Walking Tour of the Queen City, Pt. 4

(continued) Our Wednesday walking tour of Cincinnati reached its last leg with our visit to St. Peter in Chains Cathedral.

Saint Peter in Chains is the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati. It is a Greek revival structure located at 8th and Plum Streets. Construction began with the laying of its cornerstone on 20 May 1841, under the direction of then-bishop—later archbishop—John Baptist Purcell, and formally dedicated on 2 November 1845. Its striking single spire, which soars to two-hundred and twenty feet above street level, was the tallest man-made structure in the city for many decades, and is constructed of pure white limestone.

The interior is striking and unique among Roman Catholic cathedrals in America, with its Greek-themed mosaics depicting the Stations of the Cross, its ornate Corinthian columns and its massive bronze doors.

I noticed as we left--and I hope it's intentional--that the glass in the front doors reflects the Plum Street Temple across the street. To me it seemed reflective (pun intended) of Christianity's roots in Judaism.

After leaving the cathedral, we went right next door to Cincinnati's City Hall, yet another registered historic building in Cincinnati, Ohio, listed in the National Register on December 11, 1972. The main building comprises four and a half stories with a nine story clock tower.

Marble stairways and wainscoting originated in Italy and Tennessee, and impressive beautiful stained-glass windows proliferate throughout.

After City Hall, we high-tailed it back to the car, passing the Emery Theater building on Central Parkway (where as a child I once attended Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra concerts for schoolchildren) and began the drive home, swinging by historic Music Hall on Elm Street.

Music Hall, completed in 1878, is the home of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Opera, May Festival Chorus, and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. In January, 1975, it was recognized as a National Historic Landmark.

After all that, there was still much we DIDN'T see on our three-plus-hour walking tour. It would have been nice to walk across the Roebling Suspension Bridge, visit Piatt Park, Garfield Park, the downtown library, Contemporary Arts Center, and the Cincinnatian Hotel, among others.