Ault Park beech tree photograph

Dated ca. 1930-1939, this photograph shows a 300 year old beech tree on Geology Trail at Ault Park in Cincinnati, Ohio. Ault Park is the fourth largest park in Cincinnati. In in the 1940's the park was said to be 235.5 acres, but at some point shrank to its current 223.949 acres. The observation pavilion, designed by Fechheimer and Ihorst, gives the visitor 360 degree views of the formal gardens and the Little Miami Valley, as well as Carew Tower in downtown Cincinnati, and the Kentucky hills. George Kessler initially designed the gardens, and were later modified by A.D. Taylor. Forest trails follow the Red Bank Creek, where interesting geological formations can be enjoyed. The park was named for Mr. and Mrs. Levi Addison Ault, who donated all but 30 acres of land for the park. A bronze plaque by Clement J. Barnhorn, set in rose granite glacial boulder and located at the south end of the pavilion, honors Mr. Ault. The pavilion's water cascade, between a double flight of stairs, was built in 1930, but fell into disrepair during the 1960s. It continued to deteriorate for roughly 25 years, until donations from the city of Cincinnati and its citizens enabled renovations. This photograph is one of the many visual materials collected for use in the Ohio Guide. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Works Progress Administration by executive order to create jobs for the large numbers of unemployed laborers, as well as artists, musicians, actors, and writers. The Federal Arts Program, a sector of the Works Progress Administration, included the Federal Writers’ Project, one of the primary goals of which was to complete the America Guide series, a series of guidebooks for each state which included state history, art, architecture, music, literature, and points of interest to the major cities and tours throughout the state. Work on the Ohio Guide began in 1935 with the publication of several pamphlets and brochures. The Reorganization Act of 1939 consolidated the Works Progress Administration and other agencies into the Federal Works Administration, and the Federal Writers’ Project became the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio. The final product was published in 1940 and went through several editions. The Ohio Guide Collection consists of 4,769 photographs collected for use in Ohio Guide and other publications of the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio from 1935-1939