Traveling on a steamboat up the Ohio River in the summer of 1905, passing under the John A. Roebling suspension bridge, on the approach to the Cincinnati Public Landing. The “Afternoon Arrival” concludes a multi-stop trip north from Louisville, Kentucky. The Cincinnati Public Landing on the banks of the Ohio was frequently jammed with riverboat traffic with 5,000 arrivals and departures per season. Most of these river boats also carried mail up and down the rivers.
Between Cincinnati and Louisville, numerous landings, villages, and towns lined the river. Travel by road between these towns for any great distance was time-consuming journey. The river was the most practical way to transport freight, and the quickest way to get between points along its shore.
The Cincinnati suspension bridge opened to traffic in 1867 joining Cincinnati to Covington, Kentucky, and at the time was the longest in the world. John A. Roebling left the construction supervision to his son to plan his next project, the New York and Brooklyn Bridge over the East River in NYC; later named the Brooklyn Bridge in 1915. The Cincinnati bridge was refurbished and strengthened in the late 1890’s, which included 2 additional cables. Originally Spanish Brown in color it was painted green and remained so until 1975 when it was made a National Landmark, and painted blue and remains so today.
In the distance is the Cincinnati & Newport cantilevered bridge which was constructed in 1890. The sternwheel packet “Joe Fowler is docked at the Landing waiting to take on cargo and supplies. She was built in 1888 in Jefferson, Indiana, by the Howard Shipyard, and operated in various services for almost 30 years without a serious incident.
Traveling on a steamboat up the Ohio River in the summer of 1905, passing under the John A. Roebling suspension bridge, on the approach to the Cincinnati Public Landing. The “Afternoon Arrival” concludes a multi-stop trip north from Louisville, Kentucky. The Cincinnati Public Landing on the banks of the Ohio was frequently jammed with riverboat traffic with 5,000 arrivals and departures per season. Most of these river boats also carried mail up and down the rivers.
Between Cincinnati and Louisville, numerous landings, villages, and towns lined the river. Travel by road between these towns for any great distance was time-consuming journey. The river was the most practical way to transport freight, and the quickest way to get between points along its shore.
The Cincinnati suspension bridge opened to traffic in 1867 joining Cincinnati to Covington, Kentucky, and at the time was the longest in the world. John A. Roebling left the construction supervision to his son to plan his next project, the New York and Brooklyn Bridge over the East River in NYC; later named the Brooklyn Bridge in 1915. The Cincinnati bridge was refurbished and strengthened in the late 1890’s, which included 2 additional cables. Originally Spanish Brown in color it was painted green and remained so until 1975 when it was made a National Landmark, and painted blue and remains so today.
In the distance is the Cincinnati & Newport cantilevered bridge which was constructed in 1890. The sternwheel packet “Joe Fowler is docked at the Landing waiting to take on cargo and supplies. She was built in 1888 in Jefferson, Indiana, by the Howard Shipyard, and operated in various services for almost 30 years without a serious incident.