CincyWhimsy: Fairview

East of Christ Hospital resides remote park, perhaps the most inaccessible piece of pubic space in the city. Surrounded by the twists and turns of dead end streets, Jackson Park once hosted the beginnings of suburban public transit in Cincinnati. In addition to its electric street railway, Mt. Auburn was home to the Queen City's very first incline.

Mt. Auburn Incline construction via CincinnatiViews.net

Mount Auburn Street Railway rain from Fifth and Main Streets Downtown to Auburn Avenue on top of the hill. The difficulties of mounting Jackson Hill, particularly in the winter, led the electric street to adapt an incline system, inspired by Pittsburgh's Monongahela Incline which was erected in 1870. Two years later, Cincinnati opened Mt. Auburn Incline.

via CincinnatiViews.net

Like other inclines, Mt. Auburn built an entertainment establishment at the top of the hill: Lookout House. Six hundred passengers a day and a million persons each year rode the incline and likely patronized the resort. Sunday became their busiest day, as the Lookout House boldly ignored liquor laws and served beer and wine on the Sabbath.

Lookout House via CincinnatiViews.net

A series of untimely events led to Mt. Auburn Incline's demise. In October 1889, eight passengers were aboard the car when a mechanical error launched it full speed from the bottom of the hill, sending it crashing into the top station. After a moment of dangling, the car broke loose and plummeted back to the bottom where it collided with a grocery store and sent the roof cascading 100 feet down Main Street. Three days after Mt. Auburn Incline reopened from the horrific accident, then-judge William Howard Taft ruled against the incline in a court case regarding vehicular interference with telephone lines. It closed permanently in 1898.

Our journey to the top of Cincinnati's steepest incline began in an inconspicuous vacant lot at the corner of 8th Street and Glenway Avenue. Marked only with a billboard, it was hard to imagine the site once being a bustling venue of commerce and transportation on the West Side. Along the way, we snapped pictures of the remnants, including stone walls, wooden stringers, concrete with structural imprints, sheave wheels, and even old rail! - See more at: http://www.cincywhimsy.com/2013/07/price-hill-incline-climb.html#sthash.8fstqzqR.dpuf

Mt. Auburn Incline Wreck via CincinnatiViews.net

As part of the Cincinnati Incline Climb, our journey to the top of Cincinnati's first incline began at a stairwell at Main and Mulberry Street. Now known as the Main Street Mosaic Steps, this quiet area was once one of the main transit arteries of Cincinnati. Remnants of the incline can still be viewed from the foundation, a reminder of the bygone era when the Queen City was once called "The Paris of America."

MT. AUBURN INCLINE

Hike Difficulty Level: ★☆☆☆☆

Length: 960 feet

Height: 312 feet
Steepness / Grade: 35% and 25%

Cat of the Mt. Auburn Incline

Medical bracelet found on the stairwell

Jackson Park, at the top of the former incline.

Jackson Park: great views for photography

The only family-owned and operated incline in Cincinnati was also the sole transport carrying both freight and passengers up the hillside. Price Hill Incline was the city's second oldest incline, dating from 1874 - 1943. It also had the most intact remnants that we discovered on our Cincinnati Incline Climb. Founded by the Price family, the namesake pioneers for Price Hill, the incline carries poignant folktales from the era.

Price Hill Incline via CincinnatiViews.net

At the very top of the incline was Price Hill House, a resort highlighted by a summer garden and a stunning view of the city. Unlike the other resorts that served alcohol, the Price family was "dry," otherwise known as supporters of Prohibition. Locals referred to the Price Hill House as Buttermilk Mountain, as this was the strongest drink the bar would serve customers. Of course, this gave way to a landslide of opportunity at the foot of Price Hill, where drinkeries leading up the the incline were named First Chance Saloon, Next Chance Saloon, and Last Chance Saloon.

In 1906, catastrophe struck Price Hill Incline as a cable broke on one of the freight cars. Just six feet away from the hilltop terminal, it ripped free and began to plunge downward. Aboard the platform were two workmen, one carrying a load of sand and the other a load of manure. Each buried themselves in their load and when the cars crashed to the ground, both miraculously survived. As the platform and horses lay in a twisted metal mess, the workmen walked away a bit smelly, but unscathed.