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Mount Auburn Historic District
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A map of Mount Auburn circa 1869. Visible are the house of Alphonso Taft (which is now the William Howard Taft National Historic Site), the Cincinnati Orphan Asylum and the Mount Auburn Young Ladies Institute.
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| Location: | Both sides of Auburn Ave. from Ringgold St. to Howard Taft Rd., Cincinnati, Ohio |
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| Area: | 414 acres (1.68 km2), 31 buildings |
| Built: | 1819 |
| Architectural style: | Mid 19th Century Revival, Late Victorian |
| Governing body: | Local |
| NRHP Reference#: | 73001464 [1] |
| Added to NRHP: | March 28, 1973 |
Mount Auburn Historic District is located in the Mount Auburn neighborhood in Cincinnati, Ohio. It extends along both sides of Auburn Avenue roughly between Ringold Street and William H. Taft Road.
The District was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 28, 1973 (No. 73001464). Mount Auburn was founded as a hilltop retreat for Cincinnati's social elite where wealthier people could escape the dirt, heat, smoke and crowded conditions of the lower city. Ornate historic mansions with incredible panoramic views still reflect this heritage.
The district contains notable houses of Federal, Greek Revival, Italian Villa, Romanesque Revival, and Georgian Revival styles. The houses date from 1819 to the turn of the century and are associated with the prominent Cincinnatians. Noted residents include President William Howard Taft.
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Mount Auburn was platted as a town in 1837. By 1842, it extended from Liberty Street (Liberty Street got its name because the city laws were not enforced north of it and it was the location of the "northern liberties" – gambling, drinking and carousing) to McMillan Street (note that the historic district only goes as far south as Ringold street, the rest of the Mount Auburn neighborhood to the south is the Prospect Hill Historic District).[2]
"Key’s Hill" was the original name for Mount Auburn.[2] It is one of Cincinnati's Seven Hills.
I was quite charmed with the appearance of the town, and its adjoining suburb of Mount Auburn: from which the city, lying in an amphitheatre of hills, forms a picture of remarkable beauty, and is seen to great advantage.
Behold the Fifth Avenue of Cincinnati! It is not merely the pleasant street of villas and gardens along the brow of the hill, though that is part of it. Mount to the cupola of the Mount Auburn Young Ladies' School, which stands near the highest point, and look out over a sea of beautifully formed, umbrageous hills, steep enough to be picturesque, but not too steep to be convenient, and observe that upon each summit, as far as the eye can reach, is an elegant cottage or mansion, or clust of tasteful villas, surrounded by groves, gardens and lawns. This is Cincinnati's Fifth Avenue.—James Parton, Atlantic Monthly, August, 1867
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