From 1828 to the time of the Civil War, the vision of educating artisans and mechanics in technical, scientific and liberal studies proved an idea whose time had come. From the beginning, the OMI’s library made technical literature available to the whole community, and its free evening lectures took place in city council chambers, downtown halls and churches, often alongside Dr. Daniel Drake’s famous lectures on medicine.

In 1838, the OMI purchased its first home, the Trollope’s Bazaar Building, which was built by Frances Trollope during the time she lived in Cincinnati and began writing her classic, The Domestic Manners of the Americans. Ten years later, on the 4th of July 1848, a new four-story building was dedicated for the burgeoning institute at the southwest corner of 6th and Vine Streets. The Greenwood Building, named for Miles Greenwood, a prominent industrialist and benefactor, housed the OMI until 1911.

The OMI’s growth mirrored Cincinnati’s prosperity. Its first Mechanics and Citizens Ball attracted 700 contributors in 1838. Later that year, an Exhibit of Arts and Manufactures, sometimes labeled a precursor of the World’s Fairs, drew even more citizens to view industrial products. The OMI’s resources engendered Cincinnati’s Public Library and Art Academy. The OMI’s technical library schooled the young Thomas Edison, and more than 200 students were enrolled in its School of Design by the time of the Civil War. While the Civil War decimated the local economy, the OMI survived without major debt.

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