Price Hill, Cincinnati

Price Hill is a neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio, located north of Sedamsville and Riverside, south of Westwood and South Fairmount, and west of Queensgate. It is one of the oldest outlying settlements of Cincinnati, [ [http://frontier.cincinnati.com/communities/display.asp?commName=Price+Hill Price Hill Community] , Cincinnati.com] and includes parts of the zip codes 45205, 45238, and 45204. [Note the correlation between the boundary maps [http://www.hellocincinnati.com/neighborhoods/West-Price-Hill_Cincinnati_OH.cfm here] , [http://www.hellocincinnati.com/neighborhoods/East-Price-Hill_Cincinnati_OH.cfm here] , and [http://www.hellocincinnati.com/neighborhoods/Lower-Price-Hill_Cincinnati_OH.cfm here] , with the zip code map at [http://maps.huge.info/zip.htm maps.huge.info] .]

Geography

Price Hill covers a little over six square miles, with over 40,000 residents. It is commonly subdivided into East Price Hill, West Price Hill, and Lower Price Hill.

East Price Hill covers convert|3|mi2|km2, and has over 20,000 residents living in 3,000 homes and 4,000 apartments. As of 1997, 31.4% of the households had one person, 43.2% had two people, and 25.4% had three or more. 29.5% of residents were 17 or younger, and 10.8% were 65 or older. 87.9% of the residents were white and 9.7% were black. The region contains part of Mt. Echo Park and all of Glenway Park. [ [http://www.cincinnatihome.org/neighborhoods/east_price_hill/eph_main.asp East Price Hill] , CincinnatiHome]

West Price Hill covers convert|2.75|mi2|km2|sing=on, with around 20,000 residents in around 4,500 homes and 4,000 apartments. As of 1997, 33.9% of the households had one person, 43.5% had two people, and 22.6% had three or more. 25.3% of residents were 17 or younger, and 16.7% were 65 or older. 94.9% of the residents were white and 3.5% were black. The region includes Rapid Run Park. [ [http://www.cincinnatihome.org/neighborhoods/west_price_hill/wphill_main.asp West Price Hill] , CincinnatiHome]

Lower Price Hill is in the river valley to the southwest, comprising convert|0.57|mi2|km2. The population is 1,600, living in 570 homes. As of 1997, 32.4% of the households had one person, 34.5% had two people, and 33.1% had three or more. 42.9% of residents were 17 or younger, and 8.1% were 65 or older. 94.8% of the residents were white and 4.3% were black. The region includes part of Mount Echo Park, and the Lower Price Hill Historic District. [ [http://www.cincinnatihome.org/neighborhoods/lower_price_hill/lph_main.asp Lower Price Hill] , CincinnatiHome]

History

Before the Symmes Purchase of the 1780s, the area of Price Hill was sparsely populated Indian territory. The remains of Indian burial mounds and lookout posts have been found in the region. Most of Price Hill was once part of Delhi Township.

Cincinnati became heavily populated in the 19th century, due to steamboat traffic and hog packing, and some of the city's wealthier residents settled in the nearly inaccessible hill country to the west. This region was high enough and far enough away to escape the pollution and crowdedness of the inner city. One such resident was General Rees E. Price, who purchased and developed large parts of the hill. The area was then called "Price's Hill", later shortened to "Price Hill". [http://www.angelfire.com/dc2/pricehill/briefhis.html A Brief History of Price Hill] , Price Hill Historical Society]

A cable railway called locally the "incline" was built to help make the region more accessible, and by the 1870s there were thousands of residents. Most of the residents were Irish or German, and Catholic. The Eighth Street Viaduct was built by the end of the century, and the more accessible region became a thriving upper-middle-class suburb, with a commercial center along Glenway Avenue. Many of the houses that still stand in the district were built in the early years of the 20th century.

Mount St. Mary Seminary of the West was first established on a 10 acre site at the northwest corner of Grand and Warsaw Avenues. The site was converted to a Catholic school devoted to the care and training of orphaned, dependent, and underprivileged girls.Holy Family Parish was also located on this site. Seton High School was founded as Mount St. Vincent Academy, Cedar Grove in 1854 by the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati. Union Baptist Cemetery was founded in 1864, it is the oldest Baptist African-American cemetery in Cincinnati. [http://www.pricehillwill.org/wherewework/history.html Price Hill History] , Price Hill Will]

When Cincinnati was plagued by tuberculosis in the early 20th century, Price Hill housed the Cincinnati Tubercular Hospital, one of the nation's leading centers for treatment and research. A Carnegie library was built in Price Hill in 1915. The Covedale Theater was built in 1947.

In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, Section 8 housing was greatly expanded in the area, greatly changing the region's demographics. Crime has risen in the area, as have innovative community crimefighting tactics. [cite book
last = Madensen
first = Tamara D.
title = West Price Hill Crime Reduction Project
publisher = Division of Criminal Justice, University of Cincinnati
date = 2005
pages = 44 p
url = http://www.uc.edu/criminaljustice/ProjectReports/W_PRICE_HILL.pdf] Today, the Price Hill Community Center includes a fitness center, gym, youth programs, and senior programs. Much of the area is being revitalized by a non-profit community development corporation known as Price Hill Will. Since 2004 this organization has helped to renovate houses, clean neighborhoods, and promote commercial opportunities in the region. [ [http://www.pricehillwill.org/whatwevedone.html What We've Done] , Price Hill Will]

Community

Price Hill is majority Catholic, and is a relatively tight-knit community. There is a community newspaper called "Price Hill Press" [ [http://activepaper.olivesoftware.com/Default/Skins/CPHP/Client.asp?Skin=CPHP&Daily=CPHP&AW=1215088702270&AppName=1 Price Hill Press online edition] ] which serves the region. The three high schools in the region are Elder High School, Seton High School, and Western Hills High School. High school sports are quite popular and well attended. The following Catholic churches are in Price Hill:
* [http://www.aquinas-multimedia.com/church/holy-fam.html Holy Family] , Hawthorne Avenue and West Eighth Streets
* Reserection Church, 1750 1st Avenue
*St. Lawrence Church, 3680 Warsaw Avenue
* St. Michael Church, lower Price Hill, now closed
* [http://www.aquinas-multimedia.com/church/tavila.html St. Teresa of Avila] , Glenway & Overlook Avenues
*St. William Church, West Eight & Sunset Avenues

Several cemeteries are located in Price Hill including Old St. Joseph's Cemetery, New St. Joseph Cemetery, Union Baptist Cemetery and Judah Touro Cemetery.

Landmarks

*Branch Hospital for Contagious Diseases From 1897, this hospital was used for housing and treating victims of tuberculosis. The hospital now forms part of the Dunham Recreation Center.
*Fire Company 24 Constructed in 1889, the fire station is now a private residence with a first-floor art gallery.
*Mount Echo Park Established in 1908, the 73-acre park is known as the viewing platform for one of the best views of Cincinnati's skyline.
*Price Hill Library Finished in 1915, the library was one of the many libraries funded by Andrew Carnegie. It is now a branch of the Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library system.

Further reading

* cite book
last = Grace
first = Kevin
coauthors = Tom White
title = Cincinnati Revealed: A Photographic Heritage of the Queen City
publisher = Arcadia Publishing
date = 2002
pages = 128 p
isbn = 978-0738519555
* cite book
last = Hotchkiss
first = Julie
title = Price Hill: its Beauties and Advantages as a Place of Residence
publisher = Price Hill Historical Society
date = 1998
* cite book
last = Smiddy
first = Betty Anne
title = Cincinnati's Golden Age
publisher = Arcadia Publishing
date = 2005
pages = 128 p
isbn = 978-0738534367

References