Jim Tarbell

Jim Tarbell
A mural of Jim Tarbell in downtown Cincinnati.

James "Jim" Tarbell is an American politician of the Charter Party, who served as a member of the city council and Vice-Mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio. By mayoral proclamation, Jim Tarbell holds the title "Mr. Cincinnati" for life.

Tarbell's family moved from a small Ohio town to the Hyde Park neighborhood of Cincinnati in 1946. He attended St. Xavier High School and graduated from Withrow High School in 1960 before attending the Lowell Technological Institute in Lowell, Massachusetts. He returned to Cincinnati in 1967.

Tarbell opened the Ludlow Garage, a local concert venue, in September, 1969 and operated it until its closing in 1971, featuring artists such as Grand Funk Railroad, Spirit, Santana, Elvin Bishop, The Kinks, Humble Pie, Sons of Champlin, Cold Blood, Boz Scaggs, James Gang, Bo Didley, Iggy and the Stooges, MC5, Fairport Convention, Taj Mahal, NRBQ, Commander Cody, Herbie Mann, the Staple Singers, Alice Cooper, The Lemon Pipers and the Allman Brothers, who recorded a live album there. From 1976 to 1998 he owned Arnold's Bar and Grill, the oldest continuously-operated bar in Cincinnati.