Playgrounds, cookouts, nature hikes, photo shoots, bike rides and more are memories worth making. From the vast trails of Otto Armleder Memorial Park to the breathtaking views of Bellevue Hill Park, Cincinnati is filled with parks in every neighborhood for everyone to enjoy.
Cincinnati gained its first park in 1817 with the creation of the downtown Piatt Park. This park spans from Elm Street to Vine Street with a statue of former President James A. Garfield on one end and former President William Henry Harrison on the other.
Since then, Cincinnati has accrued nearly 5,000 acres of over 100 parks, making up 10% of Cincinnati’s land. The Cincinnati Park Board oversees all parks. The committee is appointed by the mayor, and additional funding has been brought in by the non-profit Cincinnati Parks Foundation since 1995.
Many of Cincinnati’s parks were constructed in the 1930s and 1940s as a part of former President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal, which created numerous jobs and allowed the city to apply for federal assistance. Due to the era they were made in, numerous parks like Eden Park and the Krohn Conservatory have an Art Deco style to their structures.
In Mt. Lookout, Ault Park’s pavilion structure is a prime example of the Depression era’s architecture. The well-attended structure was built with an Italianate design in 1930. The site is now frequently used for numerous purposes, from prom pictures to car shows.
Making up nearly 20% of all parks’ land, Mt. Airy Forest is Cincinnati’s largest park and one of the earliest American municipal reforestation projects. The park is home to not only hiking trails, but also a disc golf course, an arboretum, a public treehouse and a dog park.
One of the most ambitious park projects was the transformation of the downtown riverbank into what is now Smale Riverfront Park, next to Theodore M. Berry International Friendship Park and Sawyer Point. The project created a two-mile-long green space as part of the Ohio River Trail.
Smale Riverfront Park is ranked as one of the best river walks in the country. For example, it was ranked as number one last year by USA Today. Cincinnati’s parks in general are held in high regard, with the park system consistently falling in the top 10 of the country’s best city parks, according to US News & World Report.
While parks provide a beautiful natural element to the otherwise manmade metropolis, they also are responsible for creating economic opportunities. Construction of parks has consistently created jobs as well as brought business to the surrounding areas of the finished project.
The parks board has numerous plans to not only improve and renovate current parks, but also expand and add new ones. These plans are a part of a three-year mission to fix issues ranging from broken sidewalks to community resources. For example, the Park Board plans to create a new dog park for residents near Burnet Woods.
With over 200 years of history spread across the city, parks have and will continue to be a staple of the Cincinnati community and a means to strengthen the city.
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