Over-the-Rhine, also known as "Cincinnati's Rhineland", and the "Rhineland of America", is a German cultural district of Cincinnati, Ohio.[2][3][4] Over-the-Rhine is among the largest, most intact urban historic districts in the United States.[5] Germans from Ohio are known as "Ohio Rhinelanders" (‹See Tfd›German: Ohio Rheinländer), named after the Ohio Rhineland.[6][7][8] The Cincinnati Reds baseball team was highly supported by Ohio Rhinelanders, and was commonly known as the "Cincinnati Rhinelanders", referring to Cincinnati's German heritage.[9]
The neighborhood's name comes predominantly from Rhinelanders and other Germans who settled the area in the mid-19th century.[10] Many walked to work across bridges over the Miami and Erie Canal, which separated the area from downtown Cincinnati. The canal was nicknamed "the Rhine" in reference to the river Rhine in Germany, and the newly settled area north of the canal as "Over the Rhine".[11][12] In German, the district was called über den Rhein.[citation needed]
An early reference to the canal as "the Rhine" appears in the 1853 book White, Red, Black, in which traveler Ferenc Pulszky wrote, "The Germans live all together across the Miami Canal, which is, therefore, here jocosely called the 'Rhine.' "[13] In 1875 writer Daniel J. Kenny referred to the area exclusively as "Over the Rhine." He noted, "Germans and Americans alike love to call the district 'Over the Rhine.' "[14]
Eventually, the canal was drained and capped by Central Parkway; the resulting tunnel was to be used for the now-defunct Cincinnati Subway project.[citation needed]
Built in the nineteenth century during a period of extensive German immigration, first settled by Pennsylvania Dutch and bolstered by Rhinelanders and other Germans, Over-the-Rhine began to change demographically as residents moved to the suburbs following World War II.[15] The city and area had lost many of the industrial jobs that once supported its workers. By the end of the century, the area was noted for its poverty. Residents united and created many life-saving organizations.[11] Following social unrest in 2001, the neighborhood has since been the focus of millions of dollars of redevelopment.[citation needed]
Over-the-Rhine, one of the largest, most intact urban historic districts in the United States,[5] has several districts. The Northern Liberties[16] and the Brewery District[17] are north of Liberty Street. South of Liberty are the Gateway Quarter and Pendelton.[citation needed]
In recent years, developers have renamed this portion of Over-the-Rhine as "The Gateway Quarter". This area has been the focal point of gentrification, which has displaced African Americans and low-income residents. More than 1,000 African Americans left this area between 2000 and 2010, and by 2012 it had become a predominantly white, wealthy and exclusive section of the neighborhood.[18]
North of Liberty Street sat the heart of Cincinnati's beer brewing industry.[19] Christian Moerlein established his first brewing company in Over-the-Rhine in 1853. Eventually the Christian Moerlein Brewing Co. became the city's largest brewery and expanded into the national market. At its height the brewery occupied three entire city blocks. Prohibition brought an end to the company in the 1920s.[20] In 2010 the revived Christian Moerlein Brewing Co. began brewing beer in the Brewery District once again.[21]
This area of the neighborhood has been relatively untouched by recent "gentrification efforts" and may resemble 1990s OTR better than other areas.[22]
In the late 1820s, English writer Fanny Trollope, mother of Anthony Trollope, lived in the Mohawk area, which today is considered part of Over-the-Rhine.[23] The acerbic portrayal of Americans of that period in her book Domestic Manners of the Americans is based in part on her interactions with the rough-hewn residents of the area.[citation needed]
Until 1849, today's Liberty Street, then called Northern Row, was the corporation line forming Cincinnati's northern boundary. The area north of Northern Row was not subject to municipal law and was called "The Northern Liberties". In 1955, the city decided to widen Liberty Street to connect with Reading Road as an east-west crosstown access point for the interstate highway system. Buildings on the south side of the street were demolished and the street was widened from two to five lanes. As of 2019, efforts are underway to narrow Liberty Street to bridge the gap between these halves of the neighborhood.[24]
Over-the-Rhine, the site of the 2001 Cincinnati riots, became the city's most dangerous neighborhood by 2009. However, it has since seen intensive redevelopment efforts.[25] Private development corporations and city officials have begun to address the problems that come with a neighborhood with low employment and high crime rates. A neo-liberal urban renewal strategy encourages private corporations rather than the city government to take on renewing and updating this area.[26]
The Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation (3CDC) is a private, non-profit real-estate development and finance organization focused on revitalizing Cincinnati's urban core with the city government and local corporations. Its work is focused on the central business district and in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood. The organization is widely credited with revitalizing OTR.[27] The organization began as a full-service real estate developer, but has since branched out and produces more than 1,000 events per year[28] at the four civic spaces it manages: Fountain Square, Washington Park, Ziegler Park and Memorial Hall.[citation needed]
In July 2003, 3CDC was formed by former mayor of Cincinnati Charlie Luken and other corporate community members. This was a result of a recommendation by a City of Cincinnati Economic Development Task Force. Most funds are gathered through corporate contributions. In 2004, 3CDC accepted responsibility for overseeing Cincinnati New Markets Fund and Cincinnati Equity Fund. As of May 2018, those funds total over $250 million and have resulted in over $1.3 billion[29] invested in downtown and Over-the-Rhine real estate projects.[citation needed]
Over-the-Rhine has been praised for its collection of historic architecture. The New York Times described the neighborhood as having "a scale and grace reminiscent of Greenwich Village in New York."[30] Its architectural significance has also been compared to the French Quarter in New Orleans and the historic districts of Savannah, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina.[30][31] When Arthur Frommer, founder of the Frommer's travel guides, visited Over-the-Rhine he described it as the most promising urban area for revitalization in the United States, and claimed that its potential for tourism "literally could rival similar prosperous and heavily visited areas."[32][33]
Most of Over-the-Rhine's ornate brick buildings were built by German immigrants from 1865 to the 1880s.[30] The architecture of Over-the-Rhine reflects the diverse styles of the late nineteenth century—simple vernacular, muted Greek Revival, Italianate and Queen Anne.[34] Most of the buildings in Over-the-Rhine are one of these styles, but other motifs include the Art Deco American Building on Central Parkway; the Germania Building at Twelfth and Walnut streets, ironically one of the few examples of German ornamentation in the neighborhood; Music Hall, a mixture of styles best described as Venetian Gothic; a handful of buildings with Gothic architecture; and the new SCPA on Central Parkway, the most notable example of Modern architecture in the neighborhood.[5]
Noted Indianapolis architect Evans Woollen III and his architectural firm of Woollen, Molzan and Partners helped redevelop the historic neighborhood in the 1970s and 1980s. Woollen designed the Over-the-Rhine Pilot Center (1972–84), a group of four modern, mixed-use buildings within a two-block area.[35] The Pilot Center buildings included a recreational center, a senior citizens center, a Montessori school and daycare center, and a meeting and event space. Funding for the $2.5 million project came from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.[36]
In 2011 the Over-the-Rhine Foundation, which works to prevent historic building loss in OTR, won third place in the National Trust for Historic Preservation's nationwide "This Place Matters" community challenge.[37] In 2006 the National Trust for Historic Preservation listed the status of Over-the-Rhine as "Endangered."[34] Since 1930, about half of Over-the-Rhine'
