Reviewed by Sandra Merville Hart
Images of America
History of Mass Transit
This book is packed with old photographs and sketches to illustrate various periods of how Cincinnatians got around.
Singer discusses steamboat travel and commerce in the 1800s. The Ohio River flooded city streets at various times in its history. The author shares interesting photos of folks getting around flooded streets by rowboat.
Carriages, canals, and inclines were also modes of transportation in the city.
Trains became an important way to travel in the 1800s and into the 1900s. An old menu for a 1950s dining car fascinated me.
Books in this series always have old photographs and sketches that are so helpful in my historical research for my novels.
I read this book during my research for my book set in Cincinnati in 1883-84, A Not So Persistent Suitor. One of my characters often rides the incline to get to her college in the suburbs. She most often rides rail cars, which were horse-drawn cars that followed a raised rail in the streets.
Recommended for readers who love the history of Cincinnati and Ohio.
Sandra Merville Hart 