For many years Cincinnati employed
fairs and expositions to attract tourists to the city by providing entertainment
and information on the newest machines being produced, mainly by Cincinnati
companies. Between 1838 and 1860 the Ohio Mechanics Institute sponsored 18 trade
fairs. Starting in 1870 the city's Chamber of Commerce and Board of Trade joined
O.M.I. in sponsoring the famous Industrial Expositions which flourished for 19
years. In 1900, another series of industrial pageants began under the
sponsorship of the Cincinnati Business Men's Club, the Fall Festival Association
and the Chamber of Commerce. The sixth in this series, in 1910 was known as the
Ohio Valley Exposition celebrating the completion of a dam on the Ohio River and
the formation of the Ohio Valley Improvement Association, an organization formed
to make the Ohio River navigable the year around from Pittsburgh to Cairo.
All these exhibitions were held at the Music Hall and on occasion
extended across the street at Washington Park on the eastern side. The Miami
Erie Canal was also used since it went past the Music Hall on the western side
of the building. You will see all this in the cards below. To see more of the
Music Hall go to the Buildings Page.
1871 EXPOSITION GOLD MEDAL
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1873 EXPOSITION
In 1875 Reuben R. Springer offered to contribute $125,000 for a building if the city would commit the property tax free in perpetuity and a matching $125,000 was raised from the general public. The 1875 Industrial Exposition was the 6th and last to be held in Saengerfest Halle that had been built in 1867 and had been renamed Exposition Hall in 1870 was no longer considered adequate. There was no exposition planned for 1876 so as not to compete with the United States Centennial Exposition. Sangerfest Halle was demolished in 1877 to make way for the new Music Hall. The new Music Hall complex, opened for the 1878 May Music Festival , was designed to provide space not only for music festivals but also for conventions, industrial expositions, and other public celebrations. In 1879 Machinery Hall (North Wing) and Art Hall (South Wing) was added to the complex.
1878 EXPOSITION
1879 EXPOSITION
1888 EXPOSITION
North End of Hall
The 14th Cincinnati Industrial Exposition in 1888 celebrated the 100th anniversary of Cincinnati's founding. The first 3 images above give a very nice overall view of this magnificent exposition. These views clearly show the temporary buildings constructed in Washington Park on the right. On the left, in the 3rd image, you can see the 1248 foot building constructed over the Miami Erie Canal from twelfth to fifteenth Street. This is where gondolas, brought over from Italy, ferried patrons up and down the canal. "Machinery Hall" was also inside this structure. The building was 114 feet wide at the ends and 150 feet wide in the center where it connected with Music Hall. The aisles on both sides of the canal were devoted to exhibits of machinery. The several hundred exhibits produced the power necessary to light and operate the other exhibition halls.
Section of Machinery Hall
There were attractive
pavilions at each end plus a refreshment hall. four bridges crossed the canal.
The arched roof formed a domed like roof 40 feet above the water. The structure
was illuminated at night by "innumerable jets of gas and electric
lights." James W. McLaughlin, Cincinnati, was the architect.
The map, in the first row, was
produced in 1888 for the exposition, it is very large. In the row directly above
You can
see the bridge connecting Washington Park with Music Hall in
the 1st two images. The center image shows the twin towers which mark the entrance
to the three-block-long building over the canal. Over 1 million people attended
the exposition that ran from July 4 to November 10. The 4th image shows some of
the gondolas that were used. The last image shows the patrons enjoying the Venice
setting of the Miami Erie Canal. Electric lighting had been introduced at the
1883 Exposition.
This is a nice shot of a summer horsecar arriving at the 1888 Centennial Exposition. This view also clearly shows the electric lights that were used to light the exposition. This was the year that electricity also was started to be used by the Cincinnati Street Railway.
Not a postcard
Scene of unknown year Exposition
1908 MAY FESTIVAL
May Festival Children's Chorus
OHIO VALLEY EXPOSITION
The next 32 cards are of the Ohio Valley Exposition which was held from August 29 to September 24 in 1910. This exposition celebrated the completion of the worlds largest movable dam, at Fernbank. President William Howard Taft attended the May Festival, dedicating a statue of Theodore Thomas.
Music Hall on the left
Washington Park on right
FOR MORE
EXPOSITION CARDS: 
