{"nrhp_refnum":"66000612","name":"William Howard Taft National Historic Site","other_names":["See Also:Mt. Auburn Historic District"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"2038 Auburn Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Cincinnati","county":"Hamilton County","state":"OH","lat":39.11969035200008,"lon":-84.50843255399997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1966-10-15","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1999-12-31","areas_of_significance":["Law","Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story brick house at 2038 Auburn Avenue in the Mt. Auburn neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio, built in the early 1840s and enlarged with a rear wing in 1851. It is the birthplace and boyhood home of President William Howard Taft.","why_significant":"The house is the birthplace and boyhood home of the 27th President, who later served as Chief Justice, and it is the only surviving structure associated with Taft and his family. The Taft family played a significant national role in politics and government for nearly a century. The house is also an example of Italianate architecture.","narrative":"This brick house at 2038 Auburn Avenue in Cincinnati's Mt. Auburn neighborhood is the birthplace and boyhood home of William Howard Taft, born there on September 15, 1857. Built in the early 1840s, it was enlarged in 1851 when Alphonso Taft, the president's father, bought it and added a two-story wing on the east. Between 1851 and 1877 the house was basically Italianate in style. A fire in 1877 led to a raised upper-floor ceiling and pressed metal exterior details. An attempt in 1964 restored the exterior to its earlier look. From 1940 to 1961 the house served as apartments, which changed many interior partitions and floors. The lot has shrunk to half an acre, and neighboring houses have been removed. The house is the only surviving structure linked to Taft and his family, whose members include a Chief Justice, a senator and a school founder. It was designated a national historic site in 1969.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Italianate","criteria":[],"status_note":"Owned by the public and used as a museum and park. Described as occupied, with work in progress and structural problems in the rear addition. Restored in 1964 to its pre-1877 exterior appearance.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:09.96816-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/66000612.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/66000612/4f0885c73f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/66000612/4f0885c73f-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Bedford at English Wikipedia","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Taft_NHS_1.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Bedford at English Wikipedia</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Taft_NHS_1.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"73001464","name":"Mount Auburn Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/ohio/mount-auburn-historic-district-73001464/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71989115","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Howard_Taft_National_Historic_Site","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q8012587"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/hamilton-county/william-howard-taft-national-historic-site-66000612/"}