West Fourth Street Historic District (Amendment)

Eleven masonry buildings within a two-and-a-half block area along West Fourth and Elm Streets, at the southwest edge of downtown Cincinnati, make up this district addition. The buildings run from five to fourteen stories and sit directly on the sidewalk line, forming a solid street wall with varied rooflines and rich stone and terra-cotta ornament. They span about 1830 to 1927. Examples include the 1876 High Victorian Italianate Meader Building, the 1893 Hooper Building designed by Samuel Hannaford, the 1906 Textile Building by Gustav W. Drach, and the 1927 Second Renaissance Revival tower built for the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce. Most ground floors have lost original storefronts to modern replacements, and the former Gibson Art Building was converted to a municipal garage in 1957. Even so, the group has no vacant buildings and is in good overall condition. It extends the neighboring historic district and preserves a cohesive stretch of late nineteenth and early twentieth century commercial architecture.