Dear George,
My sister-in-law Ami recently
came to visit from New York City.
Though time went by too quickly, we had lots of fun. Among our many excursions we went to Findlay
Market, Cincinnati’s largest outdoor food market. We haven’t been there for a while, though we’ve gone many
times over the years. It’s always
an adventure. People come from all
over the city – poor and rich, white and black, young and old, suburbanites and
inner city residents. The indoor
market has great booths -- fish, meat, cheese, bread and pastries, and other
staples. The vegetable and flower
merchants are mostly outdoors, and they’re joined by a wide variety of
artisans.
Findlay Market was built 163
years ago in 1852.* It's the
oldest surviving municipal market house in the state of Ohio. It gets its name from General James
Findlay (1770-1835), a former mayor of Cincinnati, and his wife Jane Irwin
Findlay (1769-1851). The Findlay
estate donated the land to the city shortly after Jane’s death. By the time of the Civil War the city
of Cincinnati was operating nine municipal markets, but Findlay is the only one
of the nine remaining today.
Originally Findlay Market was
an open air pavilion. However,
because of urban pollution and health concerns, the enclosed market house was
constructed in the early 1900's, and plumbing and refrigeration were
added. The market underwent a
major renovation in 1973-74, then was renovated and expanded again in
2002-03. I’ve been meaning for
some time to take photos at Findlay Market. Here are some from our recent trip.
Love,
Dave
*www.findlaymarket.org
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