Cincinnati Subway
 |
|
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Owner | SORTA |
| Locale | Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Transit type | Rapid transit |
| Number of lines | 1 |
| Number of stations | 4 |
| Operation | |
| Began operation | Never completed |
| Technical | |
| System length | 2.2 mi (3.5 km) |
The Cincinnati Subway is a set of incomplete, derelict tunnels and stations for a rapid transit system beneath the streets of Cincinnati, Ohio. It is recognized as the largest abandoned subway tunnel system in the United States. It was built in the early twentieth century as an upgrade to the Cincinnati streetcar system, but was abandoned due to escalating costs, the collapse of funding amidst political bickering, and the Great Depression during the 1920s and 1930s.
In 1928, the construction of the subway system in Cincinnati was indefinitely canceled. To date, there are no concrete plans to revive the project.
Rapid transit was seen as the solution for downtown congestion during the first quarter of the 20th century. Six million dollars were allocated for the project, but construction was delayed due to World War I. Unexpected post-war inflation doubled the cost of construction, so the project could not be finished at the original estimated price.
Various attempts to use the subway tunnels for mass transit have been unsuccessful. Political squabbling, the Great Depression, World War II, and the rise in popularity of the automobile have contributed to the failure of the proposals. Today, many Cincinnatians are unaware of the tunnels underneath them.
From 1825 to 1920 the Miami and Erie Canal divided Cincinnati's residential neighborhood of Over-the-Rhine from the business district of downtown. The canal was used to transport goods and people from the Great Lakes to the Ohio River and subsequently the Mississippi River via Cincinnati, until the popularity of railroads caused it to become disused. The canal became unprofitable by 1856 and was abandoned by the city in 1877.
On September 15, 1883 a weekly Cincinnati magazine called The Graphic proposed that the "dead old ditch" be used to provide an unobstructed route for a subway system, with a large boulevard above.
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