Cincinnati’s Historic Findlay Market

Established in 1852, Findlay Market is Ohio’s oldest public market in continuous operation. Findlay Market opened just outside Cincinnati’s city limits on land donated by James Findlay, in an area then known as the Northern Liberties. Because the Northern Liberties lay beyond city jurisdiction, the area was known for social liberties such as prostitution, bootlegging, and thievery. In an effort to protect the housewives shopping there, city officials annexed the Findlay Market area. Annexation, however, did little to quell Findlay Market’s outlying spirit. This spirit has contributed to its outlasting every other municipal market in the city and a rebelliousness that infuses the generations of vendors and shoppers who have forged strong relationships with one another and who continue to demand the City of Cincinnati wrestle with the complex urban challenges surrounding this beloved institution.