This section of the community historically has been a major focus for business and mercantile activities in the Over-the-Rhine. This subarea contained activities that not only helped to sustain the daily needs of its residents, but also reflected the German culture by housing numerous beer gardens, opera houses, and meeting halls. Vine, Walnut, and Main Streets became important to the Over-the-Rhine because they developed as the focus for numerous commercial and business activities.
The overall architectural character is composed of compact streetscapes with a variety of historic architectural styles displayed by buildings that incorporate residential uses in the upper levels and storefronts on the first floor. Italianate and Queen Anne are the dominant styles of the architecture. The majority of buildings were constructed circa 1860-1888. The Queen Anne architecture is later in its construction, often replacing earlier buildings. Because of the cohesive, solid relationship of one building to another, the brick building material, relatively consistent height and intensity of development, Main street is representative of the general character of the built environment in this subarea. Many of the side streets are almost exclusively residential in character. The overall style for these buildings is functional vernacular. They are usually two-stories tall, asymmetrical and have simpler details around the window and door openings and less elaborate cornices.
The southern edge of this subarea, adjacent to Central Parkway, displays a different character, due initially to its proximity to the canal and then to Central Parkway itself. A mixture of older significant buildings, surface parking lots, and buildings of a later period break the cohesiveness of the historic built environment.
The main-north-south streets feature commercial/residential structures of mixed architectural styles. The three- and four-story masonry structures that stand along both sides of Vine Street date from the last third of the nineteenth century. First-floor storefronts have been altered in recent years, but upper stories feature the original sash windows and elaborate projecting cornices at the rooflines.
The three-story, French Second Empire-style building at the northwest corner of 12th and Vine Streets is all that remains of Hubert Heuck’s People’s Theatre. This building served as their lobby and saloon and originally had an opera bell tower rising above its roof. Heuck built the theater as his first opera house in 1875, but changed its name to People’s when he acquired a second opera house in 1882. Heuck was an important theater operator in Cincinnati, whose motto was, “the play’s the thing, and Heuck’s is the place.” A wide variety of acts played the People’s Theatre, including Buffalo Bill Cody, Wild Bill Hickock and several Native Americans in 1879.
The Cosmopolitan Hall, at 1313 Vine Street, was erected in 1855 in the Italian Renaissance Revival style. The first floor of the four-story edifice has been altered, but the upper floors feature a distinctive sandstone facade, round-arched windows with spandrels, terra-cotta features above the top-floor windows, and a bracketed cornice at the roofline. The building was constructed on the site of Peter Noll’s small brewery and was home to William Riedlin’s Tivoli Beer Garden from 1878 to 1882. At the turn of the century, as the Cosmopolitan Hall, the building hosted dances for Germans, Hungarians, Slavs and Italians.
Further north at 1408-1410 Vine Street stands the two-story Italian Renaissance Revival structure that housed Wielert’s Beer Garden. Henry Wielert first opened for business in 1865 and then built this structure in 1873. It became one of the most popular beer gardens in the days when such establishments line Vine Street. Wielert provided a sheltered garden area in the rear and a forty-piece orchestra for entertainment. George Cox, Cincinnati’s political “Boss,” had his own special table, from which he conducted local politics and monitored party convention activities in the Central Turner Hall that backed up to Wielert’s at 1407 Walnut Street. No other example remains of this type of business. The distinctive brick and stone front facade still features the initials “H. W.” and the date “1873.” Stone pilasters run between the first-floor windows and doors and support a simple bracketed entablature. The symmetrical upper portion features segmental-arched two-over-two sash windows set in elaborate stone surrounds. Stone pilasters flank the central bay and rise to a richly detailed pediment. Decorative parapets, brackets, panels, and cresting add further detail to the elaborate roofline.
Walnut Street runs up the middle of this subarea. The southern end of Walnut Street is anchored by the Art-Deco style American Building and the Tudor Revival-style Ohio Mechanics’ Institute building, which houses the Emery Auditorium. The American Building was completed in 1928 and was designed by local architect Joseph G. Steinkamp. Steinkamp was a descendant of Bernard Steinkamp, the builder of St. Mary’s Church. This seventeen-story building exhibits a series of terraced setbacks and geometric forms at the upper levels and paired windows. When the building opened, newspapers advertised it as the first downtown office building to offer air conditioning. Across Walnut Street is the Ohio Mechanics’ Institute building. This building opened in 1911 and was designed by Samuel Hannaford and Sons. The building was a gift to the institute from Mary M. Emery in memory of her husband, Thomas Emery. The Emery Auditorium was designed to meet the needs of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, which performed its regular subscription concerts in the hall from 1912 till 1936. The auditorium is noted for its superb acoustics and for its association with major performing artists in music, theater and dance through the mid-twentieth century.
At the intersection of Walnut and 12th Streets stands perhaps the most German-influenced structure in the district – the Germania Building, constructed in 1875. The building’s Walnut Street facade is dominated by a heavy, round-arched pediment that rises above the ornate, bracketed cornice. The building is richly detailed with decorative bracketed lintels, a rusticated stone facade, and a cornice pierced by small square windows. The dressed limestone is elaborately incised. A statue of Germania, the personification of German culture, is found in a niche above the first floor. On the side facade, above the central entrance, a smaller carving of Apollo driving four horses is displayed. The Germania Building exhibits numerous symbols for the arts, music, science, and poetry. Local architect John Bast designed the building, and Cincinnati sculptor Leopold Fettweis carved the stone statues and embellishments.
Across Walnut Street from the Germania Building stands the Gobrecht Building. This four-story, Queen Anne-style building was constructed in 1884 and was designed by local architect Emil G. Rueckert. Christian Gobrecht was a tuba player with the early Cincinnati Orchestra and operated a saloon here until his death in 1889.
Further north, a vacant lot at 1407 Walnut Street indicates the former site of the Central Turner Hall. The Cincinnati Turnverein met in a vacant lot at this site from 1848 until the construction of its headquarters in 1850. In 1859 they replaced the original wood frame building with a larger brick hall, which was demolished in 1974. In addition to housing Turner activities, the hall was host to several local political conventions and amateur theatrical productions over the year.
At the north end of Walnut Street at Liberty Street stands Grammer’s Restaurant. Anton Grammer opened his first saloon nearby in 1872, but relocated to his location at 1446 Walnut Street by 1887. Grammer’s was celebrated for its fine food, liquors, imported beer, and distinguished clientele. The Bakers’ Singing Society (Grammer himself originally was a baker) met regularly in the cafe. Anton’s son, Frank Grammer, continued to manage the restaurant until his own death in 1950. Although the present structure dates from 1911, it still reflects the atmosphere of the 19th century. The three-story brick structure features a first-floor commercial facade, one-over-one sash windows, stone belt courses, and a pedimented and balustraded parapet. The beveled etched glass windows in the storefront were imported from Germany.
The other major north-south street is Main Street. Along this street stands a particularly fine group of cast-iron and stone storefronts. The three- to four-story Italianate or Queen Anne style structures are for the most part of brick construction, although some have stone facades. Decorative hood moulds head the sash windows, and elaborate bracketed and dentilled cornices top these commercial edifices. The three-story brick structure at 1317 Main Street typifies these commercial edifices. Another example stands at 1435-1437 Main Street. This four-story brick building dates from 1888. Its heavy brackets, elaborate window heads, wrought-iron balconies, and stone quoins are Italianate, but the Queen Anne style is evident in the gable and finials above the cornice, decorative brickwork, and belt courses.
The former Alms and Doepke Department Store building anchors the southern end of Main Street. The store was founded in 1865 on the northern edge of the central business district but below the canal. When the business moved to Over-the-Rhine in 1878, Samuel Hannaford designed the original seven-story, French Second Empire-style building. In 1908 Daniel Burnham, the noted architect from Chicago, designed a major addition to the store along Sycamore Street. Burnham was highly regarded for his innovative design of tall office buildings and for his work for major department stores, including Marshall Field (Chicago), John Wannamaker (Philadelphia), and Edward Filene (Boston).
At 1130 Main Street stands the four-story Hanke Department Store building. Herman Adolph Hanke began his store in 1876 and had this building constructed in 1897. This Italian Renaissance Revival-style building displays a richly decorated limestone facade and iron balcony. The building was designed by local architect Louis Piket, who was as well known as a church organist and choir director as he was as the designer of churches and school buildings. The store closed in 1933 as a result of the Great Depression.
At 123 E. Thirteenth Street stands Old St. Mary’s Church. Erected in 1841, it is the oldest surviving church in Cincinnati and the oldest Catholic church in the Cincinnati Archdiocese. It was the largest church building in the Ohio Valley when it was completed. Francis Ignatz Erd, an early Cincinnati architect, included both Classical and Gothic Revival style elements in the design. Features of the former style include a symmetrical window arrangement, a projecting center tower, a full entablature, and plain Doric pilasters at the corners, dividing the bays, and on the clock tower. It is known as the “Beacon of the Basin” because its high spire can be seen from many points throughout the basin area. Adjacent to the church stands a Greek Revival school that was erected in 1843.
