Avondale and North Avondale

Better late than never? It's (finally) Week 14 of 52 First Impressions, and this week I visited neighbors Avondale and North Avondale. Although similar in name, these neighborhoods are somewhat in different worlds. Let's dive in:

Avondale

For how close Avondale is to downtown Cincinnati, or even the University, it's surprising to think that the neighborhood was once a rural suburb:

[post-1830] ... Cincinnati merchants and manufactures were moving into large houses on spacious Avondale lots, just as others of their class were doing in Clifton, Mt. Auburn and Walnut Hills (Avondale Community Council)

In attempts to "rescue" their neighborhood from crime that began encroaching on the community from downtown, the then village unsuccessfully tried to incorporate into the City. The 1870s-1890s was a tumultuous period in Avondale's history, mired by "burglaries, vagrants, public drunkenness, and brawling". After the introduction of the streetcar, Avondale became much more diverse beyond its usual composition of white Protestant families (From the 1920s until the end of World War II, 60% of the suburb's population was Jewish.)

Post-World War 2, the demographics of Avondale shifted yet again. Younger families that were forming and reuniting opted for more affordable home mortgages and modern homes elsewhere, while older residents couldn't keep up with the maintenance of Avondale's larger homes. Because federal legislation permitted African Americans from moving to neighborhoods in which black residents didn't already reside, Avondale became a prime location for middle-income black families to settle down (Avondale had a small African American population dating back to the mid 19th century).

This demographic shift, or migration phenomenon, is called white flight. If people of color moving into predominantly white neighborhoods is a "call" of sorts, white residents panicking and fleeing, aka white flight, is the "response".

Realtors helped incite the irrational fears of white residents by block busting. Block busting is the practice of absurdly hiking up the price of one house for sale on an all-white street and selling it to a black family in hopes that the entire street is subsequently vacated so the realtor can make more money.

Some realtors also engaged in a campaign of anonymous letters and phone calls to white residents, warning them that blacks were about to move onto their block and advising them to sell their homes quickly (Avondale Community Council).

This is around the time when the trajectories of North and (South) Avondale began to diverge. "While the residents of North Avondale were able to maintain the value of their property and the character of their streets, South Avondale became known for its rising crime rate, falling land values, and deteriorating housing." Because of its falling property values and close location, Avondale was convenient and affordable for displaced black residents from the West End to resettle in. The City even actively housed residents into illegally converted single-to-multi family homes, in which absentee landlords subsequently neglected and failed to maintain.

The City (who had contributed to the decline of the neighborhood) identified Avondale as blighted and in need of rehab in 1956. Ironically, their attempts at rehabbing the neighborhood between 1965-1975 exclusively benefitted institutions like UC and the hospitals in the neighborhood and actually diminished the existing housing stock.

The frustration caused by the massive West End clearance and the city's failure to fulfill its promises fueled anger and resentment among South Avondale's black residents. Between 1967-1970, a series of riots and fire bombings damaged many of South Avondale's commercial and institutional buildings and drove out most of the remaining white business.

The City's response was a small "town center" area at the center of where the riots had done the most damaged. The plan was in a continuous loop of revisions and scale-downs until UC-alum and basketball star Oscar Robertson completed a version of the concept in 1983. Today, the area is known as the Avondale Shopping Center.

Since that time, development and neighborhood revitalization has been relatively uneven, coming from a variety of stakeholders including community groups, private developers, and individual residents. Two key drivers of community development in the neighborhood today include the Avondale Community Council and the Avondale Development Corporation.

Avondale Town Center (aerial view)

Still today, Avondale is very much a residential neighborhood. It sits in a central location, with convenient borders like Vine Street and UC Med Campus to the west, Reading Road to the south, and I-71 to the east. The other primary land use in Avondale is institutional, as there are several hospitals in the southern portion of the neighborhood closer to UC. Of the few commercial clusters within Avondale, Avondale Town Center is the main shopping area with a few shops including a laundromat, clothing stores, and a Family Dollar.

Avondale and North Avondale alike have several surviving architectural gems from the turn of the 20th century. The A.E. Burckhardt House was the residence of Bavarian-born furrier Adam Edward Burkhardt. Built in 1886-87, the 8,000 square foot home combines Victorian, Romanesque, and Queen Anne style architecture and is an excellent example of a home from the "Gilded Age". Check out more pictures of the home here.

A.E. Burckhardt House

Another historical landmark, located on the southern edge of Avondale closer to campus, is the Captain Stone House. Stone was a decorated war veteran and businessman, president of City & Suburban Telegraph Associations (later Cincinnati Bell) and director of the Cincinnati Street Railway Company. Samuel Hannaford, the most famous architect in Cincinnati who also designed Cincinnati Music Hall, City Hall, and the Cincinnatian Hotel, designed the home. The home, completed in 1891, is of Romanesque Revival style and built primarily of limestone. Today, the home is used as a center for the Cincinnati Chapter of Alcoholics Anonymous.

Captain Stone House

Cincinnati Zoo map

Perhaps Avondale's largest draw for residents who live outside the neighborhood is the Cincinnati Zoo. Opened in 1873, the Cincinnati Zoo is the second oldest zoo in the United States. Although it may feel tucked into the corner of the Avondale neighborhood, more than 1.5 people visit the Zoo annually. The Zoo also holds various special events throughout the year, including the popular PNC Festival of Lights from November 20 - January 9. If you enjoy going to the Zoo and are a student, student discount memberships are only $48 for a year!

Aside from the Cincinnati Zoo's large botanical garden, Avondale also has a couple small community greenspaces, including Fleischmann Gardens:

On the site of the home of Charles Fleischmann, founder of the Fleischmann Yeast Company, the park was given to the city in 1925 by his heirs and expanded in 1976....

Surrounded by an ornamental iron fence, the park features immaculate landscaping and collections of flowers in bloom. Although it's along the busy Forest Avenue, Fleischmann Gardens truly makes you feel like you're in a different realm. This space is perfect for a picnic, and also features a playground for children!

Fleischmann Gardens

Fleischmann Gardens

Avondale Neighborhood Flag

North Avondale

As mentioned earlier, the Avondales' collective history began to separate around post-World War 2. While the City targeted Avondale as prime real estate to corral displaced African Americans (often illegally cramming them into split-up old large homes that were poorly maintained), many residents already living in North Avondale decided to stay put. This is around the time when the North Avondale Neighborhood Association (NANA) was formed:

...in 1960, a group of residents in North Avondale formed NANA (North Avondale Neighborhood Association) to help fight “blockbusting” and other unscrupulous realtor practices of the day and to promote intra-community relations and help make North Avondale a racially and economically integrated, stable neighborhood.

Aside from history, North Avondale's curvilinear street layout is a unique attribute to the neighborhood. While Avondale closely follows a gridded layout that stems from downtown Cincinnati, Rockdale Avenue serves as an informal boundary of transformation into a more organic street structure. Reading Road becomes more pronounced in North Avondale, and is the focal point of the neighborhood. There are several large apartment buildings and community parks that stem from Reading Road in the neighborhood.

Crescent Court Apartments (3719 Reading)

The Belvedere (3900 Rose Hill Ave)

The President (784 Greenwood Ave)

One of the most historically significant buildings in the neighborhood is Zion Baptist Church. Just days before the first of a collection of race riots that occurred in Avondale between 1967-1970, Martin Luther King Jr. preached nonviolence at Zion Baptist Church in North Avondale.

Seasongood Square

ML King Jr Park

With only a few businesses on the northern border along Reading, North Avondale is even more of a residential neighborhood than Avondale is. Nonetheless, North Avondale holds a rich history with beautiful homes and architecture. Check out this article by Cincinnati Refined, which features some of North Avondale's hidden architectural gems.

North Avondale Neighborhood Flag

Thanks for reading this week! Next week I'll be visiting Carthage and Hartwell (all the way up at the northern border of city limits)! See you then and GOOD LUCK WITH EXAMS!