Clifton is one of the most secure areas around Cincinnati, making it an excellent choice for anyone looking to live there, whether they are in school or working. Cincinnati State University, the University of Cincinnati, and the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine are all nearby, making this a great place to live for students, faculty, and staff. However, Clifton is much more than a college town. Single-family homes and apartments in the area are plentiful and reasonably priced, making them ideal for professionals and families looking to settle down.
The Ludlow Avenue Entertainment and Retail District is nearby. Clifton is located in the area around Clifton Avenue, north of Dixmyth Avenue, and about three miles north of the heart of Cincinnati. The area still contains a number of historically significant buildings and residences. The growth of the streetcar network in the 1880s and 1890s was a major factor in the development of Clifton. Corrryville and the CUF neighborhoods are frequently mistaken for Clifton, even by long-time residents.
In 1850, Clifton officially became a village. Clifton Farm, which was 1,200 acres in size, is the inspiration for the town’s name. The northern, more rural part of Clifton was dominated by nineteenth-century mansions with sprawling grounds of gardens, parkland, and woodlands. A series of gates and guardhouses led off Lafayette Avenue at regular intervals. Denser residential areas bordered the southerly expanding commercial corridor along Ludlow Avenue near its intersection with Clifton.
During his time as Superintendent of Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum in the 1850s, landscape architect Adolph Strauch designed the grounds of several estates that later became public parks, including Eden Park and the 89-acre Burnet Woods, formerly owned by Jacob Burnet.
Alexander McDonald’s baronial mansion, designed by Samuel Hannaford, the preeminent estate architect in later nineteenth-century Cincinnati, was demolished in the 1960s to make way for an annex to the Clifton School; today, only a 150-year-old yew tree on the grounds of Fairview-Clifton German Language School and the carriage house remain from the original estate.
In 1893, Clifton was absorbed by Cincinnati. Burnet Woods Park is now home to the University of Cincinnati. Clifton Heights, University Heights, Avondale, and Corryville are now home to the University in addition to Clifton itself. Clifton is a term used to describe the entire area, which actually consists of several different communities. Schools like Sacred Heart Academy in Clifton and Hebrew Union College, which is located close to the University, have added to the area’s intellectual and bohemian vibe.
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