Mt. Auburn and Corryville
- Anthony Gustely
- Mar 28, 2021
- 6 min read
Happy halfway point! Week 13 of 52 First Impressions marks the halfway point of my journey to visit each of Cincinnati's 52 neighborhoods. Staying close to home (Clifton), I visited Mt. Auburn and Corryville this week with my good friend Nicole. Let's dive right in:
Mt. Auburn
For all of my Cincinnatians who were raised in the Queen City that are reading this, you may be familiar with Mt. Auburn because it houses the well-known Christ Hospital campus (some of you may have even been born there!). However, Mt. Auburn is a neighborhood deeply rooted in Cincinnati's history as a home to several historical figures.
Although it was officially platted as a town in 1837, prominent residents of the Queen City were settling atop Mt. Auburn as early as 1826. Originally named Key's Hill (after an early settler), Mt. Auburn quickly became the largest suburb outside of Cincinnati's limits by 1842. Similar to other hilltop neighborhoods (like Price Hill), Mt. Auburn provided an escape during industrial times, a "a retreat from the city with cleaner air, smaller crowds, and beautiful views."
Today, Mt. Auburn is filled with a diversity of architecture, quaint parks, historical sites, and attracts 9,000 jobholders who come to Mt. Auburn to work on a daily basis.
Nicole and I kicked off our visit by checking out some historic landmarks in the neighborhood. The George Pendleton House (559 Liberty Street), residence of former U.S. Senator George H. Pendleton, is a French Second Empire Style home built in 1870.
Pendleton, an Ohio native, was a strong proponent of civil service reform within the Federal Government. Despite this, he was a committed member of the Democratic Party and strongly opposed the Union war effort during the American Civil War (yikes!). The house was absolutely stunning to look at though, and sits at the edge of the hill overlooking Downtown.
Next, Nicole and I drove over to the intersection of Auburn, Sycamore, and Dorchester Avenues. This wonky four-way intersection is a main hub of activity in the neighborhood. We walked up Hopkins Park, which is a small, graded community park featuring "oval terraced steps, concrete tables and benches and a play area for children". The park was a gift of Lewis C. Hopkins, a successful merchant and land developer, in 1866. Although less than an acre in area, Hopkins required that the park "forever be kept free of buildings, and ... should be tastefully laid out and planted with trees and shrubbery."
After walking up Hopkins Park, Nicole and I were curious to look at more historic homes in Mt. Auburn. Traveling south on Bigelow Street, we stumbled upon a hilly lot under construction. I wasn't able to find any news articles or information on a new park in Mt. Auburn, but it's quite possible that there could be a new park in Mt. Auburn soon!
Most famously perhaps, 27th U.S. President and Supreme Court Justice William Howard Taft's childhood home is located along Auburn Avenue. Taft, born at the home in 1857, is the only President in American history to have also been a Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court in his lifetime. The two story Greek Revival house is a mustard yellow color and is fenced in above street level on Auburn. Due to COVID-19, The historic site is closed to the public for the tine being, but Nicole and I were still able to snap some pictures from the outside.
Nicole and I noticed that for the amount of green space, historic sites, and businesses located along Auburn Avenue, the road is pretty unwalkable. Its minimal crosswalks, stoplights or signs, narrow share of sidewalk (in comparison to the 4-lane road), didn't make the pedestrian experience along Auburn feel safe or enjoyable.
We concluded our trip to Mt. Auburn at Jackson Hill Park, located in the southwest corner of the neighborhood. The park is simple, comprised of a grassy lawn, pavilion, picnic tables, and public grills. The true hidden gem of the park is the hidden Main Street steps that lead from Mt. Auburn down to Main Street in Over-the-Rhine:
Although these staircases are scattered all around the City, Nicole and I were so excited at the idea of getting from a hilltop neighborhood to downtown without using a car (there is also a staircase that leads to Reading Road from the George H. Pendleton House). We made a promise to ourselves that we would use the stairs this summer for some cardio workouts!
I enjoyed my time in Mt. Auburn this week. It's a peaceful neighborhood with a mix of uses and rich (literally and figuratively) history, and there's potential for an absence of commercial use at that corner of Auburn and Sycamore (pictured below).
Corryville
Annexed into the City in 1870, Corryville was known early on as a location for German families retreating from down-the-hill in OTR. You may recognize the names of original land owners of Corryville, James Burnet and William McMillan. Coincidentally, neither Burnet Woods, McMillan Street, or McMillan Hall are actually within neighborhood boundaries.
Corryville sits immediately east of the University of Cincinnati campus. Rectangular in shape, its boundaries include McMillan Street to the south, Burnet Avenue to the east, Erkenbrecher Avenue to the north (just north of Med Campus), and Vine Street and Jefferson Avenue to the west. Colloquially, the northern half of Corryville is known as Pill Hill because of its large concentration of medical facilities and hospitals.
When I think of Corryville, my mind immediately identifies the Short Vine area as the hub of activity in the neighborhood. There are so many well-known bars (Ladder, Dive, Cock & Bull, Mio's, etc), restaurants (Taste of Belgium, Hang Over Easy, Wing Stop, etc.), and other staples in the Short Vine area (The 86, Kroger, the library, etc.) that it has become one of the two main centers around UC's campus (the other being Calhoun Street).
Unfortunately (this is a first I must say), Nicole and I were remiss in our efforts to capture a holistic glance into Corryville. Half because we are here so often and didn't think to get out and stop at every landmark and half because everything was closed on the Sunday we visited :/ Nonetheless, I was able to highlight some of the places we were able to snap pictures of!
Highland Coffee House, located at 2839 Highland Avenue, is an evening coffee shop / bar in Corryville. Opened in 1978, Highland has been a Corryville staple for over 40 years. Check out this article from USA Today, detailing the icon's rich history and atmosphere. Highland is open 5:30 PM - 2:30 AM every day of the week.
Holding the title of Cincinnati's Oldest Restaurant is Mecklenburg Gardens (302 E. University Ave.):
Mecklenburg Restaurant and Bier Garten was established in 1865. Priding ourselves on our German heritage, Mecklenburg Gardens stays true to its roots providing delectable German cuisine along with traditional German lagers, dunkels, hefeweizen, and pilsners on tap.
When it was originally opened in 1865, Mecklenburg Gardens was a meeting place for German residents to understand and learn about American cultural norms and practices. During Prohibition, the restuarant operated as a speakeasy. The restaurant has a Bier Garten along the side of the restaurant and it's been ranked as one of Cincinnati's best patios in this CityBeat article.
Sitting along Short Vine amongst restaurants, bars, and entertainment is the Clifton Cultural Arts Center (CCAC), non-profit regional arts organization. The CCAC strives to bring diverse communities together through the shared experience of art. The arts center offers classes, holds events, and even puts exhibits on display at their location on Short Vine.
To wrap up our trip, Nicole and I went to Dunkin' on MLK. It wouldn't be a Corryville visit if I didn't talk about Martin Luther King Drive, which separates Med Campus from the rest of Corryville. MLK is one of those artieral roads that connects many to and from I-71, and its wide road width and multiple lanes compared to its narrow sidewalks, limited tree buffers, and absence of any sort of street calming measures don't make the road too pedestrian friendly. Nonetheless, the closest Dunkin' and McDonalds to campus are here, so it makes it pretty busy!
A good amount of research I was finding about Corryville explained that the demographics are continuing to shift from longer term residents moving out and university students moving in. As UC grows in enrollment totals each year, I can see this trend continuing. It will be interesting to see if planning efforts are able to connect these students in Corryville to campus, whether it be through wayfinding, or streetscape changes, or increasing public transportation efforts.
Stick with me next week, where I'll be visiting Avondale and North Avondale! There's some wild storytelling with these two. Have a great week!
Comments