USA > Ohio > Hamilton County > Cincinnati > Cincinnati illustrated: a pictorial guide to Cincinnati and the suburbs > Part 12
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34
48
KENNY'S CINCINNATI ILLUSTRATED.
may be-no public city celebration is now considered complete without a parade of the firemen, or a trial test of the height to which the engines can throw water. The present Fire Commis- sioners are, George C. Sargent, William Dunn, C. J. W. Smith ; Geo. Weber, President; Fire Marshal, Joseph Bunker; Assist- ant Marshals, Lewis Wisbey, Thomas McAvoy, H. H. Schild- meier; Secretary, Thomas Brown.
FIREMEN'S BENEVOLENT ASSOCIATION .- Established 22 years ago, has 125 members, connected with the Fire Department. It is a mutual benefit association, paying weekly sick benefits of $5. Initiation, $10; annual ducs, $5. The association owns a lot in Spring Grove Cemetery, in which all members who de- sire it are buried after death. Jos. Bunker, President ; Jos. E. Chuck, Secretary. Meets the first Monday in each month, at the Central headquarters of the Fire Department, Sixth street, near Vine.
FIRE INSURANCE, THE-Of Cincinnati is carried by several Foreign and Eastern, and by the following Local Companies. The following table of the capital and surplus of the Local Com- panies is official, it having been compiled from the returns made to the Ohio Insurance Commissioner, of date December 31, 1878. The Cincinnati companies make an exhibit as follows :
Assets.
Aurora
Capital. $100,000
Surplus. $ 76,828
#176,828
Amazon
300,000
294,069
594,069
Citizens
100,000
18,396
118,396
Commercial
100,000
101,345
201,345
Eagle
100,000
23,092
123,092
Enterprise
300,000
109,709
409,709
Eureka
100,000
54,497
154,497
Farmers
100,000
9,315
109,315
Fidelity
100,000
43,894
143,894
Firemen's
100,000
63,825
163,825
Germania
100,000
30,654
130,654
Globe
100,000
25,714
125,714
Merchants & Mfrs.
150,000
55,239
205,239
Miami Valley
100,000
25,000
125,000
National
100,000
48,682
148,682
Union
100,000
25,798
125,798
Washington .
100,000
19,955
119,955
Western
100.000
32,273
132,273
The following is a list of the gross assets of Cincinnati mutual companies :
Gross Assets.
Equitable Ins. Co., (No Premium Notes) .
$276,150
German Mutual,
(Including Premium Notes)
769,259
Manufacturers' Mutual,
..
149,719
Merchants' Mutual,
..
79,049
Mutual of Cincinnati,
349,971
Phoenix Mutual,
432,710
Sun Mutual,
233,232
FLOATING BATHS (See Baths).
FLORISTS .- The magnitude of the trade in flowers, plants and shrubbery in Cincinnati and immediate vicinity is not generally known. Over a million dollars capital is invested in the busi- ness, and the annual sales foot up to nearly six hundred thou- sand dollars. There are eight florists having stores in the city proper. B. P. Critchell, 197 West Fourth; Wm. Gardner, 199 West Fourth; A. Sunderbruch & Son, 20012 West Fourth ; H. Acosta Kresker, northwest corner Eighth and Vine; C. B. Mc- Donald, 115 West Fourth; George Magrie, 180 Racc ; Wm. Major, corner Sycamore and Elm (Walnut Hills); and Hugo Mulertt, 507 Racc. Three of these firms own their own nurseries, conserva- tories, and gardens. Those of Critchell are located at Carthage, and those of Sunderbruch & Son on Vine street Hill and at Carthage. Besides the firmns having stores in the city, there are sixty-three licensed florists occupying stands in the various markets, that have gardens in the suburbs, on both sides of the Ohio river. Cincinnati ranks fourth in the magnitude of trade in cut flowers, in bouquets, artistic pieces, and for the decoration of churches, assembly rooms and private dwellings, on occasion of wedding festivities, banquets, etc. There is also a large de- mand for funeral purposes. Most of the flowers sold in the markets are pot plants, of which a beautiful display is made at
all seasons of the year. Exotics are kept in bloom continually, and the supply is always equal to the demand. Since the opening of the first Cincinnati Industrial Exposition, in 1871, the trade in flowers has increased ten fold. It was the first fair in the country to offer liberal premiums for good displays, and to furnish the conveniences for making them. The impetus thus given to floriculture has since been on the increase, and Cincinnati now supplies flowers and plants to nearly the whole territory within a radius of a hundred and fifty miles, both to private customers and dealers. Within this scope of country the desire for floral decoration is constantly increasing, and it is not an infrequent occurrence that a thousand dollars or more are spent for floral decorations at a single wedding or private entertainment. Cut flowers and pot plants bring lower prices in Cincinnati than in almost any other city in the Union. A bou- quet that in New York will cost five dollars, can be furnished at a good profit here at two dollars. The varieties of flowers and plants grown here comprise nearly the whole flora known to floriculture. These have their seasons of plenty, and of dearth, but great efforts are made to keep a few, at least, in constant bloom. It is predicted that Cincinnati will soon be the flower center of the whole country.
FLOWER MISSION, THE-Is a voluntary association of ladies, . for the purpose of collecting flowers for distribution among the sick in the several Hospitals.
FOREIGN CONSULS, THE-Are not clothed with a diplomatic character, but are simply commercial agents, and one of their duties is the audit of foreign invoices which have been received here in greater numbers every year since Cincinnati was created a port of entry. Another duty devolved upon the Consuls by their respettive governments, is the collection of all data for a full comprehension of the commercial resources and availabil- ities of the territory embraced within their respective consul- ates. They also gather all the statistics, within their reach, rela- tive to the growth or decline of population, data for calculating the bills of mortality, and forming an estimate of the public health, including as full returns as they can glean of the preva- lence and character of the various diseases. They also report upon the condition of the labor market, the rate of wages in the several trades, etc., and any other information which may be of use to the future emigrant. Their reports are expected in fact to embrace all non-political details which may serve for useful information to the government, from which they are accredited, and these reports are transmitted either direct to their home government, or through their respective Ambassadors. They take charge of and send home distressed seamen, and it is also their duty to give any reasonable advice and assistance to any of their compatriots within their consulate, reporting at once any political questions which may arise to the Ambassador. The Foreign Consuls in Cincinnati, are : British Vice-Consul, R. Knight, office S. W. cor. Third and Main; Consul of Belgium and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and Vice Consul of the Kingdoms of Denmark, Sweden and Norway, P. II. Hartmann, office 53 West Second street; Vice Consul of France, Virgil Gil- more, 110 West Fourth street; Consul for the German Empire, Ottmar Von Mohr, 260 Vine street; Vice Consul of Italy, Dr. R. W. Saunders, N. W. cor. Fourth and Ehn streets; Consul of Switzerland, Jaques Ritchie, 65 East Pearl street.
FOSTERS CROSSING (See Mainville).
FORBUSVILLE, a village in Lickrun Valley, on the Lickrun Turnpike, about 31/2 miles from the Post-office.
FOUNTAINS, DRINKING .- With the exception of the Tyler Davidson Fountain on the Esplanade, Cincinnati is very in- sufficiently supplied with Drinking Fountains. Beyond the limits of the Parks there are but few, the principal being one at the Gas Works in which there is scarcely enough water, and one at cach of the Christian Association Halls, these latter having attachments for the benefit of horses also. Here and there in the City, especially upon the roads leading through the suburbs to the Country, and generally in front of a small hotel or beer saloon, there are troughs for horses, the proprietors being remu-
49
KENNY'S CINCINNATI ILLUSTRATED.
nerated for the outlay by the profit on the refreshments sold to the drivers. The Street Railway Companies have water stations in convenient localities, but they are solely for their own use. The Tyler Davidson Fountain upon the Fifth Street Esplanade, presented to the people of Cincinnati on the 6th October, 1871, by Mr. Henry Probasco, as a memorial of his late brother-in-law Mr. Tyler Davidson, is the noblest work of Art in Cineinnati, and by far the most beautiful fountain in the United States. The gift had for many years been under the consideration of the donor, but the first public intimation of his design was conveyed in a letter dated Sicily, February 15, 1867, and addressed to the Hon. Chas. F. Wilstach, then Mayor of Cincinnati. It is unnec- essary to recapitulate the manifold difficulties at- tendant upon the erection of the fountain, from the trouble of obtaining a suitable design, and legal questions involved in the demolition of the old market-house, 'on the site of which the fountain now stands. The illustrations which follow are the best explanations of the artistic beauty of the work. It was felt that the genius of America should be repre- sented by something younger, fresher, and more intrinsically life-like than the time-worn reminis- cences of the Neptunes, the Tritons, and the Niobes of the classical, or the Undines and Mermaids of Scandinavian mythology; and when Mr. Probasco visited Munich in quest of a model, Herr Ferdinand Von Mueller, the Director of the Royal Bronze foundry of Bavaria, fortunately recollected some drawings made many years ago, in all the vigor of his, prime, by August von Kreling, the son-in-law of Kaulbach, in which all the manifold uses and blessings of water were symbolized and em- bodied in all the practical exactitude of the new era of artistic thought. The subjoined illustrations show how completely this idea has been carried out.
The fountain was unveiled on the 6th of October, 1871, in the presence of tens of thousands of citizens and visitors; and to aid in comprehending the magnitude of the structure, the follow- ing statistics of size and cost will be found useful : The length of the esplanade is 400 feet; its width, 60 feet; its eost, provided by the City, was $75,000; the height of the fountain, above the esplanade, is 38 fcet; the exterior width of the basin, 43 feet ; the interior, 38 fcet ; the weight of the bronze in the fountain is 24 tons; the height of the Genius of Water, at the summit, is 9 fect. On each of the hands 438 holes have been pierced for wa- ter; namely, on the little finger, 30; on the ring finger, 47; on the middle finger, 45; on the forefinger, 46; on the thumb, 22; on the palm, 248. The weight of cach hand is 10 pounds ; the
weight of porphyry in the base and basin, 85 tons ; and the total cost of the fountain itself, $105,000. The cooling chamber for the water of the drinking fountains is an underground apart- ment 12 feet deep and 10 feet square. Its walls are covered by 2,000 feet of pipe, and the chamber itself at intervals filled with ice.
The rim of the great circular basin, and the massy base of the fountain are, of dark porphyry, quarried and polished in Wei- senstadt, in Upper Franconia. The bronze work is cast from cannon purchased of the Danish Government.
THE FOUNTAIN AS SEEN FROM THE EAST.
The pedestal itself is square, with four repre- sentations in basso-relievo of four principal uses of water; namely, steam, water-power, navigation, and the fisheries. The first is typified by workers in iron using a trip-ham- mer propelled by an engine in the background ; the second, by peasants carrying corn to a water- mill ; the third, by a steam- boat leaving the shore, lined by numbers waving their adieux; the fourth, by merry groups of fisher- men and children. The first engraving represents a full view of the fountain as seen from the east. The view includes the lower basin and the exterior figures which adorn the drinking fountains; also the esplanade and trees bordering it on both sides, for its entire length. The sccond engraving represents the central figure, the Genius of Water-a female in heroic size-with benign count- enance, pouring down the longed-for rain from hundreds of jets pierced in her outstretched fing- . ers. The figure is 9 feet high, and weighs 2 tons. The next engraving is the eastern half of the upper basin. The central figure from this point of view is a mother, semi-nude, lead- ing her half-reluctant child to the bath. The full bust is exposed as plainly as in the well-known Magdalene of the great Italian master, the chromos of which are seen in almost every window, but the countenance and whole aspect are purely Tentonie. Her right hand guides the boy, her left still retains her dress decently girded round her waist and falling in casy folds a little below the knee. The foot and more than the ankle of the German mother are bare, for she must step into the bath with her son. He stands upon her right, his left arm thrown round his mother, his right hand clasping hers. The child is, of course, entirely nude, for, as in the exquisite opening verses in Schiller's " Wil- liam Tell," a voice is calling him to the bath. The modeling of the limbs is excellent ; there is not a single forced angle-all is rounded, and the curvatures of the outlines are singularly free. In this respect it is superior to the principal figure, in which a
.
50
KENNY'S CINCINNATI ILLUSTRATED.
severe criticism might, perhaps, find some fault with the slightly many it has seemed that in the composition of this there is, per- haps, a reflex, faintthough it be, of Eastern life and Eastern story. The unity of German conception is not, however, broken by this fancy or theory, be it which it may. It simply illustrates the many-sidedness of the German artist life, the very quality for constrained left arm. The next illustration is of an entirely different character. That upon the east pictured a pretty scene of happy homelife; this, upon the north, one of its terrors. The roof of the homestead is on fire, and the flames have been too strong for the resistance of the inmates. The hus-I which the admirers of Goethe reverence their hero. Itis, indeed, band stands upon the blazing roof; his last bucket of water is exhausted, and his only refuge is in prayer to Heaven for the rain which may, in answer to his vows, descend in time to stay the ruin that threatens his home. The attitude is admirable. It is expressive of strength and resolution ; but it is strength which feels that if unaided, further efforts will be of no avail, and resolution which, although undaunted, finds itself, like the Prometheus of Æschylus, in the hands of Kratos and Bia, under the control of a something greater and mightier than itself. A Grecian would have recognized the irresistible Anagke-Necessity-and, as Flaxman has it in one of his wonderful etchings, folded his hands in scorn of gods and men; a disciple of Mohammed would have cried Kismet-it is fate-and calmly and placidly have descended and PEOPLE OFY TO THE CINCINNATI acquiesced in the destruction. Not so the German Christian. All his own efforts are exhausted, but with upturned face and uplifted hand he implores a special intervention of the Deity for himself and the home he has built for his wife and his little ones. It is not the prayer of THE GENIUS OF WATER. an idle man ; his features, his posture, his very position, prove | heat at his side, looks up to heaven with a supplication for that it is simply the fervent petition of a faithful believer, who trusts in God to aid his endeavors. The next engraving represents the central group from the west. Anaged man, still grasping his staff in his left hand, is sitting upon a rock, while his daughter, well known, and has been remarked by both critics and travelers, that there is a nearer analogy between the respectful filial devotion of the daughter to the aged sire among the Arabians, the Israelites, and the Germans, than between any other European and Oriental nation. The group beautifully typifies this holy feminine office of aid to the weary and the well stricken in years. The very attitude of the woman. proves that she is even more than a nurse-that she is a nearer and a dearer one to the old .man at her side. The next engraving again carries us from the softer emotions to the harder scenes of want and suffering. Upon, the east and the west, in the woman with her child and the daughter with her father, we have seen the morning and the evening of life, attended with all the blessings the gentle rain can give. On the stern north we have a blazing house, smitten, perhaps, by the lightning, and rain not present but prayed for; and now, turned. toward the burning south, there is again no water. The earth is parched, the fruits of the soil are dying; the farmer, while his plow lies idle and his dog pants with rain. His breast and legs below the knee are bared as he stands beneath the scorching sun. There is a wide difference between this southern figure and the stronger, more stalwart northman upon the opposite side. One is all vigor, struggle, muscle, and
F JUENCLINC.
THE EASTERN GROUP.
THE NORTHERN GROUP.
tenderly bending over him, gives him a cup of water, even as Rebekah "the daughter of Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nabor, Abraham's brother," might have given it to the eldest servant of the patriarch's house, as told in the beautiful narrative of the twenty-fourth chapter of Genesis. The face of the maiden is, indeed, said to be the portrait of Kreling's daughter; but to | the several points of the compass to which the separate groups
sinew, and fullness of breadth; the other, more quiet, more re- signed-simply prayerful. His form is, although sinewy, far more spare. In all these four groups the attentive critic will discover the wonderful appropriateness of the subject-matter, not only to the whole design of this unique fountain, but even to
5
KENNY'S CINCINNATI ILLUSTRATED.
51
are turned. These are the principal figures in the upper portion of the fountain; but those in the niches, if smaller, are equally beautiful, equally worthy of admiration. Kreling's mind seems to have beeu embued with something akin to that graceful feel- ing which, in the Catholic churches in days of old, led their builders to fill the niches with the images of the saints, thus ma- king for them a miniature shriue within the temple. In Anda-
E. JIENCI.ING.
THE WESTERN GROUP.
lusia, in Spain, and in many parts of Italy and France and Bava- ria, there is searcely a church without one or more such images so shielded. Kreling caught the idea, and he has devoted his niches entirely to the purest years of life. All children are eer- tainly not saints ; but as certainly there are among them the most innocent creatures in the world. These child effigies of
THE SOUTHERN GROUP.
and this is the subject of the next illustration. It is that of the niche at the southeast corner of the pedestal, where sits a laugh- ing girl with flowers in her hair, who, while twisting a necklace of pearls round her neek, gazes admiringly upon her image mirrored in the waters beneath. Her arms are bent back to arrange the necklace, and the expression of her face is full of pleased wonder and delight. On the northeast corner, iu the niche represented in the next engraving, sits a boy, nearly nude, holding in triumph a lobster which he has just taken from his net. Iu this figure there is much breadth and spirit. The lad's whole attitude is triumphant, and his limbs are perfect models. The net with which his capture has been effected is the only appropriate drapery, and it has been most happily used. The niche on the northwest corner contains one of the prettiest and most poetical figures of all. A little girl with rounded limbs holds a sea-shell to her ear and eagerly listens to the wondrous
THE LAUGHING GIRL.
BOY WITH LOBSTER.
tales the murmuring sound seems to tell. The attitude is ex- pressive of the most eager attention ; and when the fountain was unveiled, half the mothers in the city fell in love with the child-it is so fresh, so natural and the whole iutent so childlike. In the niche on the southwest corner sits a fur-clad boy, strap- ping on his skates. The skate is already on the right foot, and, with the muuscles of his right arm teuse, he is tightening thie buekles of the left.
GIBL WITH SEA-SHELL.
BOY PUTTING ON SKATES.
The next engraving represents the southeast bronze figure upon one of the four drinking fountains, added by Col. Ferdi- nand Von Mueller to Kreling's original design. A youth, beauti- fully modeled, is sitting upon a dolphin, and the limpid wnter flows through its mouth. The youth is admirably modeled, and fully represents strength quiescent. The practical use to which this and the three following figures are put, and the constant and frequent resort of the people to the drinking cups attached to the pedestals, abundantly justify Col. Von Mueller's addition.
Kreling's ereation still preserve the elemental design of the work. They all illustrate the uses of water, and the subjects are chosen with a poetic insight into the very manner.in which children best love to use it. Painters and poets alike have de- The next engraving is another of these bronze figures. The youth on the northeast corner is kneeling, holding one duek in lighted in painting or describing lovely women or beautiful girls admiring their own fair images reflected in lake or stream, its bent right arm, and grasping by the neck another in the left.
52
KENNY'S CINCINNATI ILLUSTRATED.
The figure on the next drinking fountain, upon the southwest corner, is that of a youth round whose right leg a snake has twisted itself. He has seized its folds with the right hand, and with his left holds a stone to destroy it. There is anger, but no semblance of fear in attitude or expression. The youth is no Laoccoon, conscious of an impending and inevitable fate. He is stalwart and strong, and knows full well how easily he can rid himself of the coils. His muscles, however, are tense, and his lips are set, as, bending back his arm, he prepares to give force to the blow.
The next and last en- graving, on the northwest corner, is a youth sitting upon a tortoise, through whose mouth the water streams. In this and the preceding figure the dif- ficulties of portraying muscle in action admirably overcome. These four figures not only prove the fertility of conception possessed by Col. Von Mueller, but also the conscientious care with which he has studied the original design, and the fidelity with which he has adhered to its ideas in the smallest matter of BOY WITH DOLPHIN. detail. When the fountain was erected, in 1871, Col. Von Mueller superintended the work, and before he left for his home in Munich, gave the most elaborate and careful instructions upon the mode of cleaning the bronze and the tubes, and minute directions for cutting off the water at the proper low degree of temperature. During the Exposition the water is frequently cut off for the purpose of securing a fuller supply in Elm street in case of fire.
FRANCISCAN BROTH- ERS, PROTECTORY FOR BOYS (See Boys' Pro- tectory).
FREE DISPENSARIES (See Dispensaries).
FREEDMEN'S AID SOCIETY OF THE METH- ODIST. EPISCOPAL CHURCH-Was organ- ized in 1866 for the ob- ject of educating and elevating the freedmen in the South, and con- tributes liberally to their aid, by building school houses, and send- ing out , competent teachers. The society has aided in the estab- lishment and sup- port of the following BOY WITH DUCKS. institutions, which have been legally chartered with full collegiate powers : Chartered Institutions-Central . Tennessee College, Nashville Tennessee; Shaw University, Holly Springs, Mississippi; Clark University, Atlanta, Georgia; New Orleans University, New Orleans, Louisiana. Theological Schools-Centenary Biblical Institute, Baltimore Md .; Baker Institute. Orangeburg, South Carolina; Thomson Biblical Institute, New Orleans, Louisiana; theo- logical classes in all our schools. Medical College-Meharry Medical College, Nashville, Tennessee. Institutions not Chartered-Wiley University, Marshall, Texas; Haven Normal
School, Waynesboro, Georgia; Rust Normal Institute, IIuntsville, Alabama; Bennett Seminary, Greensboro, North Carolina ; Cookman Institute, Jacksonville, Florida; Walden Seminary, Little Rock, Arkansas; Le Teche Seminary, and Orphans' Home, La Teche, Louisiana; Andrews Seminary, Dallas, Texas; La Grange Seminary, La Grange, Georgia; Dadeville Seminary, Dadeville, Alabama; West Tennessee Seminary, Mason, Tennessee; Meridian Academy, Meri- dian, Mississippi. The total disbursements of the society for the past ten years has been $652,449 55. The general officers are Bishop I. W. Wiley, D.D., President ; Hon. M. B. Ilagans, Rev. F. S. Hoyt, D.D., and Amos Shinkle, Esq., Vice-Presidents ; Rev. R. S. Rust, D.D., Cor- responding Secretary; Rev. J. M. Walden, D.D., Recording Sec- retary ; Rev. Luke Hitchcock, D. D., Treasurer; Rev. Reub- en Nelson, D. D., As- sistant Treasurer. The office of the cor- responding secretary is at the Western Methodist Book Coll- cern, 190 West Fourthı street.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.