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Central Business District in Cincinnati in Hamilton County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
 

Bottoms

 
 
Bottoms Marker (Side A) image. Click for full size.
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., October 31, 2009
1. Bottoms Marker (Side A)
Inscription.
A Neighborhood That No Longer Exists
Cincinnati is a city of neighborhoods. One of them is very, very special—because it is no longer there. The Bottoms: a dense urban neighborhood full of churches, full of people. It ran from the River to Sixth Street, from Walnut Street east to the foot of Mt. Adams.

It included many wonderful historic buildings, like the Pennsylvania Railroad Station, the Spencer House Hotel, and the Pearl Street Market, all of which no longer exist.

——————
In Its Heyday
The Bottoms was in its heyday from the turn of the century until the mid-30's.

The neighborhood was full of families raising their children: Lebanese families, Irish families, Jewish, Chinese, Japanese, German and Italian families. Cincinnati's version of the United Nations. Children who didn't have grass, who didn't have trees, but who had the ever-present Ohio River, who had Putman's Ice Cream Store, and all the delights and curiosities of crowded urban streets.

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Parishes Vanished into History
There were churches everywhere in The Bottoms, most of them Catholic. Only one Catholic church is still there: St. Xavier, on Sycamore between Sixth and Seventh. St. X included a grade school,
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a commercial school for girls, a boys' high school and Xavier University (until 1920). Some of the girls attended Notre Dame Academy, which was on Sixth, right behind the grade school.

Sacred Heart, the Italian church, was located at Sixth and Broadway. You can see a picture of it as it stands today on the Camp Washington panel, because that's where it is now. St. Anthony of Padua, the Lebanese church, stood on Third Street, between Lawrence and Broadway. Today, it's on Victory Parkway between Taft and McMillan, in Walnut Hills.

Four other Catholic churches don't exist at all. St. Philomena, a German church, which was first located on Pearl between Pike and Butler, and then moved a block north to Third Street, is now gone—though there are still memories of the time its steeple fell over on the candy store. The Church of the Atonement and St. Ann's, both Irish churches, stood on Third and Fourth Streets, respectively, between Main and Walnut. St. Thomas, yet another Irish church, stood on the north side of Sycamore at Cuts Alley, between Fifth and Sixth Streets. No traces remain.

Other churches have also disappeared: the Pentacostal church on Third between Sixth and Broadway; the Methodist church on Pearl between Pike and Lawrence; the A.M.E. Allen Temple, now in Roselawn, then at Sycamore and Broadway; and perhaps best loved, Wesley Chapel between
Bottoms Marker (Side B) image. Click for full size.
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., October 31, 2009
2. Bottoms Marker (Side B)
Sycamore and Broadway on Fifth. It is now located on East McMicken in Over-the-Rhine. Only the Christ Church still stands, and it is no longer the Gothic-spired building of those years, but a contemporary design.

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A Legacy that Continues
More than simply buildings made The Bottoms what it was, and much of good from that life has come down to us. The expectation that children could be sent from there to the Emery Theater at Central Parkway and Walnut to rehearse and act in operettas, and be sent safely, continues today in our life as a safe city, particularly downtown.

The way the gatekeeper at the Taft's house watched out for kids in the neighborhood continues here, where we have never ceased to be our brother's and sister's keeper. And the tradition of private caring, as evidenced by the generous work of Cincinnati Union Bethel with the poorest children of The Bottoms, continues all over Greater Cincinnati, wherever need exists.

Did You Know...

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People in The Bottoms knew who had won an election, because lights on top of the Carew Tower would flash green for a Democrat, and red for a Republican. There were always bid bonfires on election day.

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The Pearl Street Market Bank was
Lytle Park Markers image. Click for full size.
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr.
3. Lytle Park Markers
Lightpoles from the Cincinnati Reds' Great American Ballpark are in distance.
the first bank in town to go broke, which it did early in the 20's, long before the Depression.

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What is now the Academy of Medicine on Broadway had been through several incarnations. Built by the parents of Federal Court Judge Druffel, it became an American Legion Hall where wedding receptions were often held.

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The north side of Pearl Street, around the Market, was often closed after 6 p.m., so the neighborhood kids would have a clear space to play.

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A roast beef on rye was 15 cents at Naglan's Family Saloon.

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Mike Mullen, Irish ward boss of The Bottoms, took the whole ward from Democrat to Republican when he switched parties in 1897. He was known as Boss Cox's personal representative on City Council, and lived on Pike Street, where all the famous people lived.

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Putman's Ice Cream Store has become the well-known Lykins Candies.

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What was known as the Screw and Tap Company at Second and Main became Cincinnati Milling Machine, then Cincinnati Milacron.

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Each railroad had its own station until the
Map of Landmarks on Bottoms Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., October 31, 2009
4. Map of Landmarks on Bottoms Marker
Union Terminal was built. One of the most beautiful was the Pennsylvania Railroad Station in The Bottoms.

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All but the Irish were buried from Fuldner's Funeral Home. They were to Gilligan's, on Broadway between Fifth and Sixth.

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Pearl Street, around the Market, included a lot of famous Cincinnati names. The Lindner brothers had an ice cream store at Pearl and Broadway. Buddy LaRosa had a produce store at Pearl and Sycamore. And the first Kroger store was on Pearl between the two.

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Roy Rogers, born and raised in The Bottoms, once played his guitar on the public landing when the Island Queen and the Island Maid, which went back and forth to Coney Island, were loading and unloading, as a way to earn money.

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A life sized statue of Christopher Columbus once stood at Sixth and Broadway.
 
Erected by the Greater Cincinnati Bicentennial Commission.
 
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Charity & Public WorkChurches & ReligionEducation
Photo on Bottoms Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., October 31, 2009
5. Photo on Bottoms Marker
Caption reads "The Pennsylvania Railroad Station, built at Pearl and Butler Streets, stood until the opening of the Union Terminal."
Settlements & SettlersWaterways & Vessels. In addition, it is included in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1897.
 
Location. 39° 6.046′ N, 84° 30.238′ W. Marker is in Cincinnati, Ohio, in Hamilton County. It is in the Central Business District. Marker is on the plaza near the SSW corner of Lytle Park, about 225 feet ESE of the intersection of East 4th Street and Ludlow Street. The marker is about 150 feet east of the Guilford Building, 421 East 4th Street. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Cincinnati OH 45202, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Lytle Park (a few steps from this marker); Famous Lytle Neighbors (a few steps from this marker); A Beginning . . . (a few steps from this marker); Fort Washington (within shouting distance of this marker); The Taft Museum (within shouting distance of this marker); Cincinnati's First Playground (within shouting distance of this marker); President William Howard Taft (within shouting distance of this marker); "Lincoln - The Man" (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Cincinnati.
 
Also see . . .
Photo on Bottoms Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., October 31, 2009
6. Photo on Bottoms Marker
Caption reads "Mealtime at the Cincinnati Union Bethel Day Care Center. Union Bethel provided important social services in The Bottoms. One member of the Committee which produced this panel is in the picture."

1. The Bottoms Was Once Cincinnati's Gateway. Cincinnati Magazine website entry (Submitted on May 25, 2022, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York.) 

2. Smale Park's beginnings, from the Bottoms up. Cincinnati Enquirer website entry (Submitted on May 25, 2022, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York.) 
 
Additional commentary.
1. St. Anthony of Padua
St. Anthony's church was between Ludlow and Broadway on Third, not between Lawrence and Broadway, as it says on the marker. I lived on Ludlow ’til they tore all the buildings down. I was born on Pike Street.
    — Submitted November 20, 2011, by Winifred Rothwell Jensen of Lamesa, Capigsey.
 
Photo on Bottoms Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., October 31, 2009
7. Photo on Bottoms Marker
Caption reads "The founders of Cincinnati Union Bethel, circa 1905."
Photo on Bottoms Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., October 31, 2009
8. Photo on Bottoms Marker
Caption reads "The first Cincinnati Union Bethel headquarters, on the right."
Photo on Bottoms Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., October 31, 2009
9. Photo on Bottoms Marker
Caption reads "Mike Mullen Day (also called Irish Day) at Coney Island, about 1905. Matthew Normile, the father of the family, was president of the original Duckworth Democratic Club, and chairman of Irish Day. George 'Shorty' Normile, top right, later played for the Pittsburgh Pirates."
Photo on Bottoms Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., October 31, 2009
10. Photo on Bottoms Marker
Caption reads "The first Good Samaritan Hospital, formerly the old Marine Hospital, at Sixth and Lock Streets, near the Mt. Adams Incline."
Photo on Bottoms Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., October 31, 2009
11. Photo on Bottoms Marker
Caption reads "The Spencer House, at Front and Broadway, was one of many elegant hotels in The Bottoms."
Photo on Bottoms Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., October 31, 2009
12. Photo on Bottoms Marker
Caption reads "Xavier University and St. Xavier High School areound 1910."
Photo on Bottoms Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., October 31, 2009
13. Photo on Bottoms Marker
Caption reads "Roy Rogers, born and raised in The Bottoms, once played his guitar on the public landing when the Island Queen and the Island Maid, which went back and forth to Coney Island, were loading and unloading, as a way to earn money."
Photo on Bottoms Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., October 31, 2009
14. Photo on Bottoms Marker
Caption reads "Merrell Chemical Company stood at the corner of Fifth and Pike Streets. This view looks across to Mt. Adams from that corner before Columbia Parkway was built. Merrell's landscaping created one of the few green spots in the neighborhood."
Photo on Bottoms Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., October 31, 2009
15. Photo on Bottoms Marker
Caption reads "Christ Church as it stood at the turn of the century."
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on February 4, 2023. It was originally submitted on November 29, 2009, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania. This page has been viewed 4,222 times since then and 231 times this year. It was the Marker of the Week February 12, 2012. Photos:   1, 2. submitted on December 2, 2009, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.   3. submitted on November 27, 2009, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.   4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15. submitted on December 2, 2009, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.

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Mar. 28, 2024