About the Foundation

History of the Over-The-Rhine Foundation

The Over-the-Rhine Foundation was established in 1992. It was formed by members of the Over-the-Rhine Chamber who recognized a need to have a non-profit dedicated to using grants and tax-deductible contributions to improve the quality of life in Over-the-Rhine. People often get the Foundation and the Chamber confused because the two organizations have worked together on a number of issues and projects and, in the early days, shared office space and membership. However, the two grew into distinct organizations. While the Chamber focuses on business development, the Foundation’s focus is on residential development, historic preservation, improving the quality of life and sense of place in OTR, preserving and educating the public about OTR’s rich cultural heritage. Of course, allegiance and cooperation between the Foundation and Chamber remains important and we continue to work together to promote a common vision.

Much of the Foundation’s accomplishments are clearly visible in Over-the-Rhine. One of our first accomplishments was the Jerry Petersen Memorial Lighting Project. Named after the man who spearheaded the effort before his untimely death, the project brought and maintains spotlighting to previously unlit neighborhood landmarks. Historic properties now accented in the night include the steeples on Old St. Mary’s, St. Frances Seraph, Philippus Church, Gabriel’s Corner, as well as the rose window at Music Hall. We are also responsible for additional lighting in Washington Park.

The Foundation has also directly helped rescue and develop vacant properties and land. We saved a group of vacant buildings on Walnut St. and rebuilt them as mixed-income apartments; and acquired and transferred properties in the Pendleton District. Today, Gary Zachem is developing 20 market-rate, single-family homes on this previously vacant land. These will be the first single-family houses to be built in Over-the-Rhine in many decades.

The Bell Tower on the corner of Liberty and Reading was built by the Foundation, the Corbett Foundation, the Verdin Bell Company, and the generosity of private donors. At the time, the City envisioned a series of neighborhood gateway projects. Unfortunately, the Foundation became the only organization to actually get one constructed. The tower serves as an elegant symbol of Over-the-Rhine’s rebirth, timelessly designed to complement the neighborhoods classic European-style architecture. Today, the tower is maintained by a partnership between the Foundation and the Verdin Bell Company.

In 2001, shortly after the riots that temporarily brought a screeching halt to OTR’s forward progress, the Foundation began the Miracle Mile Project. Spearheaded by Councilman Jim Tarbell and landscaper Jay Korte, the Foundation began installing and planting flower boxes on neighborhood buildings. Originally, the boxes were hung on the most visible corners of the neighborhood. Thanks, in part, to a self-watering irrigation system invented and patented by Mr. Korte, we have been able to minimize the maintenance and maximize the health and life of the flowers. Every year, the Foundation extends and spearheads replanting the Miracle Mile boxes. The goal is to have owners take responsibility of maintaining them. Many have, but the Foundation is still responsible for replanting lots of them and for hanging new boxes and extending the program. The name “Miracle Mile” comes from the goal of a mile’s worth of flower boxes. At present, with hundreds hung and planted, we’re about half-way there.

The Foundation’s work is also visible in the form of special events. We have hosted a Microbrewery Extravaganza, helped organize Bockfest, done Bach’s Brunch, Chuck Roast – a Tribute to Bill Baum, and bring thousands into the neighborhood to highlight development with the Over-the-Rhine Summer Tour of Homes. Some of our events are fundraisers, but most are solely about bringing positive attention to the community and bringing people together. On the first Sunday following the riots, we sponsored the Community Pot Luck Dinner which unified a broad mix of people from all over the community. That winter, we held an event called “Luminaria, Harmony in Lights.” With 50,000 candles and bags, a ton of sand, and thousands of boxes of lights, we used lighting up the neighborhood for the holidays as a means of connecting people and focusing attention on positive efforts. The Foundation also developed Second Sundays On Main, then turned the ongoing event over to the Chamber.

As visible and as unforgettable as many of the Foundation’s accomplishments have been, much of our work has been (and remains) behind-the-scenes advocacy. Flowers, lighting, and events help make a better community, but they are only the most superficial layer of what the Foundation’s work. We lobbied the City to get OTR designated as an historic district. Although this may seem like common sense – the neighborhood IS the largest collection of Nineteenth Century Italianate architecture anywhere in the United States and arguably the City’s most historically significant – there was substantial opposition to the designation. Receiving protected historic status for the southern half of the neighborhood, and then fighting for another 10 years to include the upper half wasn’t easy, but it was a battle worth fighting. The designation helps protect the neighborhood’s most valuable assets and makes properties eligible for both state and federal historic tax credits, grants, and development incentives.

Similarly, while it is easy to see the importance of preserving the Alms & Doepke building that currently houses the Department of Job and Family Services (corner of Main and Central Parkway), the Foundation had to fight hard and long to save it. Both an important piece of Cincinnati’s history and a huge, architecturally significant gateway to the neighborhood, Hamilton County was going to demolish it and build a new, “modern” government building. The Foundation is largely responsible for why Cincinnati’s largest Nineteenth Century department store building still stands (and wasn’t replaced by something that might have looked like the Justice Center.)

The Foundation has also been instrumental in the Zigler Park renewal, saving the Emery building, getting the Art Academy to relocate to Over-the-Rhine, working on neighborhood consensus through participation in the OTR Comprehensive Plan, were the first organization to bring Council’s attention to crime in OTR and to lead clean and safe initiatives, founded the original neighborhood “resource center” when the Foundation office was one of the few storefronts on Main St. with a telephone, has helped aid and drive a variety of neighborhood developments, and has helped Nicolas and other neighborhood businesses open their doors and promote their success. This is not an exhaustive list of the Foundation’s accomplishments, but a “brief” history has to end somewhere.