Recently, I traveled to Cincinnati, Ohio, which is located on the northern shores of the Ohio River in southwest Ohio. The city is bordered by two other states – Indiana and Kentucky. In fact, the Cincinnati International Airport is located across the river to the South in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Speaking of Commonwealths, did you know that four of the US States are actually charted as Commonwealths? Besides Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Massachusetts are also chartered as Commonwealths. While the term Commonwealth is synonymous with State, its origins trace back to the latin word “res publica” which is the origin of the word “republic.”
In the US approximately 40 different cities are nicknamed the Queen City, two of the most prominent being Charlotte and Cincinnati. Charlotte is named after Queen Charlotte, wife of British Monarch King George III. One might be scratching his or her head over Queen Cincy? Actually, the city gained its nickname from a poem in 1854 written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow “Catawba Wine”, which referred to Cincinnati as the “Queen of the West”.
Cincinnati today is known for being home to two professional sports teams, the NFL Cincinnati Bengals, and the Cincinnati Reds MLB team. The Cincinnati Reds originally formed in 1869 as the “Red Stockings”. The Reds have a passionate fan base and the stadium overlooks the Ohio River. Although, the stadium is too far away from the banks of the river for any baseballs to reach the river following a home run.
Any fan of baseball history will have to go take a journey next door to the stadium to the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum. This is one of the best team hall of fames in the USA. The hall is multi stories and includes numerous exhibits about the history of the team, as well as baseball. Any fan of history and/or baseball will be fascinated for hours with all the historical memorabilia.
There are also many historical bridges that cross the Ohio River between Cincinnati and northern Kentucky. Some of these bridges include the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge which was built in 1867. Its designer also built the famed Brooklyn Bridge in New York City.
Cincinnati is home to many local chain restaurants, but its signature food is Skyline Chili. This is different than regular chili in that it is topped over spaghetti and includes shredded cheddar cheese rather than being eaten from a bowl. No trip to Cincinnati is complete without giving this local dish a try.
Cincinnati is also home to many businesses including Proctor and Gamble which is the home of such brands as Bounty, Tide, Oral-B, and Old Space .Another business that is headquartered in Cincinnati is Kroger which operates over 2,800 grocery stores across the United States.
