Description: Dated ca. 1930-1939, this photograph shows the Ohio River Trail at the entrance of Alms Park in Cincinnati, Ohio, in Hamilton County. The sign reads "Ohio River Trail Nature trails have been established for the purpose of giving all an opportunity to become acquainted with the out of doors to make possible a greater degree of companionship between man and nature and to promote health. May the guiding signs help to lead you to a fuller enjoyment of life. We are taking you through a part of nature's laboratory. Your materials are the trees, the flowers, the insects, the wind and the hills. What to look for - [see the map of trails, with points of interest] Where to Go The trail begins here, encircles the hill overlooking the Ohio river and the Lunken airport, it ends at the rock ledges near the wine cellar. Cincinnati Board Park Commissioners." The Frederick H. Alms Memorial Park is located at 710 Tusculum Avenue on Mount Tusculum, in Cincinnati, Ohio, overlooking the Ohio River. The park was given to the Park Board by Frederick Alms' wife in 1916. Alms was born in Cincinnati on February 26, 1839 and died July 25, 1898. A former solider and successful businessman, Alms is best remembered as an extraordinarily generous philanthropist. He married Eleanora C. Unzicker on November 9, 1870. This photograph is one of the many visual materials collected for use in the Ohio Guide. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Works Progress Administration by executive order to create jobs for the large numbers of unemployed laborers, as well as artists, musicians, actors, and writers. The Federal Arts Program, a sector of the Works Progress Administration, included the Federal Writers’ Project, one of the primary goals of which was to complete the America Guide series, a series of guidebooks for each state which included state history, art, architecture, music, literature, and points of interest to the major cities and tours throughout the state. Work on the Ohio Guide began in 1935 with the publication of several pamphlets and brochures. The Reorganization Act of 1939 consolidated the Works Progress Administration and other agencies into the Federal Works Administration, and the Federal Writers’ Project became the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio. The final product was published in 1940 and went through several editions. The Ohio Guide Collection consists of 4,769 photographs collected for use in Ohio Guide and other publications of the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio from 1935-1939. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B03F08_023_1
Subjects: Cincinnati (Ohio); Parks; Alms, Fred H.; Geography and Natural Resources; Hiking trails; Federal Writers' Project
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio)