{"nrhp_refnum":"05001186","name":"Oesterlein Machine Company-Fashion Frocks, Inc. Complex","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"3301 Colerain Av., 1326 Monmouth Av.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Cincinnati","county":"Hamilton County","state":"OH","lat":39.14348970200007,"lon":-84.53878502999999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2005-10-27","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Commerce","Military"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-building industrial complex at 3301 Colerain Avenue and 1326 Monmouth Avenue in the Camp Washington neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio, built in 1918 as a machine company factory and later used for garment manufacturing.","why_significant":"The complex is tied to the Oesterlein Machine Company and to Fashion Frocks, Inc., which occupied it from 1935 to 1957. Fashion Frocks was significant for its direct-sales approach, using tens of thousands of housewives to sell dresses door-to-door from the mid-1920s to the late 1950s. The complex also reflects Cincinnati's garment manufacturing industry.","narrative":"Three brick industrial buildings at the corner of Colerain and Monmouth avenues in Cincinnati's Camp Washington neighborhood make up this complex, all built in 1918. Building 1 is a five-story load-bearing brick factory with a fifteen-bay east facade, buttressed pilasters, a corbelled and dentiled cornice, and a classically inspired entrance with engaged Doric columns. Building 2 is a long one-story brick structure along Monmouth Avenue, and Building 3 is the power house at the center. A one-story warehouse wing was added around 1935, and a two-story connector was built in the early 1950s. The Oesterlein Machine Company first used the site, but it disappeared from city directories after 1934. Fashion Frocks, Inc., acquired the complex in 1935 and ran its operations there until 1957. The company was notable for selling dresses door-to-door through tens of thousands of housewives, and it was part of Cincinnati's long-established garment industry. Alterations have been modest, and the original window pattern remains readable.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Classical Revival; Commercial","criteria":[],"status_note":"Current function is listed as vacant/not in use, though the buildings appear structurally sound and well maintained.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:07.207907-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/05001186.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/05001186/ec9b802289-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/05001186/ec9b802289-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oesterlein_Machine_Company-Fashion_Frocks,_Inc._Complex.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oesterlein_Machine_Company-Fashion_Frocks,_Inc._Complex.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71989229","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oesterlein_Machine_Company-Fashion_Frocks,_Inc._Complex","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7078702"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/hamilton-county/oesterlein-machine-company-fashion-frocks-inc-complex-05001186/"}