Image zoom | Credit: Courtesy of 21c
In the early 19th century, a small settlement called Cincinnati suddenly became a boomtown. It was the heyday of the steamboat, and this city on the northern shore of the Ohio River welcomed wave upon wave of immigrants, growing so fast that it soon earned the moniker Queen of the West. But in the mid 20th century, as manufacturing and river trade fell into decline, the population, as in so many other Rust Belt hubs, dwindled.
Now that s beginning to turn around, even amid a pandemic. The Queen City is growing and getting younger. New businesses are reinvigorating historic neighborhoods. Cincy is poised to have a major moment, and nowhere is this more apparent than in Over-the-Rhine, a vibrant, culturally rich district that s home to Findlay Market: the 165-year-old focal point of the city s growing food scene.