CINCINNATI 

THEN & NOW

Cincinnati was the first all-American city founded after the Revolutionary War. Steamboats navigated the Ohio River from 1811 and within a few years, Cincinnati was a bustling trading port and a leader in shipbuilding and meatpacking, an industry which provided raw materials for Procter & Gamble and Emery. Cincinnati Then and Now shows how the city, which was once the sixth largest in the country, has developed and changed over the last 150 years, using fascinating archive photos matched with the same viewpoint today. 

HIDDEN HISTORY OF CINCINNATI

So many colorful stories are lost to time. The last passenger pigeon on earth, Martha, died in the Cincinnati Zoo in 1914. The deadliest maritime disaster in American history was the explosion of the steamboat Sultana, built in the Queen City. Just outside the city, a young Annie Oakley beat her future husband in a shooting contest. The nation’s first train robbery occurred in the Cincinnati area, and some clever victims hid jewelry in their hair and bodices. From the Black Brigade’s role in protecting the city against Confederate siege to the original 1937 Cincinnati Bengals, author Jeff Suess reveals the triumphs and tribulations of the first major American city founded after the American Revolution.

LOST CINCINNATI

Cincinnati earned its nickname of “Queen City of the West” with a wealth of fine theaters and hotels, a burgeoning brewery district and the birth of professional baseball. Though many of these treasures have vanished, they left an indelible mark on the city. Revisit the favorite locales from old Coney Island to Crosley Field. Celebrate lost gems such as the palatial Albee Theater and the historic Burnet House, where Generals Grant and Sherman plotted the end of the Civil War. Along the way, author Jeff Suess uncovers some uniquely Cincinnati quirks from the inclines and the canal to the infamous incomplete subway. Join Suess as he delves into the mystery and legacy of Cincinnati’s lost landmarks.

AAC 150 

ART ACADEMY OF CINCINNATI

AAC 150 spans the Art Academy of Cincinnati’s history from 1869–2019. The Art Academy began as the McMicken School of Drawing and Design, part of the University of Cincinnati, but joined with the Cincinnati Art Museum in 1884. Written by Jeff Suess and designed by AAC alumnus Steve Weinstein, AAC 150 features art of AAC students and alumni including Frank Duveneck, Charley Harper, John Ruthven, Petah Coyne, and Thom Shaw, with an original  comic strip on Yellow Kid cartoonist R.F. Outcault.