Cincinnati Hotels

Pre 20th Century History
The Native American presence in the area dates back some 2700 years. Europeans began settling the area in the late 18th century, when the population squeeze on the Atlantic seaboard sent thousands down the Ohio River. Cincinnati began life as a fort in 1789, though it soon blossomed as a commercial town. The arrival of the steamboat Orleans in 1811 linked Cincinnati in a chain of trade that led to the Mississippi and the Gulf of Mexico. By mid-century the city was the pork-packing centre of the USA and a thriving industrial metropolis. Thousands of German and Irish immigrants settled in Cincinnati, giving it a strong northern European flavour. Prior to Emancipation in 1863, thousands of African-Americans passed through the city, which was a major station on the Underground Railroad. In 1869, the Cincinnati Red Stockings (now known as the Reds) became the first professional baseball team in the country.

Modern History
The excess fat from the slaughterhouses gave birth to the local soap industry, and a burgeoning beer empire began flourishing. The city's dependence on beer cost it during the Prohibition of the 1920s, but WWII brought it back to top form. The 1960s saw some of the worst race rioting in the country. During the following decades, Cincinnati launched major public works projects like Riverfront Stadium and its system of downtown skywalks, and its skyline soared. The city celebrated its bicentennial in 1988. How did a place once described by President-to-be William Henry Harrison as 'the most debauched place I ever saw' come to be known as the 'Queen City of the West'? No less a personage than Henry Wadsworth Longfellow dubbed it thus, and it was a hard-won handle. Residents transformed Cincinnati from the pork-packing capital of the country into a city consistently rated as one of the most livable in the USA. Nothing like 'Porkopolis' for a nickname to motivate the citizenry toward a brighter day. While other big American cities razed their antiquated downtowns, Cincinnati has long enjoyed a thriving, well-preserved central business district.

Recent History
It might come as some surprise that this solidly middle-class Midwestern city is famous for its chilli franchises - Cincinnati has the highest number of chilli joints per capita in the country - and linguistic peculiarities (you'll hear 'please?' for 'say what?' among others). Downtown's fine public art and art-deco architecture drive home the fact that this is no cowtown. Despite ambitious urban renewal schemes and the rise of the skyline, Cincinnati has many traces of its 19th-century roots, and nearby Milford and Covington, Kentucky, are virtual time warps. You'll also find world-class museums and a famous zoo, as well as some very friendly locals.