Meet Me in OTR

                         

Hello, Cincinnati Massive! Wow, It's been like five months since my most recent post! Still recovering from a knee injury, but day by day, I'm getting stronger and more confident! The wet weather and slight pain did not stop me from stepping out on faith today, so I couldn't think of a better way to spend today than to take the Meet Me in OTR Tour. In collaboration with the Friends of Music Hall-of which I am a board member-and Cincinnati Food Tours, the three hour experience covered Music Hall, Washington Park, lunch at Sacred Beast, a streetcar trip, and Findlay Market.

This one of a kind experience kicked off with the hour long Music Hall Outdoor Building Tour, led by Friends of Music Hall Program Guide Susan Lett.  Opened in 1878, Music Hall is composed of three buildings: the center building, the North building, and South building.

Music Hall was designed by Hannaford and Sons in the High Victorian Gothic style. Samuel Hannaford also designed next door neighbor Memorial Hall and Cincinnati City Hall, among others buildings.

The center building contains Springer Auditorium, named after Reuben Springer, a major contributor to the construction of Music Hall. Introduced to the arts by his wife Jane Kilgour, Springer believed that Cincinnati should have a permanent public space for music, cultural events, expositions, and more. Supporters wanted to name the building Springer Hall, but being the humble human being that he was, Springer decided against it, and therefore, it was named Music Hall instead. Music Hall underwent its most recent renovations in 2016 and reopened in the autumn of 2017. 

Center Building, featuring Springer Auditorium

North Building, once used as a Mechanics Hall, Exposition Hall, and sports arena

South Building, once housed the Greystone Ballroom for African Americans and the Topper Ballroom for whites The flower motif above the box office entrance indicates that this was also used as Horticultural/Art Hall.

Following the Outdoor Building Tour, the group headed to Washington Park where Cincinnati Food Tours owner Barb Cooper told of the history of Washington Park. Founded in 1861, the park was originally used as a cemetery for impoverished citizens. Back then, there were complaints of vapors coming from the cemetery, causing major health issues. As a result, the City transferred the remains north to and reinterred in Spring Grove Cemetery. About twenty years ago, citizens were afraid to lay down their roots, let alone open a business, in Over the Rhine due to the presence of homeless people and profound drug activity. National publications then named Over the Rhine as the most dangerous neighborhood in the United States. In 2011, things began to turn around for the better with the renovation of Washington Park. The park reopened in July 2012 for the World Choir Games, with Friendship Concert Performance from a Gifu, Japan (one of Cincinnati's nine sister cities) choir.

Italianate architecture. This architecture originated in 1802 in Great Britain by John Nash. Over the Rhine has about 900 such buildings, making it the largest intact historic district in United States. Typically, these buildings are two to three stories high, low pitched roofs, and overhanging eaves. 

Next, it was off to the Sacred Beast for lunch. Owners Jeremy and Bridget Lieb met at the Maisonette (now Boca) and had lived in Atlanta and New York for years. They had their children, Hanna and Noah, and ultimately moved back to Cincinnati to be near family. Jeremy had worked form Boca, and he decided to open a place of his own. In this pandemic, Sacred Beast has stood the test. 

Sacred Beast is a modern diner/bar where there is "Simple Food, Taken Seriously".  

Double Burger with Cheese, Fries, Dijonnaise, and Passsionfruit Tea-gotta come back for brunch!

Finally, the group took a 25 minute trek on the Cincinnati Bell Connector to Findlay Market. Constructed in 1852, Findlay Market is the oldest continuously operating public market in Ohio.-the only one of nine original public markets! James Findlay was an entrepreneur, congressman, Cincinnati mayor, and a general in the War of 1812. He and wife Jane wanted to open a public market. Sadly, neither James nor Jane lived to see it become reality as they both passed away before the market was constructed. The Findlays bequeathed a piece of land to the City, on the condition that it be used as a public market. Construction began in 1852, but due to contract disputes at the time, the market did not officially open until 1855.

Inside the Market House, Findlay Market houses about 40 regular merchants with about 30 more stationed around the perimeter during warm months.

Market Carpet

    Designed by David Day, the Market Carpet was designed in honor of the market's 150th        anniversary, using mosaic tiles imported from Briare, France.

Findlay Kitchen

Findlay Kitchen is a food incubator. With access to commercial grade equipment, the kitchen is open to anyone who wants to get a start in the restaurant industry, but about 76% are women, minority, and immigrant owned businesses.

Now, good news and bad news. This tour is only available today and April 24, but Barb would be happy to accommodate this as a private tour going forward.

Until next time, be happy, be safe, be well!

Holiday Wurlitzer Concert

MEDIA RELEASE Contact: Mindy Rosen 513-535-0678 For Immediate Release: November 11, 2020 Mighty Wurlitzer Delivers “Happy Holidays” Virtually for 2020 For a decade the Mighty Wurlitzer Theatre Organ at Cincinnati Music Hall’s Ballroom has offered a heartwarming seasonal concert tradition, Happy Holidays. For 2020, the event returns virtually for friends and family with free streaming offered on Thursday, Dec. 3 at 7:00 p.m. presented by the Friends of Music Hall. The link will be live through Dec. 26. World renowned organist Mark Herman has been a Cincinnati favorite, and he’ll be at the keyboard to pull out all the holiday stops with seasonal music. The evening will be hosted by Evans Mirageas, Cincinnati Opera’s Harry T. Wilks Artistic Director and a veteran radio commentator. Further entertainment will be provided by vocalists Thom Dreeze and Jennifer Cherest, Cincinnati Opera regulars, as well as dancers from the Cincinnati Ballet’s Otto M. Budig Academy. Mark Herman is one of America’s busiest and most in-demand theatre organists. He has performed concerts across the U.S. and abroad in Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. In 2012, he was named Organist of the Year by the American Theatre Organ Society, the youngest person ever to be so honored. Area residents who have enjoyed Happy Holidays with the Mighty Wurlitzer Theatre Organ — as well as those seeking a special holiday experience — can order a FREE virtual link by emailing Mindy Rosen at mrosen@FriendsofMusicHall.org # # # ‌ // CONNECT WITH US //  ‌  ‌  ‌

Horace Sudduth and the Manse Hotel

Former Manse Hotel, left and the headquarters of The Cincinnati Federation of Colored Women's Clubs

 Happy Monday! Today's high is pushing 80 degrees, not typical for November, but I'm not complaining.

A week ago yesterday, I went on the Black Baseball in Walnut Hills Walking Tour, and the former Manse Hotel was one of the stops. Today, I just feel like digging deeper and share the story of this landmark.

The Manse Hotel, not to be confused with the Old Manse Hotel in Britain, is listed in The Negro Travelers's Green Book and was perhaps the most prominent African American owned, operated, and designed hotel in Cincinnati.

The former hotel was designed by Horace Sudduth, a notable African American real estate giant in the early 20th century. Born in Covington, Kentucky, he served as president the Walnut Hills Enterprise Company, president of the Industrial Loan and Savings Company, president and organizer of the Creative Realty Company, and owner of the Sudduth Real Estate Agency.

In 1937, when Sudduth acquired it, it was an 11 family residence, and over the years, he converted it little by little until it became a 108-room hotel, and he invested $500,000 of his own money to finance the hotel. 

The Manse Hotel formally opened in April 1950, and about 6,000 guest toured the hotel freely. Per the June 2, 1969 issue of the Cincinnati Enquirer, the hotel employed about 30 workers, had an annual payroll of $85,000, and grossed $200,000 annually in its peak years. Sudduth would only charge $3.00 per guest while the White hotels in downtown Cincinnati charged $6-$7 per guest. What's more, he never got a liquor license as he did not want liquor served in the hotel; the liquor alone would have more than tripled the income from all other sources. 

In later years, with integration, Black customers left the Manse as the wanted better service, and the Manse was unable to draw white guests. 

Sudduth's death in 1957 saw the decline of the Manse. His son-in-law Alexander saw that renovation was not necessarily within his power, and when the Manse was audited, it had a liability of $100,000.

Guest were now few and far in between, and the 108 rooms now were used for one night stays. 

The Cincinnati Enquirer, April 16, 1950

The Cincinnati Enquirer, June 2, 1969

Of course, behind every proud man stands a proud woman. Mrs. Melvina Sudduth was not directly involved in her husband's business ventures, but she made things strong on the homefront by making sure that their house ran smoothly. She and Horace had been childhood sweethearts and the couple was married from 1919 until her death in 1956. She had also been involved in many causes of her own, including as treasurer of the Cincinnati Federation of Colored Women's Clubs and community organizations in their native Covington, Kentucky.

The Pittsburgh Courier, March 12, 1955

The Manse Hotel was known to host baseball royalty such as Jackie Robinson. 

As of this posting, the Manse has been awarded $1.2 million in tax credits and plan to convert the building into a 60-unit apartment complex for seniors and families.

Everybody have a blessed week!

Ghosts of Black Walnut Hill's Past

 

Ashland Park

Happy November! I'm still recovering from a knee injury that I suffered this past May. I did have a voucher for a Reds home game, but again due to this evil spirit we call COVID-19, in person games have been out of the question this year, so I still decided to celebrate with the Black Baseball in Walnut Hills Walking Tour.

Peter H Clark, in addition to being principal of Gaines Colored High School, was considered the Father of Cincinnati's Black Baseball, having found the Cincinnati Vigilants. The game made a significant mark in baseball history as it connected baseball to education, thus the team consisted of student-athletes from the school. He is also the author of the first account of the Black Brigade, and was also the first African American socialist in the United States. According to the July 1874 issue of the Cincinnati Daily Times, a writer who went by the name of Vigilant Play gave an account of why white teams refused to play against one of the best Black teams in the country:

“Now, why the white clubs refuse to play our club, I can’t see,” wrote Vigilant Play, adding the claim that the Vigilants were “the champions of Ohio.” “The Vigilant Club is composed of as good players as the Arctics [a white team]. Is this giving our colored boys a show? The Arctics, Favorites and Hunkidories have to work for a living as well as we Vigilant boys do, and we will play any of the above-mentioned any day next week, except Sunday.

“It seems as if the white clubs are afraid of us,” he added boldly.

Philanthropist Jacob Schmidlapp, provided low cost housing, such as the former Gordon Hotel (pictured), for African American wage earners. In the early 1900s, rooms were priced $.50 per night, $1.75 per week.

Former Manggrum's Drugstore, Chapel Street. One of the first Black owned pharmacies in Cincinnati, the pharmacy was a vendor that sold tickets to Black performances, most notably the June Festival of Negro Music in Eden Park back in the 1940s.

Former Manse Hotel (left) and headquarters of the Cincinnati Federation of Colored Women's Clubs.

Listed in The Negro Motorist Green Book, the Manse Hotel, Black baseball players such as Jackie Robinson were guests.

To learn more about Dehart Hubbard, read this post.

Alms Hotel, home of the former WKRC jazz radio station.

Have a blessed week!

Ghosts of Music Hall's Past

 

Happy Full Moon! Today has been a very relaxing, crisp, and sunny day, and the best part? Today is the last day of Daylight Savings Time!!! It's also the first full moon on Halloween since 1944, can you believe that? P.S. & BTW, if you want to catch the blue moon tonight, it will be visible at around ten minutes until 11pm. It is also All Saints' Day (November 1), and in Mexico, El Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) (November 2).

What better way to celebrate Halloween and to satiate my curiousity than to take a Guided Ghost Tour of Cincinnati Music Hall, given in partnership with with the Cincinnati Research and Paranormal Studies Team. Typically, these after hours tours are offered in person (and sell out within a day or two!), but due to the COVID-19 pandemic this year, in person tours are not taking place, but I'm going to still tell you about the otherworldly side of one of Cincinnati's most iconic attractions.

Opened in 1878, Music Hall was built over a pauper's cemetery (potter's field), and in 2014, Travel Channel listed it as one of the most haunted places in America. During its construction in 1877, human remains were discovered in that pauper's cemetery on the property, and visitors and employees alike have reported paranormal activity on the property. Though the majority of the activity occurs in the basement, there have been reports of singing in various empty parts of the building, the freight elevator moving without being called, and period attired figures spotted in the Springer Auditorium. Then, due to the growing cholera epidemic in Cincinnati proper at the time, the city transferred the remains north to Spring Grove Cemetery, the second largest cemetery in the United States.

The Potter's Field was not only used by the hospital, but served the city in connection with other tragic events. In 1838 when the steamer Moselle exploded her boilers above the site of the present waterworks, it reportedly blew the scones and limbs and blackened trunks of her passengers all over the city, so that falling bodies fell through the roofs of houses. The remains of these victims were buried in various pauper cemeteries throughout the city.

So, who was buried in the former potter's field? Obviously, the poor, but the 2011-2012 renovation of Washington Park left some headstones of some prominent movers and shakers of the 1800s.

James F Conover was the publisher of the Cincinnati Whig (later the Cincinnati Daily Whig ) and commercial intelligencer in 1835.  Henry Clay (1777-1852), 7th U.S. House Speaker and 9th Secretary of State, wrote letters to Conover on Conover's own proposal to establish a newspaper in Cincinnati, 1829-1841. The manuscript is currently held at the University of Virginia Library.

Headstone of Harriet Key, infant daughter of James F. and Julia Ann Conover

We hope that this time next year that in person tours will take place, but until then, here are some spine tingling scenes to make you shudder (I mean, enjoy)!

Ghost Tour Music Hall Foyer

Corbett Tower Washington Park lights on 

Ghost in Springer Auditorium

Friends of Music Hall Outdoor Tours Continue

 

MEDIA RELEASE Contact: Mindy Rosen 513-535-0678 For Immediate Release: September 29, 2020 Friends of Music Hall Outdoor Tours Continue through Oct. 31 Groups of 8 can learn about Music Hall’s fascinating architecture and history CINCINNATI – Ever walked by historic Cincinnati Music and wondered who built it? You will learn about the architect and lots more when you take an Outdoor Building Tour led by thoroughly trained and knowledgeable guides from the Friends of Music Hall. With careful attention to safety, 60-minute outdoor tours have been reinstated on Thursdays and Saturdays through October 31, 2020. Tours are Thursday, October 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29 at 4:00 p.m. and Saturday, October 3, 10, 17, 24, and 31 at 10:00 a.m. and 10:15 a.m. Tours are offered rain or shine. Guests and guides are required to wear a mask or face covering and remain six feet apart during the walking tour. To facilitate social distancing, tour groups are limited to eight people. Larger groups can be arranged by calling 513-744-3293 or musichalltour@friendsofmusichall.org. Tickets must be purchased in advance, up to three hours before the start of the tour either online FriendsofMusicHall.org or by calling 513-621-2787. Tickets are $15 per person; $5 for children under 12. When 5-8 tickets are purchased together, the charge is $13 per ticket. Student groups are eligible for $5 discounts. A 10% discount is offered to members of the Over-the-Rhine Chamber of Commerce, Friends of Music Hall, Cincinnati Arts Association members, and Certified Tourism Ambassadors. To Purchase Tour Tickets: FriendsofMusichall.org Tour FAQ: friendsofmusichall.org/music-hall-tours/faq/ # # # ‌ // CONNECT WITH US //  ‌  ‌  ‌

Music Hall Outdoor Building Tours are Coming Back!

MEDIA RELEASE Contact: Mindy Rosen 513-535-0678 For Immediate Release: September 8, 2020 Friends of Music Hall Relaunch Outdoor Tours Groups of 8 can learn about Music Hall’s fascinating architecture and history CINCINNATI – Ever walked by historic Cincinnati Music and wondered who designed it or who built it? Did you know it’s actually three buildings? You can get the scoop on these topics and more with an Outdoor Building Tour by thoroughly trained and knowledgeable guides from the Friends of Music Hall. You’ll learn about the symbolism and design of Music Hall’s architecture, the challenges of the building’s construction, and the people who made it happen back in 1878. Music Hall has been shuttered by Covid-19 limitations since March, including no tours inside the building. However, with thorough attention to safety, 60-minute outdoor tours have been reinstated on Thursdays and Saturdays through the end of October. For this month tours will happen on September 17 and 24 at 4 p.m. and on September 19 and 26 at 10 a.m. and 10:15 a.m. Tours are offered rain or shine. Guests and guides are required to wear a mask or face covering. Everyone is asked to remain at least six feet apart during the walking tour. To facilitate social distancing, tour groups are limited to eight people. Larger groups can be arranged by calling 513-744-3293 or musichalltour@friendsofmusichall.org. Tickets must be purchased in advance, up to three hours before the start of the tour either online FriendsofMusicHall.org or by calling 513-621-2787. Tickets are $15 per person; $5 for children under 12. When 5-8 tickets are purchased together, the charge is $13 per ticket. Student groups are eligible for $5 discounts. A 10% discount is offered to members of the Over-the-Rhine Chamber of Commerce, Friends of Music Hall, Cincinnati Arts Association members, and Certified Tourism Ambassadors. Interviews with tour guides can be arranged by calling Mindy Rosen at 513.535.0678 To Purchase Tour Tickets: FriendsofMusichall.org Tour FAQ: friendsofmusichall.org/music-hall-tours/faq/ # # # // CONNECT WITH US //  ‌  ‌  ‌