Looking Into the Basin

Every city has its own skyline. Most can be seen from a ways away, with the skyscrapers of the business district rising into the heavens. For the most part, you look up at a city. Not so with Cincinnati. Downtown and OTR sit in a basin in the Ohio River valley, and as a result, it's possible to travel in any cardinal direction and look down (or at least across) at Cincinnati's compact urban core. The business district has its gems in the Carew and PNC towers, but the angled rooftops, church spires, and old-world European feel of Over the Rhine steal the show and make for some unique sightlines that aren't typically seen in American cities. If you look past the skyscrapers to the south, it would be easy to mistake the rest of the basin for a true old-world city, and it is what gives the basin its special charm.

Over the Rhine

Downtown as seen from Mount Echo, looking east.

A huge panoramic shot of the basin from Mt. Echo

Devou Park in Covington, looking north

The view from Mt. Adams, looking west.

Ascending the Carew Tower for a better look at OTR.

Downtown as seen from the rooftop of Calhoun Hall

Downtown from Price Hill.

A goodnight shot of Cincinnati and OTR from Bellevue Hill Park, looking south. That covers all the cardinal directions - I can't think of any other cities where one can ascend in every direction and get such drastically different skyline views.