Mecklenburg Gardens is a historic restaurant in the

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 ...

neighborhood of

Cincinnati 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 ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

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 territori ...

. Its

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian ...

building, perhaps constructed as a house, was built circa 1865, but it was converted into a restaurant by 1870. In its earliest years as a restaurant, it was run by John Neeb, who sold it to one of his employees in 1886. The new owner, Louis Mecklenburg, changed the name from "Mount Auburn Garden Restaurant" to "Mecklenburg Gardens,"Mecklenburg's Garden
,

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 44,0 ...

College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning, 2010. Accessed 2014-10-23. and converted it from a saloon to a heavily German

beer garden A beer garden (German: ''Biergarten'') is an outdoor area in which beer and food are served, typically at shared tables shaded by trees. Beer gardens originated in Bavaria, of which Munich is the capital city, in the 19th century, and remain co ...

.Wilson, Annasue McCleave.
Reviving the Past: Historic Buildings House Two Lively Young Restaurants
. ''Cincinnati Magazine'' 30.1 (1996): 127-129. During this time, Cincinnati was receiving massive numbers of German immigrants; with as much as 25% of the city's population being German-born, cultural institutions such as beer gardens were extremely popular.Owen, Lorrie K., ed. ''Dictionary of Ohio Historic Places''. Vol. 1.

St. Clair Shores St. Clair Shores is a suburban city bordering Lake St. Clair in Macomb County of the U.S. state of Michigan. It forms a part of the Metro Detroit area, and is located about northeast of downtown Detroit. Its population was 59,715 at the 2010 ...

: Somerset, 1999, 631. As the years passed, Mecklenburg's Garden prospered and expanded to accommodate more diners. Patrons historically made heavy use of the walled outdoor eating area, which was shaded by

awning An awning or overhang is a secondary covering attached to the exterior wall of a building. It is typically composed of canvas woven of acrylic, cotton or polyester yarn, or vinyl laminated to polyester fabric that is stretched tightly over a li ...

s and featured trellises covered by

grapevines ''Vitis'' (grapevine) is a genus of 79 accepted species of vining plants in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The genus is made up of species predominantly from the Northern Hemisphere. It is economically important as the source of grapes, ...

. During the 20th century, the Gardens underwent a series of changes. Under

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcohol ...

, the leading element of its income was outlawed, but it continued to operate covertly as a

speakeasy A speakeasy, also called a blind pig or blind tiger, is an illicit establishment that sells alcoholic beverages, or a retro style bar that replicates aspects of historical speakeasies. Speakeasy bars came into prominence in the United States ...

as well as a legal restaurant: patrons knew whether they could safely purchase alcohol based on the position of a

ship model Ship models or model ships are scale models of ships. They can range in size from 1/6000 scale wargaming miniatures to large vessels capable of holding people. Ship modeling is a craft as old as shipbuilding itself, stretching back to ancien ...

on a counter. During the 1970s, the building underwent a structural restoration, around the time that it was owned by an ashram that, according to legend, made a failed attempt to convert the restaurant's kitchen staff. Although the restaurant closed multiple times during the late twentieth century, it reopened in 1996, and has continued in operation until the present time.History
, Mecklenburg's Garden, n.d. Accessed 2014-10-23. In recognition of its place in local history, Mecklenburg Gardens was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1976. The building housing the restaurant is a rectangular structure, built of brick on a stone

foundation Foundation may refer to: * Foundation (nonprofit), a type of charitable organization ** Foundation (United States law), a type of charitable organization in the U.S. ** Private foundation, a charitable organization that, while serving a good cause ...

. Besides the historic outdoor garden, the interior features several small dining rooms and a central pub area to accommodate patrons.

References

External links

Restaurant website
{{National Register of Historic Places Houses completed in 1865 Drinking establishments in Ohio German beer culture German restaurants in the United States Italianate architecture in Ohio National Register of Historic Places in Cincinnati Restaurants in Cincinnati Restaurants established in 1870 German-American culture in Cincinnati Cuisine of Cincinnati Beer gardens in the United States Drinking establishments on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio Restaurants on the National Register of Historic Places Beer in Ohio 1865 establishments in Ohio 1870 establishments in Ohio