Prospect Hill Historic District is located on a hillside outside of downtown

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. It is part of the Mount Auburn neighborhood of Cincinnati. Prospect Hill is bounded by the following streets, Liberty, Sycamore, Boal and Highland. Prospect Hill is sometimes called locally "Liberty Hill". The District is bordered to the north by the Mount Auburn Historic District and the Pendleton neighborhood of

Over-the-Rhine Over-the-Rhine, often abbreviated as OTR, is a residential neighborhood located in the urban basin of Cincinnati, Ohio. Over-the-Rhine is among the largest, most intact urban historic districts in the United States. Originally settled by Ohi ...

to the south.

Architecture

The majority of buildings are brick, and the predominant architectural style is

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

. Dating from the 1860-80 period, this style is characterized by bracketed

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative Moulding (decorative), moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, ar ...

s and round or segmental arched window details. Good examples of earlier

Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

style architecture constructed between 1835 and 1860 are also found, predominantly located on the lower streets which developed the earliest. This style utilizes classical details and geometric, symmetrical forms. Examples of the Queen Anne style, which displays a variety of contrasting materials and decorative surface treatments, and the French Second Empire style, which is characterized by a

Mansard roof A mansard or mansard roof (also called French roof or curb roof) is a multi-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterised by two slopes on each of its sides, with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper, and often punctured by dormer wi ...

whose slope actually forms part of the front facade, may also be found scattered throughout the district. These styles date from the turn of the century. Contributing to the distinct character of Prospect Hill are the street steps, which evolved in response to a hillside environment which did not lend itself to a linear grid plan. Where the terrain was too steep to build roads, stairways and "paper" streets developed. The streets that were built often cut sharply into the hillside, requiring retaining walls along lot fronts. Many of these retaining walls, which are primarily stone, support original iron fences and contribute to the character of the district. Open space between lots reflect the fact that the land was too irregular for construction purposes.

History

The majority of early settlers were veterans of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

. One of the earliest residents of the hill was Dr. Daniel Drake. He lived in a log cabin while his new home was being built on Third Street. Senator George H. Pendleton also had a

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

prominently located at 559 Liberty Hill.

Notes

External links

City of Cincinnati Historic DistrictsProspect Hill Historic Homes Tour

View from Prospect hillProspect Hill Neighborhood Association
{{authority control Historic districts in Cincinnati National Register of Historic Places in Cincinnati Mount Auburn, Cincinnati