On October 16, 2011, I was treated to a Architreks/Cincinnati Walks tour of some of Clifton's grand architecture.

 

Sponsored by the Cincinnati Preservation Association and Architectural Foundation of Cincinnati, the May through October tours cover such areas as Downtown, Clifton, East Walnut Hills, Findlay Market, Mount Adams, Northside, Over-the-Rhine, and Walnut Hills.

 

Scheduled tours are closed for the season, but tours can be arranged by calling the Architreks office at (513) 421-4469.

 

The two-hour tour started at Middleton Avenue and Rawson Woods Lane, and follows (approximately) Middleton Avenue, Lafayette Avenue, Clifton Avenue, and McAlpin Avenue.  Special thanks go out to our tour guide Amanda, who did a fantastic job with our small group.

 

There are 55 photos in this thread.  To view some of the 4,344 of Clifton and dozens of other Greater Cincinnati communities, visit Building Cincinnati.  A convenient drop-down menu is located in the left-hand column, directly beneath the navigation buttons.

 

1. The Boulter House (1956) by Frank Lloyd Wright, Rawson Woods Lane and Rawson Woods Circle.

 

2. Close-up of the Boulter House.

 

3. Rawson Woods Lane.

 

4. Rawson Woods Lane.

 

5. Rawson Woods Circle.

 

6. House on Rawson Woods Lane, from Rawson Woods Circle.

 

7. Detail, house on Rawson Woods Circle.

 

8. Middleton and Warren avenues.

 

9. Middleton Avenue.

 

10. Neave/Sabin House (1859, architect unknown), Lafayette Avenue, built for industrialist Alexander Neave and later lived in by Dr. Albert Sabin.

 

11. Perin/Smith/Glenn House (1915, Henry Fischer), a blend of Prairie and Mission styles, on Lafayette Avenue.

 

12. Bishop's Place (1885, James W. McLaughlin), a Chateauesque, 18,000-square-foot mansion on West Cliff Lane.

 

13. Bishop's Place.

 

14. Bishop's Place.

 

15. 500 Lafayette, Lafayette Avenue.

 

16. "Scarlet Oaks" (circa 1871, James Keys Wilson), Lafayette Avenue.  This Gothic Revival mansion was built for George Keys Schoenberger at a cost of $750,000.  The house is now part of a senior living complex.

 

17. "Scarlet Oaks".

 

"Oakwood" (1866, William Tinsley), Lafayette Avenue.  This Norman Revival house was built for Henry Probasco at a cost of $500,000.

 

19. "Oakwood".

 

20. "Oakwood".

 

21. "Oakwood".

 

22. Lafayette Avenue.

 

23. The McAlpin Bridal Cottage (1888, Lucien Plympton), Lafayette Avenue.

 

24. Lafayette Avenue.

 

25. Lafayette Avenue.

 

26. The John Uri Lloyd House (1885, James W. McLaughlin), Clifton Avenue. The noted author and scientist is the namesake of Downtown's Lloyd Library, located where his pharmaceutical plant once stood.

 

27. Marker, John Uri Lloyd House.

 

28. Clifton Avenue.

 

29. "Greenhills" (date and architect unknown), Lafayette Avenue.

 

30. "Greenhills".

 

31. Lafayette Avenue, approaching Lafayette Circle.

 

32. Lafayette Avenue.

 

33. Lafayette Lane, off the beaten path and home to many Modern style houses.

 

34. Lafayette Lane.

 

35. Lafayette Lane.

 

36. Lafayette Lane.

 

37. Lafayette Lane.

 

38. Lafayette Circle.

 

39. Lafayette Circle.

 

40. Lafayette Circle.

 

41. "Brightside" (1892, Henry E. Siter), also known as the Charles and Ophelia Duhme House, Clifton Avenue.

 

42. The Robert Buchanan Home (1843) on Clifton Avenue. A cousin of President James Buchanan, Robert Buchanan came to Cincinnati to work as a pork packer and was instrumental in the establishment of Spring Grove Cemetery and the Cincinnati Society of Natural History.

 

43. Clifton Avenue.

 

44. Clifton Avenue.

 

45. Calvary Episcopal Church (1867, William Tinsley). The parish house (not pictured) was designed by Samuel Hannaford.

 

46. The Rawson House (1870, architect unknown), Clifton Avenue.

 

47. Greendale Avenue.

 

48. Francis Pedretti House (circa 1860, architect unknown), Greendale Avenue, heavily re-muddled since occupied by the famous local mural and fresco painter.

 

49. Greendale Avenue.

 

50. Greendale Avenue.

 

51. "Greendale" (1843, architect unknown), the William Resor House on Greendale Avenue. Resor was an industrialist who founded the Cincinnati Zoo and the Cincinnati Art Museum.

 

52. Clifton Avenue.

 

53. Probasco Fountain (1887, Samuel Hannaford) on Clifton Avenue, gifted by residents to Henry Probasco, who was then mayor of the Village of Clifton.

 

54. Probasco Fountain.

 

55. Rear of Clifton School (1906, E.H. Dornette) from Middleton Avenue. The only remaining public building from the Village of Clifton, it is now occupied by the Clifton Cultural Arts Center.

 

Thanks for watching!

Sweet

This was awesome! Clifton is such a great neighborhood, and so many Cincinnatians have no clue half of these homes even exist!

Enough, enough, buildingcincinnati!  Here I am, already loving this city to death, and then you go and add to my misery with these absolutely splendid photographs of one of its most beloved neighborhoods.  Shame on you--all I can do now is drool some more and pretend I didn't see them.  Thanks!

^ Sorry...I'll take the thread down ASAP! ;)

Those houses are amazing, I need to get back down to Cincinnati. Great pics and thanks for sharing!

Clifton is a treasure.

Beautiful photo set, and great examples of architectural styles from a long time span. Thanks for sharing them.

Glad the tour included Lafayette lane.  Lots of folks dont know about those moderns sitting over there.  The close up of the Boulter House shows it's in need of some love.  Hopefully the current owners dont let that siding go unprotected for too long.

^ True.  I had no idea about Lafayette Lane at all, and I tell myself that I know a lot about this City.  But isn't that what makes this fun -- discovering something new every day?  The day I've seen everything is the day I cease wanting to live, I think.

My, it's like Marble Cliff, Bexley, Grandview, the Near East Side and Rush Creek all in one.

^ Yeah, it's sexy like that.  I miss living in C-Bus and buzzing around those hoods, but, man, it's so good here.

what a mix its really something else. yeah its like they took those handful of old nice houses and mansions along the main streets of every small ohio town and put them all in one neighborhood. and then later kept it going and threw in some deco and modernist stuff. i would love to take that tour. and see inside some of them!