{"nrhp_refnum":"80003034","name":"Alkemeyer Commercial Buildings","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"19-23 W. Court St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Cincinnati","county":"Hamilton County","state":"OH","lat":39.10603589400006,"lon":-84.51452177199997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-12-09","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Two adjoining four-story brick commercial buildings at 19-23 West Court Street in the Cincinnati Central Business District, built between about 1879 and 1884. 19 West Court is Italianate and 23 West Court is Queen Anne.","why_significant":"The buildings are argued to be representative examples of late nineteenth century commercial architecture in Cincinnati. They are also tied to the city's large millinery, clothing and dry goods industry, through the Alkemeyers, who leased and operated a millinery and dry goods store there.","narrative":"Two four-story brick buildings on the south side of West Court Street, between Vine and Race, sit in the north-central part of downtown Cincinnati. Number 19, the Lotze Building, was designed by local architect William Walter and built around 1879-1880 by the heirs of Adolphus Lotze, a German immigrant known for innovations in heating and stove technology. Its three-bay Italianate front has a cast iron storefront, pedimented metal lintels, sandstone stringcourses and a heavy galvanized metal cornice. Number 23 is Queen Anne in character, with tripartite windows, twin pediments of alternating brick and sandstone, checkerboard brick spandrels and a cast iron storefront on grooved columns. Edward and Mary Alkemeyer leased the first building and ran a millinery and dry goods store there until 1892, later expanding next door. At a time when Cincinnati ranked fifth nationally in clothing manufacture, the pair reflect the city's clothing and dry goods trade and the commercial block design of the period.","period_of_significance":"1879-1884","architect_builder":"William Walter (19 West Court)","architectural_style":"Italianate (19 West Court) and Queen Anne (23 West Court)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Marked occupied and in commercial and private residence use. Both storefronts have contemporary infill, and 23 West Court has replacement windows. The Lotze Building was recently returned to commercial/residential use.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:12.62325-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/80003034.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80003034/16a12ed3fb-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80003034/16a12ed3fb-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"Photo by Greg Hume (Greg5030)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Alkmeyer.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Photo by Greg Hume (Greg5030)</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Alkmeyer.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71989099","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alkemeyer_Commercial_Buildings","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4727681"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/hamilton-county/alkemeyer-commercial-buildings-80003034/"}