Interior, Suburbs, The bottom level below the bluffs, along the river scat, is the site of the river shipping business, and has the usual fringe of low quarters. It is paved and there is a broad public landing fronted by floating docks, wharf boats, etc. Above are the wholesale and then the retail business streets with great extent and variety of fine business architecture and girt around with electric roads of which there are some 227 miles within the city limits. The principal lines converge at or near Fountain Square and connect with a ring of suburbs within and without the city limits, unsurpassed in America. To the north are Clifton, Avondale, Mount Auburn, Vernonville, College Hill, Winton Place, Linwood, Elmwood, Hartwell, Lockland, Glendale, Norwood, Oak ley, Walnut Hills, Mount Lookout, etc. Across the river, over which on three bridges the electric lines run, are numerous cities and towns, including Covington, Ludlow and Mill dale to the west of the Licking, and Newport, Bellevue, Dayton and Fort Thomas to the east. These are in the State of Kentucky, but are included in Cincinnati's metropolitan district. The river is crossed by five bridges, each more than half a mile long, one exclusively for rail way traffic, two for highway and two for both. The truss-bridge of the Cincinnati Southern to Ludlow — costing $3,348,675, is one of the long est spans in the world; there are also the cantilever designed by John A. Roebling and completed at a cost of $1,800,000; and two wrought iron bridges to Newport, one of them used by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad.
The original town was laid out as a checker board, with streets four rods wide, the con ventional form of the artificial American town; but the irregular surface and individual tastes have given them greater variety since, and no city has a finer field for picturesque architec ture. A local freestone and blue limestone are much used in building as well as brick with steel framing. The most notable public build ings besides churches noted below are the gov ernment building (post-office, custom-house, etc.), of brick and iron with freestone facing, 180 feet by 50 feet, costing $5,200,000; the new county courthouse, costing $2,500,000, erected in 1916; the Cincinnati General Hospital, a group of 29 buildings, costing $4,000,000; the magnifi cent Music Hall, the gift of Reuben R. Springer and others; the Romanesque public library, costing $675,000; the Masonic Temple (Byzan tine) ; the Odd Fellows' Temple; the Y. M. C. A. building, the Art Museum, the Queen City Club, Bell Telephone building, the Union Central Life building, the tallest office building outside of New York city, and a number of sky scrapers of from 15 to 20 stories, one of which, the Ingalls building, was the first tall concrete structure in the world. Of public monuments, the most artistic is the Tyler Davidson Fountain, with a surrounding esplanade on Fifth street between Vine and Walnut on Fountain square, the centre of most of the street car lines. It was presented to the city by Henry Probasco in 1871, having been cast at the Royal Foundry at Munich at a cost of $200,000. The equestrian statue of President William Henry Harrison (first governor of Ohio), the statues of Gar field, Lincoln, Ecker and McCook, and the Fort Washington monument also adorn the city.
Parks, Cemeteries, etc.— The park system comprises 2,550 acres in three large bodies on the hills and many smaller ones. The largest is the superb Mount Airy Forest, containing 943 acres. The second is Eden Park, formerly called the Garden of Eden. It is situated on Mount Adams, in the northeast centre, contain ing the two main city reservoirs made to look like lovely natural lakes; there is also a water tower with steps to the top commanding a matchless prospect. The Art Museum and Art School, two beautiful buildings costing $450,000, are within the grounds, which are entered by a mediaeval gateway, Elsinore, much admired. The next largest and an equally picturesque park is Burnet Woods, containing 160 acres. It contains the grounds of the University of Cin cinnati. The Cincinnati Zoological Gardens (q.v.), northeast of Burnet Woods, comprise 60 acres of wild natural beauty, and contain a varied collection of wild animals and birds. McFarland Woods, Owl's Nest Park, Mount Echo Park and Ault Park, together with Lin coln, Washington and Hopkins, are the finest of the smaller parks. Most of the 20 cemeteries are in the northeast, although one or two are in the extreme southwest, but the one superb burial ground, one of the largest and most charming in the country, is Spring Grove Ceme tery, about six miles north on the western slope of Millcreek Valley, with 600 acres of fine land scape gardening and native beauty, and reached by an avenue 100 feet wide. It has a bronze statue as a soldiers' monument, and many magnificent and costly mausoleums.
Amusements, Clubs, etc.—Music is culti vated in a number of well-patronized institu tions, including the Conservatory, the College of Music and various smaller conservatories. The biennial May festivals are an indispen sable part of the city's higher life and are known throughout the world. Other important features of the musical life are the permanent Symphony Orchestra, which was endowed in 1915 for $1,000,000 by the late Cora M. Dow; the Orpheus Club and a large number of Ger man singing societies. The grand Music Hall is a monument of the munificence of Reuben Springer, who founded it and gave it part of its endowment. It is 500 feet by 300 feet, has a seating capacity of 3,600, and its organ is one of the largest in the country. There are also the Grand, Lyric, Walnut, Keith's, Peoples' and Olympic theatres, over 100 motion picture houses, the Emery Auditorium and many halls where people congregate for entertainments of various sorts. The chief clubs are the Queen City, Business Men's Club, Phoenix, Cincinnati, Cuview Press, Country, Literary, Woman's Women's City Club, Business Woman's, the City Club, Rotary Club, Advertiser's Club, Ben Franklin and the Trade Expan sion Club. The Cincinnati Gymnasium has extensive suburban athletic grounds and owns a fine city building. There are two favorite summer resorts on the Ohio River, one on the Kentucky shore called the Lagoon, and Coney Island some miles up the river. Chester Park, near Spring Grove Cemetery, is one of the best equipped amusement resorts in the Middle West.