Cincinnati

Cincinnati () is the third largest city in Ohio and the 65th largest city in the United States by population within the city limits. According to the 2010 census, the population of the metropolitan area was 2,214,954 – the 28th largest Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) in the United States and the largest centered in Ohio.It is also the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the border between Ohio and Kentucky at the confluence of the Ohio River and the Licking River. Residents of Cincinnati are called Cincinnatians. In the early 19th century, Cincinnati was an American boomtown in the heart of the country to rival the larger coastal cities in size and wealth, at one point being the 6th largest city in the United States by population, surpassed only by the older, established settlements of the Eastern Seaboard and New Orleans. Because it is the first major American city founded after the American Revolution as well as the first major inland city in the country, Cincinnati is sometimes thought of as the first purely American city. It developed with less European immigration or influence than eastern cities in the same period; however, it received a significant number of German immigrants, who founded many of the city’s cultural institutions. By the end of the 19th century, with the shift from steamboats to railroads, Cincinnati’s growth had slowed considerably and the city became surpassed in population by other inland cities, Chicago and St. Louis. Cincinnati is home to two major sports teams, the Cincinnati Reds, one of the oldest franchises in Major League Baseball, and the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League. The University of Cincinnati, founded in 1819, is one of the 50 largest in the United States. Cincinnati is known for its historic architecture. In the late 1800s, Cincinnati was commonly referred to as “Paris of America,” mainly due to significant architectural projects, like Music Hall, the Cincinnatian Hotel, and the Shillito Department Store.