The 1980s brought much more than big haircuts, stonewashed jeans, shoulder pads and slasher movies, as these images from the Enquirer’s Greater Cincinnati photo archive show.
Many of the Queen City icons listed here are well-known: Johnny Bench, Pete Rose and the Reds; Ken Anderson, Boomer Esiason and the Bengals. Everyone knows Graeter’s and Kings Island. But what about Paradise Gardens, Cincinnati’s only nudist resort?
Remember when Frisch’s drive-thru on Central Parkway was packed? Or when the original Camp Washington Chili was on the corner of Colerain and Hopple?
Truth or lie? We came up with random “facts” about Cincinnati. Find the lies in this quiz
Take a look at ’80s Cincinnati in the gallery above—or look back if you were there in person—and check out even more photos below.
Kings Island was a hit for millions of theme park fans in the 80s
Kings Island has been around for more than 50 years, but in the 1980s the park experienced significant growth and change.
Improvements to the then-new Beast, a multi-million dollar expansion of Hanna-Barbera Land, a backwards train on the Racer as the first backwards roller coaster, and the debut of Winterfest were just some of the changes during the decade.
Cincinnati Riverfest becomes a Labor Day tradition
Riverfest and its monumental fireworks display began in 1977 as “a birthday party for the whole city,” as Frank “Bo” Wood Jr., then-general manager and president of WEBN, describes it. It quickly evolved into an annual end-of-summer ritual for Cincinnati residents.
The event featured more than just pyrotechnics in the air, it also attracted thousands of people who enjoyed Labor Day weekend with music, food, family and friends on the riverfront… and yes, decades later, we’re still waiting for the Riverfest fireworks.
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