Famous Cincinnati Photograph Tells A Tale Of Power, Money & Public Relations

Among the most commonly viewed images of old Cincinnati is the so-called “Wienerwurst” photograph. Reproduced in almost every book on Cincinnati history, the image portrays a sidewalk full of men standing near a couple of saloons and a tobacco shop. Prominent in the center of the image is a big sign offering “A Wienerwurst With Each Drink.”This image is occasionally misidentified as portraying the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood. Not so. The photograph was taken on the west side of Vine Street a little south of Fifth. It portrays the block where the Carew Tower stands today. At the time, it was known as the Nasty Corner, obviously an insulting nickname. How it got that name is a story about money and power and public relations.The earliest mention of the term “Nasty Corner” to designate the southwest corner of Fifth & Vine streets is the Cincinnati Commercial Gazette of Sunday 14 April 1889. A front page item reports the passage by the Ohio General Assembly of a bill authorizing the…