Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IV.djvu/603

 CINCINNATI 591 Xavier's college, a splendid building in the Romanesque style, on the corner of Seventh and Sycamore streets, is 70 by 125 ft., and four stories high. When extended it will be L- shaped. It is of brick, with profuse ornaments of stone, and a splendid double portico of the I same material. It cost $125,000. The Wes- ' leyan female college, in Wesley avenue, between Court and Clark streets, erected in 1868, is built of white stone, in a highly attractive style of architecture, and is surrounded by orna- mental grounds. It is 180 ft. long, 60 and 90 ft. deep, and four stories above the basement, with a Mansard roof. It has accommodations for 300 day and boarding pupils. The Hughes high school, in Fifth street, is an imposing edi- fice in the Gothic style, with octagon towers at the corners. The medical college of Ohio is a quaint-looking structure in Sixth street, W. of Vine. The finest church edifice in Cincin- nati is St. Peter's (Roman Catholic) cathedral in Plum street. It is of Dayton limestone, in pure Grecian style, 200 ft. long and 80 ft. wide, with a stone spire 224 ft. high. Fronting Plum street it has a portico supported by ten sandstone columns, arranged by fours on three sides, which are approached by flights of full-length steps. The height of the interior, from floor to ceiling, is 55 ft. ; 18 stone pil- lars, 9 on each side, separate the nave from the aisles. The altar, of Carrara marble, was made in Genoa. St. Paul's church (Method- ist), in Seventh street, in the English transi- tion style of the 13th century, is of blue lime- stone, cruciform, 130 by 85 ft. It has a finely finished interior, and a spire 200 ft. high. It cost (in 1871) $175,000. St. John's (Episco- pal) church, in Seventh and Plum streets, built in the Norman style, is of stone and stuccoed brick. It is cruciform, 90 by 105 ft. in extreme dimensions. Its most striking features are its unfinished square towers, rough ashlar gable, and deep and lofty Norman door, facing Sev- enth street. The first Presbyterian church, in Fourth street, is noted for its huge tower, sur- mounted by a spire 270 ft. high, terminating with a gilded hand, the finger pointing up- ward. The two Hebrew temples are fine and large structures. That in Plum street is of brick, profusely ornamented with stone, built in the Moorish style, 120 by 110 ft., and cost $250,000. That in Mound street is also of brick trimmed with stone, Gothic in style, 135 by 60 ft., and gorgeously frescoed inside. North of the Ohio, Cincinnati has only three natural avenues of approach by railroad : two between the base of the hills and the river E. and W. of the city, and one through Mill creek valley from the north. In 1873 these ap- proaches were occupied by six railroads, three of which had double tracks for a distance of 15 to 25 m. from the city. These lines were used by the following companies : Atlantic and Great Western ; Cincinnati, Hamilton, and Dayton; Cincinnati and Indiana; Cincinnati and Indianapolis Junction ; Cincinnati, Rich- 192 VOL. iv. 38 mond, and Chicago ; Cincinnati, Sandusky, and Cleveland ; Cincinnati and Muskingum Val- ley ; Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, and Indianopolis ; Dayton and Michigan ; Harrison Branch ; Little Miami ; Marietta and Cincin- nati ; and Ohio and Mississippi. Terminating at Covington are the Kentucky Central, and the Louisville, Cincinnati, and Lexington rail- roads. The daily arrivals and departures on these roads are 124 passenger and 150 freight trains. These railroads enter four depots, all near the river, one in the eastern, one in the central, and two in the western part of the city proper. The eastern and western depots are connected by a track through the city for restricted use in the transfer of freight. The Miami canal connects with Toledo on Lake Erie. Telegraphic communication is afforded by the Western Union company, with 40 lines, the Pacific and Atlantic with six, and the Atlantic and Pacific with two. There are eight lines of river packets running regular- ly between Cincinnati and various points on the Ohio, Cumberland, Mississippi, Arkansas, White, and Red rivers. There are 14 lines of omnibuses and stages running from the city to distances of from 5 to 30 m. into the country ; and 14 lines of street railroad, with 45 m. of track, traversing the city in various directions. An inclined railway for passengers by a plane about 800 ft. in length, operated by steam, makes an ascent of 275 ft. from the bottom to the top of one of the northern hills. Three other incline railways, to ascend the hills at other points, are projected. Besides the two bridges above mentioned, there is communica- tion by 3 ferries with Kentucky. The central position of Cincinnati in relation to extensive producing regions and to leading channels of commerce, by water and by rail, renders it one of the most important commercial centres of the west. The commercial growth of the city is exhibited in the following statement of the aggregate imports and exports for the years ending respectively Aug. 31 : YEARS. Imports. Exports. 1854-'55 167,501,841 $38,777,894 1858-'59 94,218,247 66,007,707 1862-'68 144,189.218 102,897,171 1866-'<57 335,961,283 192,929,817 1868-'69 288,927,903 168,084,858 1869-70 812,978.665 198,517,690 1870-71 288.796,219 179.848.427 1871-72 817,646,608 200,607,040 The number and tonnage of steamers and barges plying between Cincinnati and other points, during the years specified, are as fol- lows : 1850 No. 288 888 446 of le, i Tonnage. 49,274 71,642 91,686 the chi or the 1 1870 1871 1872 ef a wo No. .. 827 Tonnage. 78,109 81,801 85,721 ented Aug. 1860. .. 825 1865 .. 854 The value in this tra< 31, was: rticles years repres ending