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Heritage Program tours offer looks behind-the-scenes of history at Cincinnati Museum Center’

Tours of recording studios, City Hall, historic churches, factories and more highlight tours on sale now

CINCINNATI – Did you know a Middletown company has continuously making stained glass longer than any other in the country? Ever wonder how 450 million gallons of storm water and sewage are processed every day? Did you know that a uranium processing facility has been reborn as a protected wetland and prairie area? Find the answers to these questions and more during one of Cincinnati Museum Center’s Heritage Program tours, on sale now.

History lurks inside the walls of the city’s buildings, is buried beneath the ground we walk on, flows through the rivers and creeks and is inside each of us. CMC’s Heritage Programs is ready to tell those stories and more.

Explore Cincinnati’s rich Art Deco history and discover how architects embraced the rise of commerce, technology and speed with sleek features and towering buildings. From Union Terminal and the Carew Tower to the Netherland Plaza and the Times-Star Building, drink in the lush colors and simple grandeur of architectural icons from another era.

Celebrate the 175th anniversary of the Verdin Company by touring the factory and Old St. Mary’s Church, where Verdin’s first bell was installed in 1842. Through six generations of family ownership, the Verdin Company has installed more than 50,000 bells throughout the world and manufactured the world’s largest swinging bell, the World Peace Bell, now on display in Old St. Paul’s Church. This tour also includes a tour of the factory floor.

Revisit an era when the Queen City was the king of recording as you learn more about King Records and Herzog Recording Studios, now the Cincinnati USA Music Heritage Foundation. Listen to stories of legendary musicians who began their careers or recorded in Cincinnati, including James Brown, Hank Williams, Patti Page and Rosemary Clooney. As you discover that “The Twist” was first recorded in Cincinnati, bop along to music from era.

Travel up the road to Middletown to tour BeauVerre Riordan Studios, the oldest continuously operating stained glass studio in the United States. Since 1832, BeauVerre Riordan Studios have produced dazzling pieces of stained glass, including those in the Memorial Mausoleum at Spring Grove Cemetery and the blue Tiffany windows at the Calvary Episcopal Church on Clifton Avenue. And meet the Cincinnati Art Museum’s curator of decorate arts, Amy Dehan, for an interpretation of the resplendent Mitchell Tiffany windows.

Get to know some of the area’s more elusive inhabitants on a tour of historic hauntings in the Greater Cincinnati area. Whether it’s an unexplained occurrence or long-dead inhabitants still enjoying their earthly homes, tour the homes and buildings where the spirit world overlaps with our own.

You can even put on a hard hat and get a look behind the scenes of the restoration of Union Terminal . Along with CMC Heritage Programs, Turner Construction and GBBN Architects will discuss how engineering, science and history are coming together to save a national historic landmark.

Whatever your interest, there’s a tour for you. But hurry, tours fill up fast. To register for a tour, please call (513) 287-7031. For more information visit www.cincymuseum.org/programs/heritage.

You can also take a walking tour through some of Cincinnati’s most iconic neighborhoods and areas. Each two hour tour covers approximately 2 to 2 ½ miles and over 200 years of history. Learn about the area’s history, prominent residents throughout history, architecture, preservation and revitalization. Walking tours are available from April through November. Visit www.cincymuseum.org/programs/heritage/walking-tours for more information. Call (513) 287-7031 to register.