Police Station No. 5
Also known as: York Street Police Station; See Also:Dayton Street Historic D
Why it's listed
Built in 1896 at 1024-1026 York Street in Cincinnati, this two-story brick police station was designed by Samuel Hannaford & Sons in the Romanesque Revival style. It was built for the mounted police patrol and served as the District 5 headquarters until 1957, when the police moved to Ludlow Avenue. The symmetrical front block has a three-bay facade with a heavy ashlar stone foundation, continuous beltcourses and stringcourses, and arched second-story bays with corbeled lintels. A sandstone frontispiece carries the inscription "Police Station No. 5," the police seal and the date "A.D. '96." Two plainer vernacular wings are attached, and a hayloft bay faces the rear alley. The building sits among middle to late nineteenth-century brick buildings in the Dayton Street Historic District. In 1978 the City Council required the purchaser to maintain and repair it, but a severe fire later gutted the structure and destroyed its original windows. It was recognized as part of a group of works by Hannaford.
Significance in brief: The building is tied to the architectural work of Samuel Hannaford & Sons and was included in a nomination covering Hannaford's works. It was built for the mounted police patrol and served as the District 5 headquarters until 1957. It also lies within the Dayton Street Historic District.
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 80003075, listed March 3, 1980. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 1024-1026 York St., Cincinnati |
|---|---|
| County | Hamilton County |
| Listed | March 3, 1980 |
| Reference number | 80003075 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Samuel Hannaford & Sons (architect); builder unknown |
| Architectural style | Romanesque Revival |
| Areas of significance | Law, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Vacant, with poor interior and exterior condition. A severe fire gutted the building after a 1978 City Council resolution required the purchaser to repair it, and all original windows are missing. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Within district | Dayton Street Historic District |
| Coordinates | 39.11777, -84.53256 (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 80003075.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7209516
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.