CINCINNATI, shesin-unt The capital of Hamilton County, Ohio: second city in the State, and tenth in the United States in population, on the right bank of the Ohio River, in latitude 30° 6' 30" N. and longitude S4° 26' W. (Map: Ohio, A 7). It lies 116 miles southwest of Colum bus. 270 miles southeast of Chicago, and 764 miles from New York, and 1210 miles from New Orleans.
The city is built upon two plateaus, sur rounded by a semicircle of hills which ap proach close to the river above and below the inclosed plain, the ends of the semicircle being only two and a half miles apart. The first plateau is 65 feet above low-water mark, and rises on the north side 400 feet above the Ohio River, which forms here a grand curve from east to west: the second is elevated 50 to 100 feet higher, some points reaching an elevation of 900 feet above sea-level. The summits of the hills— Mount Adams, Mount Auburn, Fairview Heights, Price's Hill. and College Hill—accessible by roads and by inclined plane railways, command superb views of the river, of the Kentucky shore, and of the rolling eouutr) surrounding the city. Pierced by ravines, these thickly wooded high lands give a picturesque aspect to the city, and are covered with the beautiful residences of wealthy citizens; the Clifton, Avondale, and East Walnut Hills districts being especially noteworthy for their scenic beauty and magnifi cent homes. The climate' is very favorable. The average temperature in summer is 7524° ; in winter, :31.28°; the yearly mean being 54.72°.
Cincinnati covers an area of 38 square miles, and has a river-frontage extending nearly 14 miles. The brick and the freestone found near at hand. and the blue limestone quarried within the city limits, are largely used for building mate rial. The streets and avenues, averaging 66 feet in width, cross each other at right angles in the old portion of the city, and conform to the surface conditions in the 111.W. A public handing or levee extends along Front Street, the sloping shore being paved and lined with floating docks and wharf-boats. As three terraces constituting the ascent rise one above another from the river level, the streets become more irregular. and the
buildings with extensive grounds spread out. The lowest or 'bottom' streets, sometimes inundat ed by unusual floods of the Ohio River. are mainly devoted to manufacturing and wholesale trades; they also contain the few remaining slum quarters. The central and business portion of the city, with numerous fine stores, is compactly built, almost the whole plain being filled up, several former villages, of which Cumminsville was the most important, having been absorbed by the extending city. There are more than twenty street-railway lines, all of which con verge at and encircle Fountain Square—men tioned below—as a common starting and ter minal point. The city has 386 miles of paved and 224 miles of unpaved streets, 93 miles being of macadam, 70 miles of cobble-stones. 47 miles of granite and Belgian blocks, and 23 miles of asphalt. There are 220 miles of sewers, and the street railways aggregate 206 miles.
Beautiful suburban villages cluster about Cin cinnati. and are rendered easily accessible by the street railroads. Covington. Newport, Dayton. Ludlow, Bellevue, Linwood, Mount Lookout. Nor wood, Oakley (with its well-known race-course), and Riverside are some of these near-by towns. Their dwellings are large and costly, and are sur rounded by ample grounds. Fort Thomas, a picturesque hill-station behind Newport, Ky., and one of the most important depots of the Unit ed States Army, is forty minutes distant by electric car. The large wire suspension bridge across the Ohio, eompleted in 1867, at a cost of $1,800,000, connects with Covington, Ky. It is 2252 feet long, with ii. span of 1057 feet. and 106 feet above low-water mark. Two bridges of wrought iron, resting upon stone piers. connect Cincinnati with Newport. Ky. A fourth bridge, uniting the city with Ludlow. Ky., is that of the Cincinnati Southern Railroad. It cost $3.348.675, and has one of the longest truss spans in the world. A fifth bridge, the Chesapeake and Ohio, connecting Cincinnati with West Covington, is a cantilever. Two unimportant ferries also con nect Cincinnati with Covington and Ludlow.