Findlay Market Opening Day Parade

Findlay Market, long a gathering place in Over-the-Rhine since opening in 1855, became the starting point for a Cincinnati tradition after fans known as rooters, inspired by the Cincinnati Reds' 1919 World Championship, organized a parade to celebrate the start of the team's 1920 season. The event became annual, with marching bands, horse-drawn Tally-Ho wagons, and rooters processioning to Redland and later Crosley Field to present gifts to Reds officials. When the team moved into Riverfront Stadium in 1970, the 50-year-old tradition gained new life, and a new Opening Day 1971 route through downtown past Fountain Square drew greater attention and more participants. A century after the first parade, it had become a focus of Opening Day festivities, and the day itself had become an unofficial city holiday.

Cincinnati, Ohio · United States