Mamie Smith: Queen of the Blues in Cincinnati Music Hall
By Thea Tjepkema Tornadoes had swept the south, and a blizzard gripped the western states on April 16, 1921, when … Read More
Fountain Lewis: The Venerable Barber Who Helped Build Cincinnati Music Hall
By Thea Tjepkema On January 4, 1898 the funeral of Fountain Lewis, Cincinnati’s most esteemed African American barber for … Read More
Susan B. Anthony & Suffragists Spirits in Music Hall: Three National Political Conventions
By Thea Tjepkema Susan B. Anthony and other prominent suffragists spent decades fighting for the women’s national right to … Read More
Wow, You Volunteer Where? Tell Me More!
by Patti Cruse Friends of Music Hall Volunteer and Tour Guide This is the reaction I usually get when out … Read More
Reuben Springer Unbuttoned
Considered the founder of Cincinnati’s historic Music Hall, Reuben Springer was a businessman and philanthropist whose contribution insured the construction … Read More
When the Circus Came to Music Hall
What did people do for fun 100 years ago? Around that time, society was changing. The average worker had more … Read More
All Sorts of Outdoor Sports Inside Music Hall
In late January, 1938, Music Hall’s North and South wings resembled the Great Outdoors. The Sportsmen’s Show had been popular … Read More
Divas in Cincinnati Music Hall:
Patti, Patti, Patti, and Jones
by Thea Tjepkema The phenomenal singing careers of four women in the nineteenth century were announced and recognized in … Read More
Theodore Thomas in Cincinnati: America’s Orchestral Legacy
by Thea Tjepkema Maestro Theodore Thomas helped build audiences for great orchestral and choral music in Cincinnati in the … Read More
An “Infernal” Creature Hiding in Music Hall
An alligator featured in an exhibit during an Industrial Exposition in the South Wing, shows up in that same structure 18 months later!… Read More