High Street Commercial Block

Three connected three-story buildings at 228, 232 and 236 High Street make up this commercial block in downtown Hamilton, Ohio. Built between 1874 and about 1878, they include the Italianate Second National Bank building, the Italianate Howell-Sohngen dry goods building, and the Davis-McCrory building, a rare local example of First Renaissance Revival style. Their sandstone fronts rise above storefronts altered over the decades for tenants such as A&P, J.C. Penney and McCrory's. A metal false front added in the 1950s and removed in 1993 left parts of the cornices missing. Inside, pressed tin ceilings, plaster walls, an original bank vault and traces of three-story skylight atria survive. The block was listed for its architecture and for its place in the commerce of a once vibrant High Street corridor. It is one of the few 19th century groups remaining there, with a period of significance of 1874 to 1953. The buildings are currently vacant.