Cincinnati Magazine
April 20, 2021
Not that long ago, Vine Street was considered by a noted world traveler to be one of the nation’s signature streets. According to the 1943
WPA Guide to Cincinnati, old-time thespian Tom Wise claimed there were only three streets worth visiting in America: Broadway in New York, Market Street in San Francisco, and Vine Street in Cincinnati. Wise was a lifelong comic actor and appeared in plays across the U.S., frequenting Cincinnati theaters from 1890 until just before his death in 1928.
Among the most famous images of Old Cincinnati, this photo captures the denizens and hangouts of the “Nasty Corner” on Vine Street just south of Fifth Street in the 1880s.