Mount Adams, Cincinnati

Mount Adams
Mt. Adams is a neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio.

Mount Adams in the summer, with downtown to the west.

Mt. Adams as viewed from downtown Cincinnati.

Mt. Adams is a geographic landmark and residential neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio, located directly east of downtown Cincinnati, south of Walnut Hills, south-west of East Walnut Hills, and west of the East End.

Mt Adams is surrounded by one of Cincinnati's finest parks—Eden Park, Cincinnati. The park borders the hill on three sides and gives residents a sense of removal from the hustle and bustle of the city. Located within the park is the Krohn Conservatory and one of Cincinnati's oldest water works projects, now part of the park. Mt. Adams landmarks include the Cincinnati Art Museum, Playhouse in the Park, Rookwood Pottery (now converted to a restaurant), Pilgrim Chapel, Holy Cross Monastery and the Immaculata Church.

Today, Mount Adams is popular among the 21+ age group for its assortment of bars and restaurants. As owners of some of the city's most sought-after real estate, the 1,600 residents of Mt. Adams have one of the highest per capita incomes in the city.

History

Mount Adams was originally known as Mount Ida.^[1] The namesake was from Ida Martin, a washerwoman who lived in the hollow of an old sycamore tree located on a steep hill.^[1]

In 1830 the area, which was largely considered a useless wasteland,^[1] was owned by Nicholas Longworth.^[1] During the 1830s and 1840s Longworth cultivated the Catawba grapes, which were used in making his champagne known as Golden Wedding.

Allegedly to increase his property value Longworth donated a portion of the hilltop to the Cincinnati Astronomical Society for an observatory.^[1] When the observatory opened in 1843 it owned the most powerful telescope of its kind.^[2] The hill was renamed Mount Adams in honor of President John Quincy Adams, who delivered the observatory's dedication address.^[2] The observatory is still in operation today, though in 1871 it was moved to its current location in Mount Lookout due to excessive smoke from downtown buildings.^[2] The old observatory later became the Holy Cross Monastery and expanded, but closed in 1977. The monastery is now used for commercial office space.

Although Cincinnati was largely Presbyterian in its early history, Mount Adams was originally a strongly Catholic community. The first Protestant church of any denomination to be founded in that neighborhood was Pilgrim Presbyterian Church on Ida Street, near the Ida Street Viaduct.^[3]

During the American Civil War two artillery emplacements were installed on the hill to help defend the city from the Confederacy.^[1] One was installed at Fort View Place and the other near the present location of the Playhouse in the Park.^[1] Neither gun was ever fired.^[1]

The Mount Adams Incline was completed in 1872 and linked downtown Cincinnati with the hilltop community. Around that time the hill became occupied by a working-class blue-collar population.^[1]. The Incline was closed in 1948.

Then in 1892 Maria Longworth, daughter of Nicholas Longworth, opened Rookwood Pottery.^[2] Her work is still collected today by many and highly sought after.^[2]

In the late 1960s people began to redevelop the hilltop, the neighborhood attracted many downtown workers, who wanted to live near their work.

Images

• 

  The Pavilion (a bar)

• 

  Monastery St

• 

  Homes lining a hilly street

• 

  The Blind Lemon (a bar)

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i} Hopkins, John (September 1, 1997). "Urban islanders enjoy 'paradise'". Cincinnati Enquirer. http://homefinder.cincinnati.com/closetohome/cth_mtadams_090197.html. Retrieved 2009-01-11. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d e} Mount Adams Today, Mount Adams History. Retrieved on 2009-01-11
3. ^ Owen, Lorrie K., ed. Dictionary of Ohio Historic Places. Vol. 1. St. Clair Shores: Somerset, 1999, 649.

External links

• Mt. Adams Strategic Plan
• Mt. Adams map
• Passionist Monastery, "Holy Cross Retreat", Mt. Adams, circa 1896
• Mt Adams Today
• Mt Adams History

Coordinates: 39°06′33″N 84°29′46″W / 39.10917°N 84.49611°W / 39.10917; -84.49611