Cincinnati Could Lose 1875 Building
By Margaret Foster | Online Only | Apr. 29, 2008
After decades of neglect, the 1875 Meiners Flats building could be demolished.
Credit: Cincinnati Preservation Association
One of the tallest buildings in Cincinnati's historic but faded Over-the-Rhine neighborhood could be torn down next week after years of neglect.
Last month, the city barricaded the sidewalk beneath the five-and-a-half-story Meiners Flats, abandoned for more than 20 years, when pieces of the structure began falling off. "We're sort of at the end of our rope with this," says Ed Cunningham, the city's division manager of property-maintenance code enforcement. "It's been an ordeal. We've tried everything. We want this building fixed, but sometimes you have to protect the public's safety."
The city condemned the Meiners Flats building in 2002 and filed criminal charges against its owner, Eldon D. Sundberg of Big Dog Holdings, LLC. In January 2007, a judge fined Sundberg $5,000 and ordered him to demolish the building. Despite these penalties, he has not complied.
Built by a German-American family of stonemasons, the Meiners Flats has an intricately carved sandstone facade that was, in effect, an advertisement for the family business. Over-the-Rhine was settled by German immigrants beginning in the 1830s.
More than 20 people have pledged donations to save the Meiners Flats, and a group of residents is trying to raise $450,000 necessary to stabilize the building.
"If we can manage to save it, it could be a very valuable property for future development because of the views from the upper floors," says Margo Warminski, preservation director of the Cincinnati Preservation Association. "It's going to be mighty close."
Read an excerpt from the magazine's March/April 2007 story about Over-the-Rhine
Comments
Submitted by Urban pioneer at: May 1, 2008
This is an important Building that deserves to e saved. As someone who is moving to Cincinnati this summer, to begin restoration on a 1874 Italianate brownstone in Over the Rhine keeping the achitectural integriry of the area is key to its turnaround.