Exhibit

From Tenements to Townhouses: Multi-Family Housing in Cincinnati
at The Betts House April 17 – September 30, 2010

From Tenements to Townhouses: Multi-Family Housing in Cincinnati explores an often-overlooked area of history. Today, most people have experienced apartment life; yet a century ago, apartment living was considered immoral by many people. The exhibit will examine the physical structures and social context of multi-family housing in Cincinnati and how it evolved over the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Cincinnati has numerous architecturally distinctive multi-family buildings built by talented local designers, as well as some associated with architects of national reputation. Whether in the central business district, streetcar suburbs, factory neighborhoods or close-in suburban communities, these buildings represent a remarkable variety of architectural styles and hosted a diverse array of residents.

The historic rowhouses and apartments in Cincinnati represent a thriving city with a remarkably diverse transit system including, at various times, streetcars, inclines and cable railways, as well as the nation's largest interurban network. Some were experiments in enlightened city planning and progressive responses to social problems and hard times. As a tool for modern development, they provide a template for re-populating and re-densifying the city, and more sustainable, less-auto-centric ways of life.

From Tenements to Townhouses is curated by Margo Warminski, the Preservation Director of the Cincinnati Preservation Association. She was the primary author of the 2002 book, Historic Resources of Boone County, Kentucky, published by the Boone County Historic Preservation Review Board. In addition, Ms. Warminski was curator of the 2006 Betts House exhibit, Endangered Cincinnati: Can These Buildings Be Saved?, which won an Education Award from the Ohio Historical Society.

From Tenements to Townhouses will be on view at The Betts House April 17 through September 30, 2010. The Betts House is open Tuesday through Thursday, 11 am – 2 pm, and the following Saturdays, 12:30 – 5 pm: April 17, May 8 and 22, June 5 and 19, July 10 and 24, August 14 and 28, and September 11 and 25. Other days and times are also available by appointment.

In conjunction with the exhibit, The Betts House will present lectures on Over the Rhine Tenements and Rowhouses and a walking tour of historic multi-family housing in Walnut Hills. The lectures will be held at The Mercantile Library on May 13 and June 3 and are co-presented by The Mercantile Library and the Architectural Foundation of Cincinnati. The walking tour will take place May 22 and is co-presented by the Architectural Foundation of Cincinnati.

This exhibit is made possible, in part, by grants from The Louise Taft Semple Foundation and the Bettman Prize administered by AIA Cincinnati, and sponsorships from LPK, Blue Ocean Developers, York Vision, and anonymous donors. The public programs held in conjunction with the exhibit are sponsored by The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America in the State of Ohio.