Cincinnati "The Incline"

Max Pollak

Before settling permanently in Northern California in 1938 Max and Freidl Pollak traveled across the United States and Max chronicled their journey in a number of drawings and prints of New York, Detroit, Michigan and Cincinatti, Ohio.

This is a pencil drawing with watercolor done by Pollak in 1938 of the Mount Adams Incline in Cincinnati, Ohio, a funicular (inclined railway). The Mt. Adams Incline (also known as The Eden Park and The Highland Incline) opened in 1876 and was the last one to close in 1948. The incline was 945 feet long and carried streetcars and automobiles.

Mount Adams Incline was one of several incline railways that used to serve the surrounding hilltop communities, this one was opened by the Mt. Adams & Eden Park Inclined Railway in 1876. In 1877, the company opened a connecting horse car line from downtown Cincinnati via 5th Street to the bottom of the incline. In 1878, the company opened a connecting horse car line from the top of incline into Eden Park. In 1880, the incline was modified to transport streetcars, enabling formation of a through streetcar route. Sold in 1896 to Cincinnati Street Railway, it was Cincinnati's last incline, closing down in 1948 after transporting buses in its final year.

The building on top of the hill at the left is the famous Rookwood Pottery Works. The building now houses the Rookwood Pottery restaurant where you can dine inside one of the large brick kilns. A restaurant also sits on the site of the former station house on top of the hill.