Ninth Street Historic District

Ninth Street between Vine and Plum Streets, at the northwest edge of downtown Cincinnati, holds about fifty masonry buildings that together form a compact nineteenth-century streetscape. Most rise two to eight stories on narrow lots, typically three bays wide, and the oldest are three- and four-story townhouses sharing common walls, with brick carriage houses behind. Larger buildings anchor the corners and house the main commercial activity, while the middle of each block holds houses, rooming houses and small offices. The styles are varied, with Greek Revival, Italianate and Queen Anne most common. Key buildings include the Phoenix Club of 1893, the Brittany and Saxony apartment buildings of 1881, Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church of 1859, and the Elks Lodge of 1923 later used by the Crosley Corporation for broadcasting. Stone fronts, polychromatic brickwork and classical detailing give the group its character. Spot demolitions have broken the continuity in places, but the district remains one of the best surviving nineteenth-century blocks in the city centre.