Ford Motor Company Cincinnati Plant
Why it's listed
Six stories of reinforced concrete rise above Lincoln Avenue in Cincinnati's Avondale area, where Ford Motor Company built a branch assembly plant begun in 1914 and in operation by spring 1915. The front is faced in red brick and white glazed terra cotta with blue tile banding, and the design is attributed to Detroit architect Albert Kahn, though no documents confirm it. Inside, wide octagonal columns with mushroom capitals created open floors for assembly, and materials moved down by gravity from upper levels. Ford assembled over 600,000 vehicles here until December 1932 and kept using the building for offices, sales and repairs until 1940, when Sears-Roebuck leased it for a farm implement distribution center. The plant is considered important for its connection to early mass production, its reinforced concrete construction and its Kahn-style design. It remains largely intact, though the upper cornice and Ford logo are gone and some terra cotta has fallen. At listing it was partly used for warehousing.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues it is significant under Criterion A for its link to Ford and the early growth of automobile mass production, and under Criterion C as an attributed work of Albert Kahn and a locally notable example of early reinforced concrete industrial construction. It is described as the earliest and least altered auto-related factory still standing in Cincinnati and one of only two pre-World War II Ford plants built in Ohio.
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) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 89000460, listed May 25, 1989. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 660 Lincoln Ave., Cincinnati |
|---|---|
| County | Hamilton County |
| Listed | May 25, 1989 |
| Reference number | 89000460 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1915-1939 |
| Architect / builder | Albert Kahn, Architect (attribution; documentary proof not found) |
| Architectural style | Chicago |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Industry, Engineering, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Vacant/not in use, with some warehousing; the building was partially used for light warehousing and was for sale at the time of the nomination. |
| Acreage | 1.8 |
| Coordinates | 39.13297, -84.49327 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 89000460.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5467857
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.