Cincinnati neighborhoods are rather obsessed with crosswalks these days, with a rash of raised crosswalk installation underway. Much of this activity has to do with “traffic calming” and pedestrian safety, especially along major thoroughfares.
Back in the day, before automobiles dominated Cincinnati’s streets, crosswalks served very different purposes. Crosswalks had everything to do with fashion, filth, and sex.
Sex? Of course! Where but a crosswalk could a young blade sneak a peek at a lovely young maiden’s stockings? A fervid glance that would inspire flights of delirious extrapolation? Here is an example from the Cincinnati Commercial-Gazette [December 19, 1891]:…