Cincinnati, also known as the Queen City, is a city rich in history and culture with exceptional visual and creative arts, professional sports teams and top notch museums. Whether you are a resident or a visitor there is always something to learn, see and do in Cincinnati and our neighboring cities of Covington and Newport. For those reasons and many more, it’s no surprise that in 2012 Lonely Planet Travel Guide named Cincinnati number three of the top ten travel destinations in the United States. Cincinnati offers all the benefits of larger cities like Chicago and New York while maintaining the small hometown hospitality.  In this section we like to bring interesting facts and opinions.  This is what we have for you in this month’s issue:

Ludlow Lagoon Amusement Park
Minutes from downtown Cincinnati, in a suburb of Covington is the historic city of Ludlow. Some might think an interesting fact about the city of Ludlow would be that the 1993 movie Lost in Yonkers used the quaint town as a one of its locations. Interesting, but even more interesting is that Ludlow was once home to a popular regionally known amusement park.

In 1894 Pleasant Run Creek, which empties into the Ohio River, was dammed to create a large lake on the western side of Ludlow. The fresh water lake was large enough to accommodate five small islands and was an excellent spot for swimming, boating and fishing.

White sand was placed along the lakes edge to give visitors a beach to bask in the sun and build sand castles.

A large Victorian style clubhouse was added along with a pavilion which became known as the Lagoon Dance Pavilion. The pavilion attracted thousands to the park since it could accommodate hundreds of dancers and a large orchestra. Also at the Lagoon was an amphitheater for live performances accommodating 2,500 spectators. There was even a Japanese Fair including a small exhibit and authentic teahouse.

Along with rides like a 100’ Ferris wheel (located on one of the islands) and a $10,000 merry-go-round, scenic railway, a Chute the Chutes and an elevated automobile ride, there was also a gold mine replica, large midway, picnic grounds and walking trails. There was also a large motorcycle racetrack that could seat 8,000 spectators.

In 1913 a flood and an accident at the motorcycle racetrack were two of four tragic events that led to the closing of the Ludlow Lagoon. The flood damaged many of the attractions and when a motorcycle lost control and went into the stands hitting a gas light causing a fire that claimed nine lives and over a hundred people were treated for burns and injuries. In July of 1915 a tornado caused over $20,000 damage to the park. The Lagoon continued serving Bavarian Beer that was made in Covington, but when WWI started the government halted alcohol sales and with that the Lagoon Amusement Park closed for good in 1918.

Walking Tour
On June 8th the Ludlow Historic Society is hosting a guided tour of what was once the Ludlow Lagoon. The tour is free and open to the public but you are invited to join the LHS for an annual membership fee of $20. Call 513-801-2253 to reserve your spot on the tour.

 

We have released the April edition of the Key Magazine magazine on the web site. This month Peter Frampton & Cincinnati Ballet Live! are featured.  We have also added local events in the calendar for visitors to see what is happening in the tri-state area.

Take some time and see what is happening this month in our area.

Scan and save the link via the QR code to always have the latest edition of the magazine.

To view the latest copy click here

Cincinnati, also known as the Queen City, is a city rich in history and culture with exceptional visual and creative arts, professional sports teams and top notch museums. Whether you are a resident or a visitor there is always something to learn, see and do in Cincinnati and our neighboring cities of Covington and Newport. For those reasons and many more, it’s no surprise that in 2012 Lonely Planet Travel Guide named Cincinnati number three of the top ten travel destinations in the United States. Cincinnati offers all the benefits of larger cities like Chicago and New York while maintaining the small hometown hospitality. In this section we like to bring interesting facts and opinions. This is what we have for you in this month’s issue: And the countdown begins to one of the most celebrated days in Cincinnati, OPENING DAY! There’s lots of baseball history in our great city and we thought we would share some interesting facts about our home team.

Cincinnati Redlegs
During the McCarthy era the Reds officially changed their name to the Cincinnati Redlegs because they feared the shortened name would associate them with Communism. In 1956 they even removed the term “Reds” from the inside of the C of the logo for this reason although it returned and the traditional logo was restored in 1967.

Opening Day
Opening day for the Reds is always scheduled to be played at home. It has been this way since they joined the National League in 1876.The Reds are scheduled to open every season at home, they are the only team to be granted this privilege.

Perfect Season
The Cincinnati Red Stockings are the only team in baseball history to achieve a perfect season with a record of 65-0 in 1869. This team was also the first team to play on both the East and West coast in the same season.

The First Nine The 1869 team was composed of ten players, the first nine and a substitute. They also returned for the 1870 season.

• Asa Brainard, Pitcher
• Doug Allison, Catcher
• Charlie Gould, First Base
• Charlie Sweasy, Second Base
• Fred Waterman, Third Base
• George Wright, Shortstop
• Andy Leonard, Left Field
• Harry Wright, Centerfield/Manager
• Cal McVey, Right Field
• Dick Hurley, Substitute

Retired Numbers
Nine numbers have been retired from the Reds Franchise and can be seen behind home-plate outside of the press box.

• #1 Fred Hutchinson Retired 1965 
• #5 Johnny Bench Retired 1984 
• #8 Joe Morgan Retired 1998 
• #10 Sparky Anderson Retired 2005 
• #11 Barry Larkin Retired 2012 
• #13 Dave Concepcion Retired 2007 
• #18 Ted Kluszewski Retired 1998 
• #20 Frank Robinson Retired 1998 
• #24 Tony Pérez Retired 2000 

Major League Baseball retired #42 in honor of Jackie Robinson and can also be seen.

 

 

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Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jacks because Cincinnati Reds baseball is back! The winners of five World Series titles, one American Association pennant, nine National League pennants and ten division titles; start the 2013 season April 1st. In Cincinnati it’s not just the start of the baseball season but a holiday celebrated with electricity and unity across the entire Tristate area.

On opening day you will see a river of red as people make their way to Great American Ball Park. You will see people at area restaurants and bars watching the game and live bands playing to kick off the season. People not able to get off work will still wear red and the game can be heard in offices, cars and even walking down the street. The nostalgia, history and hope are felt more on this day in Cincinnati than any movie about America’s favorite pastime can reflect.
The history of professional baseball and our beloved Cincinnati Reds started in 1869 when the Cincinnati Red Stockings became the first openly professional ball team where ten players were salaried. The team acquired the nickname because of the main feature to their uniforms which were long red stockings which were exaggerated when worn with the short white trousers.

Those red stockings and white trousers were first donned at Union Grounds which is where the first professional team played from 1869 until 1870. The park could seat up to 4,000 spectators and was located where Union Terminal train station is today. From 1876 to 1879 they played at Avenue Grounds which held 3,000 fans and from there they went to League Park which had a covered grandstand and uncovered seats along the first and third bases. After a major fire at League Park renovations were made including a new grandstand, field level seats and also box seats. After the renovations League Park was then called Palace of the Fans and the facility was used from 1902 through 1911. In 1912 the Reds moved to Redland Field which would later be named Crosley Field and where MLB history was made when the first night game was played. Located at the corner of Western Avenue and Findlay Street Crosley Field was also the host to the first World Series Championship team. In June of 1970 Riverfront Stadium was completed and the Cincinnati Reds left Crosley Field for the new stadium which could seat more than 52,000 fans and would become the home of the Big Red Machine. In 1996 Riverfront Stadium was renamed Cinergy Field although the Reds would move once again in 2003 to their current home Great American Ball Park which pays tribute to the Reds rich history and seats 42,036 fans.

On April 1st 2013 at Great American Ball Park the fans will once again be buying peanuts and Cracker Jacks and rooting for our home team. Everyone at Key Magazine would like to wish all the fans a happy Opening Day and to all the Reds Players and members of this great organization a winning season.

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