Clifton is a neighborhood in the north central part of

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The population was 8,408 in the 2020 census. The area includes the Ludlow Avenue Shopping and Dining District. Clifton is situated around Clifton Avenue, north of Dixmyth Avenue, approximately three miles north of Downtown Cincinnati. Several historic buildings and homes remain in the neighborhood. Clifton was developed in large part due to the expansion of the street car system in the 1880s-1890s. Adjacent areas such as Corrryville and the CUF neighborhoods are often erroneously referred to as Clifton, even by long-term residents. Clifton, Cincinnati

Demographics

Source - City of Cincinnati Statistical Database

History

Clifton was incorporated as a village in 1850. The village took its name from the Clifton farm, which contained of hills and dales. In the nineteenth century, mansions set in extensive grounds of gardens, parkland and woodlands dominated the northern section of Clifton, farther from the city. Their gates and gatehouses were spaced at intervals along Lafayette Avenue. In the southern section, denser settlement flanked a growing business district along Ludlow Avenue, centered on its juncture with Clifton Avenue. Many of the estate grounds were designed by the landscape designer

Adolph Strauch Adolph Strauch (b. August 30, 1822 – 1883) was a renowned landscape architect born in Silesia, Prussia, known particularly for his layout designs of cemeteries like Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati, Ohio, Forest Lawn in Buffalo, NY and O ...

, who served as the Superintendent of

Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum () is a nonprofit rural cemetery and arboretum located at 4521 Spring Grove Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio. It is the third largest cemetery in the United States, after the Calverton National Cemetery and Abraham Li ...

in the 1850s, who later revised plantings when estates became public parkland, such as Eden Park and the of Burnet Woods, the former property of

Jacob Burnet Jacob Burnet (sometimes spelled Burnett) (February 22, 1770May 10, 1853) was an American jurist and statesman from Ohio. He served as a U.S. Senator. Early life Burnet was born in Newark, New Jersey, the son of Dr. William Burnet. He graduated ...

. The estates have found new uses in the twentieth century, or have been demolished, like Alexander McDonald's baronial mansion designed by

Samuel Hannaford Samuel Hannaford (10 April 1835 – 7 January 1911) was an American architect based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Some of the best known landmarks in the city, such as Music Hall and City Hall, were of his design. The bulk of Hannaford's work was do ...

, the pre-eminent estate architect in later nineteenth-century Cincinnati; it was demolished in the 1960s to make way for an annex to the Clifton School: only a 150-year-old yew (''

Taxus cuspidata ''Taxus cuspidata'', the Japanese yew or spreading yew, is a member of the genus ''Taxus'', native to Japan, Korea, northeast China and the extreme southeast of Russia. It is an evergreen tree or large shrub growing to 10–18 m tall, with a tru ...

capitata'') on the grounds of Fairview-Clifton German Language School and the carriage house remain. The city of Cincinnati annexed Clifton in 1893. The

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,00 ...

relocated to

Burnet Woods Burnet Woods, owned and operated by the Cincinnati Park Board, is an city park in Cincinnati, Ohio. The neighborhoods of Clifton and University Heights bound the park on three sides, while the University of Cincinnati west campus forms the s ...

Park. Today the university is located in Clifton Heights, University Heights, Avondale, and

Corryville Corryville is a neighborhood in Cincinnati, Ohio, east of the University of Cincinnati, southeast of Clifton, south and west of Avondale, northwest of Walnut Hills, and north of Mount Auburn. The population was 4,373 at the 2020 census. Demogr ...

, neighborhoods that surround Clifton. This entire area is often generically (and incorrectly) referred to as "Clifton" despite being several distinct and separate neighborhoods.

Hebrew Union College Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

, which settled near the university, and the Sacred Heart Academy in Clifton helped to contribute to the intellectual and

bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

atmosphere of the neighborhood.

Culture

The Ludlow Avenue business district has been designated Cincinnati's first "Main Street neighborhood" in a program sponsored by the

National Trust for Historic Preservation The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a privately funded, nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that works in the field of historic preservation in the United States. The member-supported organization was founded in 1949 by ...

; the Gaslight District contains many independent shops, restaurants and a

movie theater A movie theater (American English), cinema (British English), or cinema hall ( Indian English), also known as a movie house, picture house, the movies, the pictures, picture theater, the silver screen, the big screen, or simply theater is a ...

specializing in

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

and foreign films. Side streets are lit using original gas lamps, hence the name "Gaslight District." There is a great diversity of retail outlets and dining and drinking establishments situated along Ludlow and intersecting streets. Businesses include the historic rock concert hall the Ludlow Garage where the Allman Brothers recorded their famous album “Live at the Ludlow Garage,” and Ludlow Wines, the oldest wine shop in Cincinnati. Clifton is situated on the hill overlooking Northside, Cincinnati. The historic Ludlow Avenue district was included in a 2010 episode of "Who Do You Think You Are", in which

Sarah Jessica Parker Sarah Jessica Parker (born March 25, 1965) is an American actress and television producer. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including six Golden Globe Awards and two Primetime Emmy Awards. ''Time'' magazine named her one of the 1 ...

traced her ancestry on the maternal side of her family. Speaking on camera that she is revisiting her old neighborhood of Clifton, Parker was filmed walking down Ludlow Avenue on a wintery day and entered the Clifton branch of the Cincinnati Public Library on Ludlow. Inside the library's small reading room, she and a local historian discussed the ancestry of the maternal side of her family.

Notable people

Hulda Regina Graser Hulda Regina Graser (also known as, H. R. Graser; after marriage, Luebbert; June 23, 1870 – January 14, 1943) was a Canadian-born American Customs broker, customs house broker. In her day, she was the only woman in the world who worked in thi ...

(1870-1943), Canadian-born American customs house broker

Gallery

File:Ludlow Avenue business district in Clifton, Cincinnati.jpg, Ludlow Avenue Business District Image:Glamp.jpg, Gaslamp Image:Chouse.jpg, Charles B. Russell House in Gaslight District Image:Burnet_Woods,_Clifton,_Cincinnati.jpg,

References

External links

Clifton Community
{{coord, 39, 9, 0, N, 84, 31, 12, W, display=title Neighborhoods in Cincinnati Former municipalities in Ohio