Cincinnati: The Public Landing by Moonlight in 1884

Cincinnati’s rapid emergence as a city quickly followed the advent of the steam engine in the early 1800s, when river traffic burgeoned to use the ready-made network of navigable waterways of America’s heartland, the Mississippi and its wide-ranging tributaries. By the mid-19th century the city ranked as the sixth largest in the country with the largest inland port.

The city’s enduring and proudest historic monument, the Roebling Suspension Bridge, was the engineering masterpiece of the age. Construction began in 1856 but work on the bridge was suspended for the duration of the Civil War. At the time of its completion in 1867, it was the longest bridge in the world. Designed initially to carry the relatively lightweight horse drawn traffic of the day, the bridge’s span was more slender then than it now appears, having been substantially strengthened with heavy girder work to carry the major increase of today’s loads.

This view of the Public Landing in 1884 features the famous bridge at a time when it towered above the city, and all the steamboats, factories and warehouses crowding the riverfront. The Louisville & Nashville Railroad Co. Bridge which was completed in 1872 can be seen upriver. Another essential and always prominent landmark in view is the Church of the Immaculate Conception on Mt. Adams which was dedicated in 1860. The packet “Kate Adams” is the principal vessel on the left due to her interesting stern design. The tall stacks of such bigger boats were rigged to hinge downwards in order to allow passage under the lower bridges upriver.

View Artist’s Biography