Cincinnati Off The Beaten Path Tips by BeatChick Top 5 Page for this destination

St. Francis Xavier Church

This beautiful Jesuit church is located in the heart of downtown Cincinnati. I only located this here among the Off-the-beaten-path tips because a lot of people aren't crazy like me, someone who likes to view the lovely architectural elements of churches & cathedrals, well at least not in small cities like Cincinnati. Paris, London, Rome, Jerusalem, Moscow, Milan, Florence, Siena - those are places you go to see churches, not small midwestern US towns!

But this is a great church. It's lovingly painted in blue murals on the inside (blue is such a peaceful color and it denotes dignity & purity and is indicative of the Virgin Mary) and the outer architecture is lovely to behold, too: very tall and majestic with clock tower that chimes the hour & a steeple that would pierce the sky if it weren't for the nearby skyscraper buildings.

Please do pop in for a minute to revive your spirits and to maintain a sense of spirit & solemnity - a brief respite from the hustle & bustle of downtown. Maybe you'll get to meet Bonnie, one of the caretakers, who is an extremely warm & inviting person. She's the lady who turned the lights on for me so that I might take better photos.

Address:
607 Sycamore Street
Cincinnati, OH 45202

Photo: September 2005

Other Contact: (513) 723-0451

Phone: (513) 721-4044

Spring Grove Cemetery & Arboretum

Spring Grove Cemetery is the largest cemetery in Cincinnati & the oldest, too, holding Revolutionary War & Civil War & subsequent war veterans & generals (you'll find a printable map located on their website listed below).

Spring Grove was patterned after Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris with its huge grounds, statuary, mausoleums & crypts & winding paths, where Oscar Wilde & Jim Morrison are buried, .

I came here one wintry day in early January 2005 to take some black & white photos, which I think set off settings that are dreary such as this day & the fact that it's a cemetery.

Besides its historical quality, Spring Grove is also beneficial in studying genealogy, so please do contact them via the website. This is also an excellent home to choose as your final resting place.

My friend, fellow VTer MadAboutParis, is preparing to be a docent for the cemetery!

For more photographs of my visit, please check out my Spring Grove Travelogue:
Spring Grove Cemetery I
Spring Grove Cemetery II
Spring Grove Cemetery III

Address:
4521 Spring Grove Avenue
Cincinnati, OH 45232

Directions:
From I-75, take the Mitchell Avenue exit going west. Turn left onto Spring Grove Avenue and you'll see the entrance to the cemetery about another 1-2 miles further south.

Phone: 513-681-7526

Saint Peter in Chains Cathedral

Saint Peter in Chains Cathedral, the chief church of the archdiocese in Cincinnati, is a beautiful church to bring the family for Easter even if you're not Catholic, which is what we did one year! We're not Catholic but Terry, my ex-husband grew up Catholic & we thought it was important for the kids to get a taste of the various facets of Christianity in order to make up their own minds.

The choir singing in the balconies, the swinging incense, the pageantry of the ceremonies makes for a very heady Easter experience. We found it to be quite special for the occasion and it is one I've mimicked when I've been overseas in Paris - I attended the Easter Paques celebration at Nôtre Dame April 2003.

The church was designed by the same architect who conceived the Ohio State Capitol in Columbus, Henry Walters.

Address:
325 West Eighth Street
Cincinnati, OH 45202

Photo: September 2005

Phone: (513) 421-5354

Website: http://www.stpeterinchainscathedral.org/

Holy Cross-Immaculata Church - Mt. Adams

Located on the pinnacle of Mt. Adams, lies the Holy Cross Immaculata Church where the Catholic faithful return every Good Friday to pray the beads of the rosary on the steep steps leading up to the church.

My last visit there I counted 85 steps - that's a lot of rosary beads!! :D

The altarpieces on the inside of the church was painted by Johann Schmitt, who was an art teacher to one of Cincinnati's illustrious artists, Frank Duveneck (click "I accept these terms" to view his famous The Whistling Boy), who I mentioned in my Maisonette review. Here's a list of 7 of the altarpieces by Schmitt (with photos):
Annunciation
Birth of the Virgin Mary
Immaculate Conception
The Sacrifice of Isaac
Expulsion from the Garden of Eden
Assumption of the Virgin Mary
Presentation of the Virgin Mary at the Temple

Besides it's focal point in Cincinnati for Good Friday devotions, the church is also beautiful architecturally & is a wonderful place to view the sunrise & sunset over Cincinnati & to see the lights of the city twinkling & sparkling at night.

Address
30 Guido Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202
(Mt. Adams)

Photos: January 2005

Phone: (513)721-6544

Website: http://www.hciparish.org/

Covington - Basilica of the Assumption

St. Mary's Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, serves as the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Covington, Kentucky, and as the parish of St. Mary's. This beautiful cathedral is a smaller-scale model of Nôtre Dame in Paris except that the Kings of Judah statues & the Saints statues are missing (you won't find the headless St. Denis holding his own head here!) But the Gothic stylings & the gargoyles are all included here.

The project for this cathedral commenced in 1894 & was completed in 1915 and is only one of 35 minor basilicas in the U.S.

Address:
1140 Madison Avenue
Covington, KY 41011

Photos: January 2005

Phone: (859) 431-2060

Website: http://covcathedral.com/

City Hall

Built in 1890, this massive 4-story structure built of beautiful stone and covered by a Ludowici clay tiled roof is a great example of German Romanesque architecture created by architect Samuel Hannaford. Naturally, City Hall holds most of the city's governmental departments. Take a peek inside to see the lovely grand marble stairway, stained-art glass windows on the landings and murals painted on the ceiling.

For information about tour guides:
http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/cdap/pages/-3944-/

Address:
801 Plum Street
Cincinnati, OH 45202

Photo: September 2005

Other Contact: 513-352-5201

Phone: 513-352-3250

Website: http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/play.html

Old St. Mary's Church - Over-the-Rhine

The Old St. Mary's Church in the Over-the-Rhine section of Cincinnati is to me the most beautiful church in Cincinnati. It has gorgeous German architecture that was paid for and built by the hardworking German workers that once inhabited this area.

The appellation, Over the Rhine, comes from these German inhabitants. German folk were attracted to the Ohio Valley because it reminded them of their Native Rhine Valley and for a time, Cincinnati's hills were dotted with vineyards. Back then Central Parkway was not a street, it was part of the Erie Canal that transported goods from Lake Erie to the Ohio River. Many Germans lived in this area but worked downtown; their nickname for the Erie Canal was the Rhine River and when they came home in the evening crossing over the canal they were going "Over-the-Rhine" and the name has stuck for this area since.

If you're in the Main Street bar district on the weekend just take a walk down to the corner of 13th & Main and you'll see the lovely façade of this church. Even as a drunken sot you'll be able to appreciate its architecture!

For a tour of the interior, you may join the Final Friday Tours of Old St. Mary's.
6:30-9pm the last Friday of the month.

During Christmas they hold choruses of Christmas music outside the church.

For those of a medieval or Renaissance bent, they also perform Gregorian chant and Renaissance music during their 9:15am Sunday Latin Mass.

Address:
123 East 13th Street
Cincinnati, OH 45202

Directions:
Cross street of 13th & Main streets

Photo: August 2005

Phone: (513) 721-2988

Website: http://www.oldstmarys.org/introduction/intro.html

Covington - Goose Girl Fountain

In the center of Covington's MainStrasse Village, you'll find this charming fairy-tale style Goose Girl Fountain. This bronze statue is based on the Brothers Grimm story "The Goose Girl" in homage to the German geese farmers that once lived in this area.

Phone: (859) 491-0458

Website: http://www.nkyvillage.com/index.htm

Covington's MainStrasse Village

I love the quaint, charming MainStrasse Village in Covington with its old Victorian & Italianate homes dotted around what used to be the German area of Covington.

Walk around, gaze at the houses, peer at the Goose Girl Fountain, stroll down & listen to the German Clock Tower, otherwise known as the Carroll Chimes Bell Tower, but make sure to read the historical plaques in the square. One will tell you the story that is the basis for Toni Morrison's Beloved.

There are coffee shops in the area, Celtic shops, and great restaurants like the Cajun Dee Felice or French Chez Nora.

Phone: (859) 491-0458

Website: http://www.nkyvillage.com/contact_us.htm

Dee Felice Café

Creole cajun comfort food in Covington's MainStrasse Village, Dee Felice bills itself as "Jazz, Swing, New Orleans décor and great Cajun food"!

Besides the typical fare associated with N'awlins, you'll find American staples such steak, pasta, chicken & seafood. Dee Felice is well-noted for their excellent wine list and especially for their desserts!

Besides garnering numerous awards from local Cincinnati Magazine they've also been listed as one of America's Top 25 Restaurants per Zagat's!

Casual dress code.

Phone: 859-261-2365

Website: http://www.deefelice.com/