Old OTR, beer photos? Brewery District wants them

Do you have old photos or other images that showcase Over-the-Rhine's brewing past?

If so, then the Brewery District Community Urban Redevelopment Corp. wants you. Well, your artifacts, for possible use as part of the in-the-works Brewing Heritage Trail. Once it's up and running, it will lead its visitors physically and virtually through the city's brewing history.

"We're looking for documentation of daily life," said Mike Morgan, curator of the Brewing Heritage Trail. (You might also know him from his years as Bockfest "czar.")

Think photos of people drinking in bars, brewery workers, Over-the-Rhine streetscapes; related correspondence, especially on company letterhead; receipts and paycheck stubs; architectural drawings and blueprints; labels; posters and pennants; advertisements, especially early 20th century and post-Prohibition ads; and other small- to medium-sized memorabilia.

Morgan said they're interested in items from the 1970s or before. And they need a lot more of them.

"There really are surprisingly few of these images that are available in public collections," he said. "In addition, we really want to make as many people's individual stories become part of this permanent collection of our city's history as we can."

The Brewery District is teaming up with The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County to gather all this history. They're teaming up for an event from 11 a.m.–3 p.m. Saturday at the Christian Moerlein Malt House Tap Room, 1621 Moore St., in Over-the-Rhine.

Those with items to share can bring them to the event, where they'll get up to five free scans of their items and a Brewing Heritage Trail pint glass. The library will include selected items as part of a permanent online archive, and Morgan will select some to be part of the trail itself.

Have a lot of history? Email contactdigitalservices@cincinnatilibrary.org in advance. Otherwise, no registration is needed, and the event is free.

Information: 513-369-6905 or genealogyandlocalhistory@cincinnatilibrary.org.