Cincinnati is located on the north bank of the Ohio River near where it is joined by the Miami, Little Miami, and Licking rivers. The downtown of this picturesque city is built in a basin, with residential neighborhoods spread out on hills above. Its mean elevation is 208 m (683 ft). The city has a continental climate that is influenced by cold air masses from the north and warm air from the Gulf of Mexico, producing changeable weather. The average high temperature in January is 3° C (37° F) and the average low is -7° C (19° F); average high in July is 29° C (85° F) and the average low is 18° C (65° F). Each year the city averages 1040 mm (41 in) in precipitation, with somewhat more falling from March through July than during other months.

The population of the city of Cincinnati declined from 385,457 in 1980 to 364,040 in 1990, a 5.6 percent decrease. While the rate of decline slowed, the decrease continued into the 1990s, with the city falling to an estimated population of 358,170 in 1994. But growth has been the pattern in the 12-county metropolitan region centered on Cincinnati. There the population rose from 1,468,000 in 1980 to 1,526,000 in 1990. By 1995 it was estimated that the population of the metropolitan area had climbed to 1,592,000.

According to the 1990 census, whites are 60.5 percent of the population, blacks 37.9 percent, Asians and Pacific Islanders 1.1 percent, and Native Americans 0.2 percent. Hispanics, who may be of any race, are 0.6 percent of the people.

The city of Cincinnati itself covers a land area of 199.9 sq km (77.2 sq mi) and extends northward from the Ohio River across two broad terraces, which roughly parallel the riverfront. Beyond the terraces, a series of wooded hills rise in a semicircle up to 140 m (450 ft) above the level of the river. The lowland area along the river is known locally as the Basin. Mill Creek and the Little Miami River cut across both terraces in a southerly direction before joining the Ohio River.

Downtown Cincinnati has undergone extensive reconstruction. New office buildings, a large convention center, and several new commercial structures have replaced 19th-century buildings. In the very core of the commercial district is the refurbished Fountain Square Plaza, dominated by the Tyler Davidson Fountain. The square is the focus of downtown Cincinnati. Spreading throughout the downtown area is a network of enclosed skywalks that provide elevated connections from building to building during inclement weather. To the west of the business district is the Queensgate area, where many light industries and distribution businesses are located. The riverfront, formerly a heavily congested region of wharves and warehouses, has been completely rebuilt. The area is now occupied by a new serpentine and terraced floodwall, the large Cinergy Stadium sports arena, a landscaped park, and Interstate 71.

The largest of Cincinnati’s many parks and playgrounds is Mount Airy Forest Park, occupying 5.9 sq km (2.3 sq mi) in the northwestern part of the city. Krohn Conservatory, located in Eden Park, is one of the nation’s largest public greenhouses. It exhibits hundreds of rare and exotic plants. The Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens is one of the largest in the United States. The zoo was among the first to house animals in natural surroundings. To the northeast of the city is Kings Island, a large theme park.

Cincinnati, from its earliest beginnings, has functioned as a major port on the Ohio River. Distribution of raw materials as well as manufactured goods is one of the city’s chief economic activities. Although Cincinnati remains one of the world’s leading centers for the distribution of bituminous (soft) coal, this trade is gradually declining. Coal from Kentucky and West Virginia is shipped by rivercraft to Cincinnati and is then distributed to industrial centers along the Great Lakes, as well as to Cincinnati’s own plants. In addition, the city serves as a distribution point for numerous manufactured goods sold in surrounding regions.

Diversified manufacturing is also important to Cincinnati’s economy, accounting for nearly one-fifth of the labor force. Major employers in the metropolitan region include Proctor and Gamble (soaps, foods, toiletries), The Kroger Company (food processing as well as retail food sales), General Electric (aircraft engines), Cincinnati Milicron (machine tools and plastics-processing machinery), AK Steel (carbon steel), Ford Motor Company (vehicle transmissions), Champion International (paper products), Gibson Greetings (greeting cards), and Steelcraft (metal doors). Each of these companies employed over 1000 people in the mid-1990s. Trade and services each account for about one-fourth of the labor force.

Cincinnati is a crossroads of many of the nation’s primary transportation routes. Three major interstate freeways intersect in the city: Interstate 75, one of the nation’s leading north-south routes; Interstate 71, connecting the city to Ohio’s other largest urban centers and to Louisville, Kentucky; and Interstate 74, tying the city to Indianapolis, Indiana. Three leading railroad lines also converge on Cincinnati. The city is served by Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport, a major airline hub, located on the Kentucky side of the Ohio River.

Cincinnati has been governed by a council-manager form of government since the 1920s. The council consists of nine members elected to two-year terms. The council member garnering the largest number of votes serves as mayor, a largely ceremonial post. The city council also appoints a city manager, who acts as the administrative head of government. Hamilton County is governed by a three-member elected commission.

Losantiville, one of the first permanent European settlements in Ohio, was established on the site of present-day Cincinnati in 1788. It began to attract settlers after 1789, when an army post named Fort Washington was built nearby. In 1790 the community was renamed Cincinnati. The settlement was recognized as a village in 1802 and incorporated as a city in 1819.

Not only was Cincinnati strategically situated to benefit from westward migrations, it also became a major center for north-south commerce, both overland and by water. The Ohio River was a primary route connecting the East with the nation’s growing frontier, particularly after steamboat travel began in 1811. The Miami and Erie Canal later tied the city to Great Lakes shipping. It has been aptly remarked that Cincinnati is the "northernmost southern city and the southernmost northern city."

During and immediately after the Civil War, the economy of the city suffered as trade with the South was disrupted. At the same time, westward traffic began to bypass the city as new railroads made Chicago the region’s principal crossroads. The city’s economy revived only slowly. In an attempt to reinvigorate trade with the mid-South, the city constructed a railroad to Chattanooga, Tennessee. This railroad, the Southern, is the only long-distance line ever owned by an American municipality.

An aggressive program of urban renewal and redevelopment began in the mid-1960s and continued through the 1970s, revitalizing the central business area and especially the riverfront district.

Contributed By: