Price Hill :: Overview

First Impression: Price Hill is an area with deep history, beautiful old architecture and long-standing traditions. Many of Price Hill’s treasures are hidden ones – for example, Echo Park affords one of the best (and least known) views of the city. Cincinnati’s only planned green community, Enright Ridge Urban Eco-Village, also has its home in Price Hill.

Second Look: Originally settled by wealthy individuals who wished to escape the crowded conditions of the inner city, Price Hill is now populated mostly by working class families. This contrast is representative of the neighborhood, which, though one of the oldest settlements in Cincinnati, seems to bear an identity that is constantly in flux. Price Hill is an area that is always remaking itself, and, though limited to a certain degree regarding economic resources, has one of the most hands-on citizenry in Cincinnati.

Price Hill residents have an extremely proactive approach to addressing the challenges in their neighborhood as well as creating a desirable space to live. This is evident from local organizations, such as Price Hill Will (which actively seeks to continuously improve six main facets of the community: arts, beautification, churches, eco-neighborhood, housing and safety) and Enright Ridge Urban Eco-Village, which includes 90 properties, nearly 200 acres of woods, the Cincinnati Zen Center, a 16-acre nature preserve with hiking trails and neighborhood co-ops.

One of Price Hill's claims to fame is "the incline," a cable railway (no longer in operation) opened in 1874 that made the hill more accessible - and which led to a huge population surge in the area, mostly in the form of Catholic German and Irish working class immigrants. This served as the foundation for the neighborhood (and the reason there are two prominent private Catholic girls-only and boys-only schools, Seton and Elder). In the 1940s and 50s Italian and Appalachian residents began to join the mix, and in recent years there has been a marked increase in African American and Hispanic residency, which has changed the face of the neighborhood (resulting, for example, in organizations like Bienestar, which works to provide Latinos with quality healthcare).

Rich with history and a progressive can-do attitude, Price Hill maintains the West Side values of family, tradition, religion and hard work ethic while demonstrating a strong individuality and grassroots approach to life that not only sets it apart as different from its other West Side neighbors, but also as unique from the rest of the city.