the smaller western arch crossing the Mill Creek. The Art Deco styling and association with Union Terminal gives this landmark its iconic image. A critical link to Cincinnati’s west side neighborhoods, the City plans to partially demolish and rebuild the bridge, which is slated to be complete by 2030.

Ruby Jewel: Marge & Charles J. Schott Foundation

The Marge & Charles J. Schott Foundation is the Ruby Jewel in the CROWN.

Cincinnati Museum Center

Union Terminal’s Art Deco half-dome is an iconic part of Cincinnati transportation history. Built in 1933 to move 17,000 passengers and 216 trains a day, Union Terminal stopped operation in 1972 and then resumed in 1991. Since 1990, the Cincinnati Museum Center has operated in the space, and currently houses the Cincinnati History Museum, the Cincinnati History Library and Archives, the Children's Museum, and the Museum of Natural History & Science.

Emerald Jewel: Procter & Gamble

P&G is the Emerald Jewel in the CROWN.

Music Hall

Designed by architect Samuel Hannaford and completed in 1878, the iconic Music Hall houses the Cincinnati Ballet, Cincinnati Symphony orchestra, Cincinnati Opera, May Festival Chorus, and Cincinnati Pops Orchestra to this day. In 1975, it became a National Historic Landmark and is considered to be one of the last and best examples of the Victorian Gothic Revival architectural style. In addition to its historic value, Music Hall was built over a pauper’s cemetery, solidifying its reputation as one of the most haunted places in America.

John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge

An iconic structure in Cincinnati’s skyline, the John A. Roebling Bridge officially opened to traffic on January 1, 1867. For seventeen years it was the longest suspension bridge in the world, until it was surpassed by Roebling's famous design of the Brooklyn Bridge in 1883. It is a National Historic Landmark and a National Historic Civil engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers.

University of Cincinnati

The University of Cincinnati is the 18th oldest public university in the country, with roots dating back to 1819 in the founding of the Medical College of Ohio and Cincinnati College. UC pioneered the practice of cooperative education in 1906, and now offers 414 degree programs. Some noteworthy Bearcats include President William Howard Taft, Astronaut Neil Armstrong, and Civil rights activist Marian Spencer, among many others.

Cincinnati State

Originally called Cincinnati Technical Institute, the Cincinnati State opened in 1969 in a former public high school offering technical degree programs to an initial class of 650 students. Today, Cincinnati State Technical and Community College includes four campuses, 130 degree and certificate programs, and more than 10,000 students per year taking courses or engaging in workforce development training.

Cincinnati Zoo

The Zoological Society of Cincinnati was founded in 1873 and opened its doors in 1875. This makes Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden the second oldest Zoo in the United States. Founded on 65 acres in the Avondale neighborhood of Cincinnati and strives to be a friendly neighbor to the surrounding residents. The Zoo was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1987 due to its significant architecture featured in a variety of buildings within the Zoo. The Zoo’s Reptile House is the oldest existing Zoo building in the county, dating back to 1975. Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden remains one of the best zoos in the nation, by setting the standard for conservation, education, and preservation of wild animals and spaces across the globe.

National Underground Railroad Freedom Center

The Ohio River was once the great natural barrier that separated the slave states of the South from the free states of the North. Crossing that barrier meant freedom from slavery. Located on the banks of the Ohio River, the National Underground Railroad is a center for education and public programming for justice and freedom. Since opening in 2004, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center shares stories from the Underground Railroad through exhibits and programming.

Home of Professional Baseball

Established in 1869, Cincinnati is proud to be the home of the first professional baseball team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings. Since their inception, the Cincinnati Reds have won five World Series titles (1919, 1940, 1975, 1976, and 1990) and nine NL pennants.  The Reds have called Great American Ball Park their home field on the bank of the Ohio River since 2003.

National Steamboat Monument

Overlooking the Ohio River at Cincinnati’s Public Landing at Sawyer Point stands a three-story, sixty ton replica of the original red paddle wheel from the American Queen riverboat. The exhibit is known as the Dan and Susan Pfau Whistle Grove. The smokestacks showcase the importance of steamboats in the early days of riverboat travel and the relevance riverboats to the history of Cincinnati’s economic growth in the early 1800s.

Fountain Square

Since 1871, Fountain Square has served as the symbolic center of Cincinnati. The bronze fountain named “the Genius of Water” was commissioned by Henry Probasco by artist Ferdinand von Miller in Munich, Germany. The fountain has moved twice since its original siting, first in a 1971 renovation of the square, and again in the early 2000s to reorient the space as a civic gathering place. To this day, Fountain Square is widely used by the public for community gatherings, cultural events, and lunch breaks.

Cincinnati Gateway Sculpture

The Cincinnati Gateway Sculpture was created as an entry to Cincinnati’s Bicentennial Commons in 1988. It was designed by award-winning artist and sculptor Andrew Leicester hailing from Minneapolis, Minnesota. The sculpture depicts four winged pigs atop smokestacks, intended as a historical reference to Cincinnati’s pork processing prowess in the late 1800s. This symbolic crowning of “Porkopolis” sparked the flying pig phenomenon in Cincinnati. The pigs initally stirred some controversy amongst the Cincinnati community, but ultimately flying pigs have since become a proud symbol of the City.

Cincinnati Art Museum

Designed by one of Cincinnati’s leading architects, James W. McLaughlin, the Cincinnati Art Museum opened its doors in 1886 in Eden Park. Today it is surrounded by other landmark arts institutions like Playhouse in the Park and the Margaret and Michael Valentine Center for Dance. Access the museum and its vista views on foot by ascending the Art Walk steps from Gilbert Avenue to its campus atop Mt. Adams.

Xavier University

Xavier University was founded in 1831 as a men’s college in downtown Cincinnati. Once adjacent to St. Xavier Church, the college moved in 1912. Xavier University is the fourth oldest Jesuit university and the sixth oldest Catholic university in the United States. Only admitting women to evening, weekend, and summer school divisions since 1914, Xavier began fully admitting women to the day school in 1969. Xavier University is dedicated to engaging and forming students intellectually, morally, and spiritually, with rigor and compassion toward lives of solidarity, service, and success.

Harriet Beecher Stowe House

Harriet Beecher Stowe was an American author and abolitionist known best for her novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Over the eighteen years the Beechers lived on Gilbert Avenue in Walnut Hills, the house would host many educators, ministers, and antislavery. In those years, Harriet and her husband Calvin Stowe took part in the abolitionist, civil, human rights, and Underground Railroad movements within Cincinnati. The residence was designated a historic site in 1946 by the Ohio History Connection Network.

Lunken Airport

Also known as Cincinnati Municipal Airport, Lunken Airport served as Cincinnati’s main airport from 1925 until 1947. The first aviation activities in the area were flying lessons offered by John “Dixie” Dixon Davis around 1921 near what is now the Lunken Playfield. The 1,000 acre airfield was at one point the largest municipal airfield in the world, and was the birthplace of American Airlines in the 1940s. The Lunken Airport loop trail was one of the first multi-use paths in Cincinnati, built in the 1970s. The trail is still widely used today, now connecting to Otto Armleder Park, the Ohio River Trail, and the Little Miami Scenic Trail.

King Records

Founded in 1943 as a country music label, King Records as housed Queen Records, a “Race Records” label releasing R&B music. King Records was unique among independent labels because the entire production process was done in house including the recording, mastering, printing, pressing, and shipping of music. Releasing original material until 1975, King Records also famously helped launched the career of James Brown. Other major stars from the label would influence American pop music including the Delmore Brothers, Homer and Jethro, Ohio Cowboy Copas, Moon Mullican, Tiny Bradshaw, Little Willie John Wynonie Harris, and more. A historical marker was placed at the headquarters site on Brewster Avenue by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008.

Sapphire Jewel: Kroger Health

Kroger Health, the healthcare arm of the Kroger Company, is the Sapphire Jewel in the CROWN.

Village of Mariemont Bell Tower

Also known as the “singing tower,” in 1929 the Mary M. Emery Memorial Carillon was completed to memorialize Mariemont’s founder, Mary M. Emery. Her sister, Isabella F. Hopkins, commissioned the tower and its 23 bells with the hope of instilling patriotism in the “youth of Mariemont.” Located in Dogwood Park west of downtown Mariemont, Village members and visitors can still hear the bells played every Sunday and on national holidays.

Diamond Jewel: United Dairy Farmers

United Dairy Farmers is the Diamond Jewel in the CROWN.

Cincinnati Observatory

The Cincinnati Observatory was the first public observatory in the western hemisphere and the Birthplace of American Astronomy. It houses one of the oldest working telescopes in the world, with refractors dating back to 1845 and 1904. The observatory was originally housed at the top of Mount Ida, which was later renamed to Mount Adams after President John Quincy Adams gave his last public speech at the dedication of the observatory in 1843. Relocated to Mt. Lookout in 1873, the Cincinnati Observatory is a national Historic Landmark and still open to the public.