St. Paul Church Historic District
The National Park Service has not published a boundary polygon for this district; the map shows the listed properties inside it and the district's reference point.
Why it's listed
Five buildings at Spring, Twelfth and Pendleton Streets in Cincinnati make up a complete Catholic parish: a church, rectory, boys' school, girls' school and convent. The parish began in 1848, when Catholics bought six acres from Nathaniel Greene Pendleton, including his house, which was later moved and rebuilt as the rectory. The church, the ninth Catholic church in Cincinnati, was dedicated in January 1850 after work paused for the 1849 cholera epidemic. Its brick exterior and classical interior include paired Corinthian columns, frescoes of the life of St. Paul, and stained glass, one window prized at the 1893 Chicago exposition. After a fire in 1899, Samuel Hannaford & Sons designed a new facade and steeple. The schools and convent were added between 1862 and 1908. The complex sits in an area undergoing rehabilitation. The boys' school serves community needs, the girls' school operates as a day care, and the church holds monthly mass and special events.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · catalog entry. Generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29).
| Period of significance | 19th Century (specific date 1848-50) |
|---|---|
| Styles | Classical details (church interior and exterior); no formal style classification given |
| Areas of significance | Education, Architecture, Religion |
| Acreage | 1.8 |
| Boundary source | not published |
| Full listing page | St. Paul Church Historic District (property record) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.