National Register of Historic Places

Cincinnati City Hall

Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio
Listed
December 11, 1972
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
72001017

About this property

Cincinnati City Hall is the seat of the municipal government of Cincinnati, Ohio. Completed in 1893, the Richardsonian Romanesque structure was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on December 11, 1972. The building was designed by Samuel Hannaford at a cost of $1.61 million. The main building comprises four and a half stories with a nine-story clock tower. The building was constructed by the David Hummel company of Cincinnati using stone quarried in Wisconsin, Ohio, Missouri, and Indiana. Marble stairways and wainscoting originated in Italy and Tennessee, while granite columns were obtained from Vermont. Stained glass windows were installed which depict Cincinnatus and illustrate Cincinnati's early history. The first city hall was built on this site in 1852 and was demolished in 1888 to make way for the current structure. Construction costs for the building totaled $1.61 million of which $54,000 was paid to Samuel Hannaford as architect and construction superintendent. "Cincinnati's City Hall represents the prevailing architectural tastes at the time of its construction and the influence of H. H. Richardson on its designer, Samuel Hannaford. Richardson's winning design for the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce building was executed in the 1880s; however, the building's demolition in 1911 left City Hall the best remaining example of Richardson Romanesque in Cincinnati. Samuel Hannaford practiced from 1858 until 1897 and made a significant contribution to the architectural heritage of the Cincinnati area." An optical trick known as forced perspective makes the building appear even larger than it actually is. As it becomes taller, its windows get smaller.

Location

801 Plum St.
Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio
39.10425, -84.51938

Categories

ARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Goodall Building
Industrial
0 mi
St. Peter-In-Chains Cathedral
Industrial
0 mi
Court Street Firehouse
Industrial
0.1 mi
Plum Street Temple
Industrial
0.1 mi
Covenant First Presbyterian Church
Early Republic
0.1 mi

Nearby Battles

Morgan's Raid – Southgate and Newport, Ohio Crossing
1863Civil War
2.1 mi

Questions about this property

When was Cincinnati City Hall listed on the National Register?

Cincinnati City Hall was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 11, 1972.

What type of historic resource is Cincinnati City Hall?

Cincinnati City Hall is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Cincinnati City Hall?

The period of significance for Cincinnati City Hall is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Cincinnati City Hall?

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