On a spring night in 1879 a gunshot rang out near Washington Platform. Shortly after, a young businessman was found dead in a nearby alley. The investigation exposed an incompetent police force, drew unwelcome attention to the brothels surrounding City Hall, sullied the names of prominent families, and placed Washington Platform at the center of a crime that transfixed the city. Today, Harry Baldwin’s death remains Cincinnati’s oldest unsolved murder.
Murder on the Menu begins with a brief walking tour of the crime scene. Guests then return to Washington Platform where the rest of the story is told in installments during a four-course, nineteenth-century inspired meal. Dishes that were common in the 1800s but that are unique today are paired with a sample of a local craft beer.