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  • Cincinnati.com | The Enquirer

    Riverfest, Kings Island and more: Revisit Cincinnati in the 1980s in these historic photos

    By Joe Castle, Cincinnati Enquirer,

    3 hours ago

    https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1yWtGt_0vCEr7K100

    The 1980s were a lot more than big hair, stonewashed jeans, shoulder pads and slasher flicks, as these images of Greater Cincinnati from the Enquirer photo archives illustrate.

    Many of the Queen City icons included here are familiar: Johnny Bench , Pete Rose and the Reds; Ken Anderson , Boomer Esiason and the Bengals . Everybody knows Graeter's and Kings Island. But what about Paradise Gardens, Cincinnati's only nudist resort?

    Do you remember when the Central Parkway Frisch's drive-in service was hopping? Or when the original Camp Washington Chili was still standing at the corner of Colerain and Hopple?

    Truth or lie? We made up random Cincinnati 'facts.' Spot the lies in this quiz

    Take a look — or look back, if you were there to experience it live — at Cincinnati in the '80s in the gallery above and check out even more photos below.

    Kings Island ruled the '80s for millions of theme park fans

    Kings Island has been around for more than 50 years , and the 1980s saw major growth and big changes at the park.

    Upgrades to the then-new Beast, a multimillion-dollar expansion of Hanna-Barbera Land, a reversed train on the Racer as the first backward-running coaster, and the debut of Winterfest were just a few of the changes during the decade.

    Cincinnati Riverfest becomes a Labor Day tradition

    https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=05JsBV_0vCEr7K100

    Started in 1977 as a "birthday party for the whole city," according to Frank “Bo” Wood Jr., WEBN’s general manager and president at the time, Riverfest and that monumental fireworks display quickly became an annual end-of-summer rite for Cincinnatians .

    More than just aerial pyrotechnics, the event drew thousands of people to enjoy Labor Day weekend with music, food, family and friends, hanging out by the river ... and yes, decades later we still wait for those Riverfest fireworks .

    Going to the WEBN Fireworks? How to properly kiss summer goodbye at Riverfest 2024

    More galleries from Cincinnati.com

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    This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Riverfest, Kings Island and more: Revisit Cincinnati in the 1980s in these historic photos

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