USA > Ohio > Hamilton County > Cincinnati > Cincinnati illustrated: a pictorial guide to Cincinnati and the suburbs > Part 19
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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
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KENNY'S CINCINNATI ILLUSTRATED.
its completion, early in 1878, the organ was handed over to the Music Hall Association and the special Society dissolved. The organ itself was built in Boston at a contract price of $26,000 for the organ and hydraulic engines, not including the case or screen which was built in Cincinnati. The exterior shows an in- strument about sixty-five feet high from the stage to the top of the highest pipe, fifty feet wide and thirty feet deep ; the con- tents of the organ however, not the exterior, furnish the proper standard for determining its size. It has four manuals and a pedal of two and a half octaves. The compass of the manuals is for C° to ct that is sixty-one notes ; that of the pedals from CI to Eº thirty notes. The distribution of sounding stops and pipes is as follows :
I. Manual, great organ, 22 stops, 2,322 pipes; II. Manual, swell organ, 19 stops, 1,708 pipes ; III. Mannal, choir or- gan, 17 stops, 1,281 pipes ; IV. manual, solo organ, 7 stops, 366 pipes; pedal organ, 16 stops, 600 pipes. Total, 81 stops, 6,277 pipes.
There are four- teen mechanical registers, eleven of which are coup- lers; five of these conplers are oper- ated by pneumatic power and con- trolled by thumb- knobs placed over the great manual key board. There are also twelve pedal movements drawing combin- ations in the various organs; they arc all double acting, and do their work without affecting the regis- ter knobs. In order to relieve the touch from . the wind pressure, pneumatic levers (exhaust) are applied to the four manuals independently, and also to the pedals and register action throughout. One of the stops in the solar organ is a carillon, or chime of thirty notes; they are not bells, but bars of steel struck by pianoforte action. The first of the pedal movements is the grand crescendo pedal, an appliance invented by Walcker, the great German organ builder, who introduced it in the great organs at Ulm, Germany, and Boston. It is worked by pressure of the foot on a slide that moves in a slot in the thumper bar, that is the position of the pedal key board between the front wall of the organ case and the sharps. From the ends the slide ropes pass over or become so connected with theinternal mechanism of the organ that in mov- ing it draws every stop. The movement can be checked or re- versed at the will of the performer. The pipes range in size from the longest, 32 feet long, 26 inches wide and 22 deep, to n metal whistle only two-eighthis of an inch in length, respectively, the largest and the smallest ever made. The register extends from the C on the ninth leger line below the bass staff to the C on the sixteenth leger line above the treble staff. It has five bellows worked by five hydraulic motors placed in the cellar
THE ORGAN.
under the stage, and fed by a six-inch main from the Mount Au. burn reservoir.
No sooner had the organ been decided upon than a number of Cincinnati ladies, pupils of the School of Design and of the Messrs. Fry, volunteered their services to decorate it, and their work was begun in September, 1878. Mr. Springer at once of- fered ten premiums, three of $100, two of $50, twenty-five of $20 each for specimens of design and wood carving worthy of special mention, the competition to be confined exclusively to ladies. The general design for the screen was Intrusted to Mr. Robert Rogers, an architect in wood work, and the decoration was di- vided between the pupils of Messrs. Henry & William Fry, and those of Mr. Pitman. The wood used is wild cherry. The orna- mentation of the pipes in silver and gold, with arabes- que bands and borders, is the work of Mr. W. H. Humphreys, assis- tant superinten- dent of the School of Design. On the right and left of the key board are two small panels, one beautifully carved, with a spray of Wisheria, the other with the Virginia creeper, and above them a group of panels, the subjects treat- ed being Even, Noon and Morn- ing. On either side are two fine pieces of wood carving, one representing the trumpet-vine, the other the passion flower. Still high- er are five arched panels, each dedi- cated to a compos- er. Bach is in the center crowned with laurel, Bee- thoven on the right and Handel on the left, while Mozart and Mendelssohn surmount the panels above the trumpet-vine and the passion flower. The composers' panels on the towers of the organ screen are devoted to Rossini, Wagner, Gluck, Schu- mann, Scarlatti, Porpora, Schubert, Haydn, Meyerbeer, Cheru- bini, Weber and Palestrina. In each the names of the masters are carved in medieval letters, and the panel decorated with trees, flowers and vines. On the wings there are lozenge panels representing the seasons: the Narcissus for Spring, the Ceylon, Asher and other leaves and blossoms Summer, the vine and clusters of grapes Autumn, and a holly branch with its berries Winter. The eight diaper panels with different rosettes and central basses in each are very effective. All this exquisite carv- ing is the artistic handiwork of Cincinnati ladies, volunteers in aid of adding the finishing nud some of the most beautiful tonches to the great Music Hall and its organ. The frieze streteh- ing in three divisions from to wer to tower, with wrenths of honey- suekle for the subject, is the work of Mr. William Fry.
The buildings specially erected for the Exposition form the two wings of the Music Hall, and ure of course in the same style of architecture as the Hall, and harmonizing admirably with it
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KENNY'S CINCINNATI ILLUSTRATED.
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These wings are 316 feet in depth and 116 in height, and the to- tal frontage on Elm street of the whole building is 402 feet. The interior of the wings, divided into various ante-rooms, galleries and halls, is specially adapted to Exposition purposes. For these the entire structure, including the Music Hall, will be employed, thus furnishing an edifice for an Exposition larger than any ever built in the United States, with the single exception of the Cen- tennial buildings at Philadelphia, and absolutely and by far the largest and much the handsomest of any built anywhere entirely by private enterprise. (See College of Music and Industrial Ex- positions.)
"NARROW GAUGE RAILROADS .- The Cincinnati & Westwood Narrow Gauge Railroad-Running from Cincinnati to West- wood, or Cheviot, a beautiful suburb in Green township, eight miles from the City. The road begins at the bridge over Mill- creek, on the Harrison pike, called Brighton Station, and runs westward some distance through the picturesque Lick Run val- ley before reaching the high grounds further west. The road was projected about ten years ago, and finished in 1875, under the presidency of the late Wm. E. Davis. M. Werk, Esq., is now President. Five daily trains are run each way, on week days, and six on Sunday. Passengers going to Westwood take the cars either at Brighton Station, or at the Hamilton & Dayton depot.
The Cincinnati & Eastern Narrow Gauge Railroad-Running from Plainville, or Batavia Junction, on the Little Miami Rail- road, to Winchester, Ohio, fifty-six miles from Cincinnati. The principal stations on the route are Plainville, Newtown, Batavia, Williamsburg and Mt. Oreb. The road is now in the hands of a receiver, Stephen Freike; George H. Wilber, Superintendent. The line is well equipped with rolling stock and machinery, and although not completed to its objective point, is a great con- venience to the counties of Clermont and Brown, which have no other rail communication. Three trains are run daily, each way. Passengers start from the Little Miami depot. (See also College Hill Narrow Gauge Railroad.)
NATIVITIES (See Population).
NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY .- The Cincinnati Society was or- ganized on the 19th of January, 1870, and incorporated on the 20th of the following June, and is now in its own building at 108 Broadway, whither it removed from its foriner quarters in Col- lege Building. The Society devotes all its energies to the ad- vancement of science and free education. The rooms are kept open to the public, so that all the advantages of the museum may be enjoyed as well by those who are not members as by those who contribute annually the sum of $5 toward its mainte- nance. In no event can any one profit by membership, beyond the nominal privilege of voting for the officers, and participating In the work of the Society. The rooms are visited amongst oth- ers by numbers of the students of the University of Cincinnati and the High Schools, and great pains are taken to afford them every facility for the acquisition of a knowledge of natural his- tory. The Society had been well supported by subscriptions and valuable donations in nearly all the scientific departments, but its resources were materially increased by a bequest of $50,000 from one of its members, Mr. Charles Bodman, who died on the 10th of May, 1875, and it was by this means that it was enabled to pay $11,500 for the Broadway property. In February, 1878, it was determined to publish a Quarterly Journal, containing the transactions of the society and it has since been issued regu- larly. The Society owns a valuable library, to which constant additions are made, and a most excellent cabinet collection in the departments of Conchology, Paleontology, Mineralogy, Bot- any, Comparative Anatomy and Archaeology. Its meetings are held on the first Tuesday evening in each month during the en- tire year, when the public are invited to attend. Valuable in- · formation is given and obtained, interesting papers read, and general discussions follow. The rooms are open to visitors on Wednesday and Saturday of each week from 9 A. M. to 4 P. M. The entrance fce and the annual subscription arc $5 cach. There
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are 250 members. President, V. T. Chambers; Corresponding Secretary, Charles H. Lowe ; First Vice-President, G. W. Harper. NAVIGATION (See Ohio River).
NEWSBOYS' UNION-Was established seven years ago by the boys themselves with the advice and assistance of Ex-Mayor R. M. Moore, who still continues to take the liveliest interest in its prosperity. The boys elect their own officers and rigidly enforce the rules. There are now 150 members.
NEWSBOYS' HOME .- The Home is managed in connection with the Bethel, and is intended for homeless newsboys and bootblacks. Meals are furnished the boys at ten cents each, while the boys of the Home are not charged for their lodgings.
NEWS COMPANIES (See Cincinnati News Company).
NEWSPAPERS .- There are three English morning dailies, and two evening ; three German morning dailies, and two even- ing, published in Cincinnati.
The Cincinnati Commercial, one of the most influential and most widely read of all western journals, printed and published in the building at the northeast corner of Fourth and Race streets, was founded in 1843, and the first number issued by Messrs. Curtis and Hastings, on the 2d of October of that year. It was a bright daily, with a plentiful array of paragraphs, some fiction and well-selected matter, and odds and ends, including bear and snake stories, and other items naturally interesting to a young community. Much attention was paid to local news, and particularly to the river department, which was at that time of greater importance than at present. Mr. Hastings did not re- main long with the Commercial, and Mr. L. G. Curtis, who came to Cincinnati from Pittsburg, and married the daughter of the Rev. Samuel J. Browne, soon after associated with himself J. W. S. Browne, the son of his father-in-law. About 1848, Mr. M. D. Potter, a practical printer, became connected with the paper, and was placed in charge of the job department. He soon evinced such remarkable talent for business details, for which Mr. Curtis was far less adapted, that his future career was almost immediately secured; and after the retirment of Mr. Browne, who became interested in military matters, Mr. Potter was ad- mitted into partnership, and the firm name became Curtis & Potter. In 1851, Mr. Curtis died, at the age of 42. His interest was purchased by Mr. Potter, and resold to Richard Henry Lee, of the Treasury department, the firm name, in 1852, becoming Lee & Potter. On March 9, 1853, Mr. Murat Halstead was en- gaged upon the staff. He left the "Weekly Columbian," on which he was then associate editor, to undertake his new duties. Mr. Potter's health at that time was very delicate, and Mr. Lee's very robust, but in the Summer of the same year the strong man died, and the sick and ailing recovered. After some negotiations, Mr. Henry Reed was engaged as the leading writer, and on May 15, 1854, Mr. Potter having bought out the interest of Mr. Lee's representatives, organized the firm of M. D. Potter & Co. The property and good will of the paper were then valued at $80,000, and the firm was composed of M. D. Potter, Henry Reed, John H. Strauss and Murat Halstead. Mr. Potter had the general direction of the office, and the manage- ment of the business ; Henry Reed was the chief editorial writ- er, Murat Halstead in charge of the news, and Mr. Strauss was book-keeper. Mr. John A. Gano and Mr. C. D. Miller were ad- mitted into partnership some years afterward. Mr. Strauss sub- sequently died, and Mr. Reed sold his interest to Mr. Potter. From the date of the formation of the firm of M. D. Potter & Co., in 1854, the Commercial made rapid progress. It was first pub- lished at the southcast and northeast corners of Third and Syca- more streets, the property of the Rev. S. J. Browne, and the building now standing on the northeast corner was originally built for the Commercial office. In 1859 Mr. Potter purchased the lot on the corner of Fourth and Race, where it is published. A removal was made in April, 1860, to the new quarters, which had been built expressly for a newspaper office, composing and press rooms. In the Spring of that year the roof was torn off by a tornado. Mr. Potter lived to see the war over, Lincoln assassinated, and Johnson at variance with the Repub-
KENNY'S CINCINNATI ILLUSTRATED.
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lican party, and his life busy almost to the last was only closed in 1866. The surviving members purchased Mr. Potter's interest and resold a portion of it to Mrs. Potter and her daughter, Mrs. Pomcroy. The firm of M. Halstead & Co., was founded on May 15, 1866 ; it consisted of Murat Halstead, C. D. Miller, John A. Gano, general partners; Mrs. Potter and Mrs. Pomeroy, special partners. A change in the firm was made by the death of Mrs. Pomeroy, in January, 1879, and the firm of M. Hal- stead & Co. dissolved. A joint stock company, with the same title, was incorporated on the 15th of May, 1879, a quarter of a century since the firm of M. D. Potter & Co. had been formed, in 1854. Mr. Murat Halstead being the only member of that firm who had been constantly in the partnership. The capital stock
corner of Third and Main, and again on Main, between Third and Pearl. It was thence moved to Vine street, near Baker street, where the composing room was severely injured by the fire which destroyed Pike's Opera House in 1866. Not long af- terwards the Enquirer again changed its quarters to its present offices on the west side of Vine street, between Sixth and Sev- enth. Previous to 1844 the Enquirer and its predecessors had been owned and edited by different gentlemen, among others after the time of Moses Dawson, by Mr. Charles Brough, Mr. Derby and Mr. John H. Girard, but in that year the Hon. James J. Faran became interested in the paper, and has ever since re- mained the senior member of the present firm of Faran & Mc- Lean. Mr. Washington McLean, the father of Mr. John R. Mc-
DAILY COMMERCIAL JOB PRINTING ROOMS.
E.N.FRESHMAN & BROS ADVERTISING AGENTS/MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE COOF N. Y.
PRESSICD
EN, FRESHMAN BRO ADVERTISING AGENCY
ADVERTISING BUREAU
DAILY COMMERCIAL OFFICE PUTTERS BUILDING | U . S . EXPRESS CO.
THE CINCINNATI COMMERCIAL BUILDING.
was fixed at $235,000. Daily and weekly editions of the Com- | Lean, now the principal stockholder and managing editor, having mercial arc published. It uses two of Hoe's perfecting presses, made precisely alike, and has constantly in readiness for service, the two presses, two boilers, two engines and two fonts of typc.
The Cincinnati Enquirer .- Many years ago Moses Dawson, a writer famous in his day, edited a paper named the Phanis, from which the Cincinnati Enquirer, now the leading Democratic paper in the West, ultimately sprang. In process of time the Phonix partially lost its identity, having become united to, or rather merging within itself, other journals from time to time. All these, however, were quickly forgotten when the Enquirer assumed its present name, and after a few years of struggles en- tered upon its present successful carcer. The office of publica- tion has been frequently changed. It was onee on Fifth street, between Main and Sycamore, afterwards on Third street, on the | carded and broken up. The Enquirer is now printed on two Bul-
joined Mr. Faran, and the firm of Faran & McLean then pur- chased all Mr. Derby's interest in the Enquirer, and became, with the late Mr. Wiley McLean, its owners. Mr. Faran and Mr. John R. McLean are now the sole proprictors. From 1844 to 1867 Mr. Faran was the managing editor, he was then sneeecded by Mr. Joseph B. MeCullagh, and, on his departure for Chicago in 1870, by Mr. John A. Cockerill, who remained in charge until 1877, when Mr. John R. MeLean assumed entire editorial man- agement. The growth of the Enquirer may be traecd in some degree by the changes in its press work. The first press con- sidered very fast in those days was a 4-cylinder, purchased of the New York Herald ; a G-cylinder was then bought of Horace Greeley, of the New York Tribune, and finally both were dis-
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KENNY'S CINCINNATI ILLUSTRATED.
lock presses and a Hoe Perfection Press. It is Democratic in politics, and daily and weekly editions are published.
The Gazette is the oldest newspaper in the West, having been established nearly 70 years. In July, 1855, the Gazette was re- moved from Main street, between Third and Fourth, to the cor- ner of Fourth and Vine, and in 1879 it was removed to their new building at the corner of Vine and Sixth streets. This building is six stories in height. The first story is fourteen feet high ; the second, third, fourth and fifth are each twelve feet four inches, and the upper story is eighteen feet highi. This brings the roof about one hundred feet above the pavement. The entire front, both on Vine street and on Sixth, is of Ohio River freestone, and is ornamented in a tasteful manner. The openings are large and not too numerous, there being on each of the stories, except the first, nine windows on Vine street, and five on Sixth. There are also four on the south end opening into the alley. Those on Sixth and on Vine are of uniformn size, two glasses to a window, the lower glass being four feet in width and four feet two inches high. A handsome balcony with an iron railing relieves the front in the center at the third and fifth floors. The first story contains four storerooms, the north one being the Gazette count- ing room, and a grand central hall. The hall is ten feet wide, and contains a fireproof iron and stone stairway leading to the second floor. The interior divisions of the second, third, fourth and fifthi floors are substantially the same. The arrangement of the corridor on the east side of the building, which is the same on all the floors, except the first and the sixth, affords the com- pletest means for light and ventilation. From the fourth floor down, light and air comes iuto these corridors from two areas which rise from the basement. The fifth and sixth floors have free light and air, they being higher than the building on the east. All the corridors also have light from the east end, where large windows are placed. The absolute strength of the building is assured first by the thickness of the outer walls, which are two feet from the ground to the roof. Then there are four partition walls of brick running from the front wall to the corridor, which are seventeen inches in thickness. These rest on immense iron pillars in the basement. The interior finish is all of Georgia yellow pine, and is made in what is called Eastlake style, which means, in this case, flat surfaces, chamfered corners, channeled lines for ornament, and generally an absence of all mould- ings. This has not been entirely carried out, but the general characteristics are as mentioned. The iron stairway in the northeast corner opening from Sixth street is exclusively for the use of the occupants of the sixth floor. It is entirely fire- proof, is easy to mount, and is abundantly lighted and ventilated. The other stairway within the building is broad and easy, and is made of iron with stone steps. In the southwest corner is the smoke and ventilating stack, by which all the foul air in the cor- ridors is carried off. Next to this, on all the floors, are closets and washrooms. These also are abundantly lighted and ventil- ated, and are fitted up in the most approved style. The Gazette has one of the most complete printing presses in the world. It is called IIoe's Double Web Perfecting Press. It not only prints the paper, but folds and pastes it in the form of a book. It can deliver 30,000 papers an hour folded for mailing; in other words the papers are pushed out of the receiving troughs at the rate of 500 a minute-125 papers from each of the four folders. This velocity, however, is only required when an unusual de- mand or a delay in sending the paper to the press taxes the pro- duction of the pressroom. In actual daily practice it is not ad- visable to drive a press at its highest speed. There is less liabil- ity to accident, and a better impression can be gained by run- ning at a lower rate. The convenient rate for the new press is 24,000 an hour, or 400 per minute. No other press built, in this or any other country, and accomplishing so many things, has ever approached this capacity.
The Times-Was founded in 1821, by the late Mr. Starbuck. After his death it was sold, and bought by Mr. Benjamin Eggle- ston, Mr. Alexander Sands, C. W. Thomas and others, the pro- prietors of the Daily Chronicle. The Times was then for some time cailed the Times-Chronicle, but afterwards returned to its
original title. The paper has recently been re-sold to David Sinton, Charles P. Taft, and II. P. Boyden, who is now editor- in-chief, and under whose management all the late great im- provements have been made. The Times is published every afternoon, cxeept Sundays, and a weekly edition is also issued. The daily is delivered at 12 cents per week. Office, Third street.
The Star-Is published every evening, except Sundays, with a weekly edition on Thursdays. It was established in 1871, by the Cincinnati Star Publishing Company. Office, Walnut street.
The Volksblatt-Is one of the most influential daily German papers published in the West. It was established as a weekly in 1836, and became a daily in 1838, retaining, however, its weekly cdition. The Westliche Blatter is the title of its Sunday issue. Mr. F. Hassaurek has edited the paper for many years. In politics it is independent. Office, No. 269 Vine street.
The Volksfreund-Is the daily German Democratic paper of the City. The Sunday issue is called the Sontagmorgen. A weekly, edition is also published. Mr. H. Haacke is the editor. Office, Vine street.
The Freie Presse-Is published daily, by A. Torges, Jr., at the northeast corner of Canal and Vine streets.
The Abend Post-Is a German afternoon paper, published daily at 342 Main street by Messrs. Jeup & Raberg.
The Tægliche Abend Presse-Is the evening edition of the Freie Presse.
The Cincinnati Saturday Night-The leading secular weekly, published in the City, was founded by Capt. L. Barney and A. Minor Griswold on the 20th July, 1872. It was called then the Fat Contributor's Saturday Night, and originally intended for an al- most exclusively humorous paper, Since 1873 it has been known under its present title, and since April, 1874, when Mr. Griswold became the sole owner, it has approached more nearly to the characteristics of a family paper, while it preserves the Fat Con- tributor's wit and humor. There is scarcely a State in the Union where the paper is not known. Office, Johnston's Building, Fifth street.
There are a large number of weekly papers in Cincinnati, many of them the organs of the different Churches. The follow- ing are the principal: American Christian Review, American Israelite, Catholic Telegraph, Christian Standard, Der Christ- liche Apologete, Die Deborah, Grange Bulletin, Grocer and Com- mission Reporter, Hebrew Sabbath School Visitor, Herald and Presbyter, Journal and Messenger, Journal of Commerce, Ki- keriki, Live Stock Review, Merchant and Manufacturer, Post, Price Current and Commercial Review, Protestantische Zeit- blaetter, Saturday Night, Star in the West, Trade List, Unsere Alte Heimath, Wahrheitsfreund, Western Christian Advocate, Western Tobacco Journal. The American Hotel Review is pub- lished monthly.
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