Information AboutOver-the-rhine |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT OVER-THE-RHINE | |
| german american history | |
| united states communities with african american majority populations | |
| historic districts in cincinnati | |
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Today, Central Parkway separates Over-the-Rhine from Downtown. The street has as long and complex a history as Over-the-Rhine. It was originally the site of the Miami And Erie Canal . Most early Over-the-Rhine residents crossed the canal to enter Downtown every day. In homage to the Old Country, they called their neighborhood Over-the-Rhine, imagining the canal to be the Rhine in Germany . By 1906, the canal had fallen into disuse after competition from railroads, and parts of the Right-of-way were soon picked up for its next use by the Cincinnati And Lake Erie Railroad . An electric Streetcar line ran along this route to connect Cincinnati with Columbus and Toledo , but other parts of the canal remained stagnant pits of dirty water. In 1920, the Cincinnati Subway began construction in the former canal, but it was abandoned by 1928 following wartime inflation despite tunnels and stations remaining in good condition to this day. That year Central Parkway opened on top of the abandoned subway's Right-of-way . Over-the-Rhine is the largest National Historic District in the United States, treasured for its massive collection of 19th Century Italianate structures. Many of these buildings sell for under $50,000 with the knowledge that renovation costs may equal the price of sale. HISTORY During the 19th century, Over-the-Rhine was one of the most densely populated neighborhoods in the Midwest, if not the most densely populated. As the center of German life in Cincinnati, there were more than 50 Breweries in the neighborhood alone. At the turn of the 20th century, the population of the district reached 45,000. Germans began abandoning their Ethnic Enclave during World War I and II, amid anti-German xenophobia, and moving to predominantly non-German, white neighborhoods further from downtown. At the same time, migrant " Hillbillies " from The South and Appalachian were drawn to Cincinnati by industrial employment began settling in the neighborhood. Over-the-Rhine was reconfigured as a working class neighborhood of day laborers. By 1960, the population of Over-the-Rhine dropped to 15,000 as Working Class whites abandoned the neighborhood once these industries ceased operation. Although Cincinnati was never as much an industrial city as many other cities in the Midwest such as Cleveland, Ohio , the experience of White Flight following Deindustrialization mirrors its peers. Today, Over-the-Rhine has a vibrant African-American community, despite problems with open air drug trade, violent crime, and child poverty. Gentrification and adaptive reuse have brought new faces to Over-the-Rhine in recent years. Attracted by its large collection of historic rowhouses, Italianate architecture, and the sense of community that comes with "stoop sitting" culture, artists and others weary of traditional neighborhoods began a transformation in sections of the neighborhood that today makes Over-the-Rhine Cincinnati's most creative, culturally- and economically diverse neighborhood. In April of 2001, a Cincinnati police officer shot an African-American teenager in Over-the-Rhine just blocks from the boy's home. When members of the community demanded an explanation of the events, they received no response from the city, and some turned to rioting to express their frustration. The 2001 Cincinnati Riots in both Downtown and Over-the-Rhine just days after the shooting were seen as a result of frustration on the part of African-American city residents who did not feel that they had adequate means to achieve justice. The city acted to contain rioting in Over-the-Rhine instead of Downtown, and enacted a citywide curfew. Racial tensions in Cincinnati have always plagued the city--tenuously located just north of the slave-owning Southern states-- but they appear to have subsided in recent years with regard to Over-the-Rhine's diversifying community. ATTRACTIONS Over-the-Rhine contains Washington Park, one of the largest parks in the city to be surrounded by dense blocks of housing. Kaldi's Coffeehouse and Bookstore, on Main Street, bustles with new arrivals. The Main Street district is the center of gentrification, with art galleries and restaurants which cater to young middle class people. Findlay Market is another Over-the-Rhine institution. It is the oldest such an open air market in Ohio, and the only remaining original market in Cincinnati. DEMOGRAPHICS There are between 400 and 500 abandoned buildings in Over-the-Rhine. Its current population is just 8,311 people in an area of 0.64 square miles. It has an owner-occupancy rate of just 2.7% As of the Census of 2000 , the racial makeup of Over-the-Rhine is 27.6% White , 70.8% African American , and less than 1% of other races. 0.6% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race. EXTERNAL LINKS |
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