Cincinnati Panorama of 1848

On September 24, 1848, Charles Fontayne and William S. Porter set up their camera on a rooftop in Newport, Kentucky and panned across the Ohio River. Their daguerreotype photograph captured two miles of the Cincinnati landscape, which was stored on eight separate, silver-coated plates. 160 years later, this photograph has been restored in an exhibit in the Cincinnati Public Library, and is the oldest comprehensive photograph of any American city.The Cincinnati Library created an exhibit in their Cincinnati Room about the preservation of the photograph, history of the photographers, as well as a look at the creation of daguerreotypes. The original panorama is on display and is also on a giant, 52" touch screen television. The touch screen display allows users to scroll with their fingertips (like using an iPad) and click buttons to learn more about specific locations. You can also zoom in on the details of the photograph up to 32 times.Some details you can see are the old steamboats, a ghost-like man with a chip on his shoulder, the earliest recorded images of African Americans, and laundry hanging from a clothesline. Impressively, you can also see the green, rural hilltops of what is today Mount Adams, Brighton, and Clifton.I spent an hour in the exhibit today and only saw about half of the daguerreotype's details. I plan to go back and park a chair right in front of the 52" screen and learn until my heart's content. This is a must-see for every Cincinnatian and visitor who wants to learn about the history of our great city.Cost: FreeViewing Time: 90 minutes - 2 hours

I love it when I find out that Cincinnati has something super cool and unique like this panorama. It's the oldest panoramic shot of a city, so it just makes sense that the city famous for its "Skyline" (I know, sorry) would get the glory.The photo was taken from Newport, and covers 2 miles of the view across the river in 1848. It's really interesting to see what it looked like then and compare it to what we see today, especially for someone like me who lives in Kentucky and looks at the current panorama almost every day.The photo is almost hidden in the downtown branch of the library, but ask anyone who works there and they can direct you to the viewing spot. They have lots of great information and it's something you can look at for much longer than you may have planned. I'm not even a history buff, but this is something that everyone from Cincinnati should be proud of.

Inside the library, on the 3rd floor, go to the Cincinnati Room. We found this gem on Yelp and are so glad to we went to see the panorama. It's a series of 8 daguerreotypes and an interactive exhibit that lets you explore the world of 1848 Cincinnati. Interesting! Beautiful! Detailed! Recommend setting aside 30 minutes for the trip.

wow! who knew we had such cool photo right under our noses! amazing quality, very sharp. see the digitalized version on the touch screen, but the original is a must!