Ransley Apartment Building

The Ransley Apartment Building is a historic apartment building in the Walnut Hills neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. Built in the 1890s, it was designed by one of Cincinnati's most important architects, and it has been named a historic site.

Ransley Apartment Building
Front of the building
Ransley Apartment Building is located in Ohio
Ransley Apartment Building
Ransley Apartment Building is located in the United States
Ransley Apartment Building
Location2390 Kemper Lane, Cincinnati, Ohio
Coordinates39°7′32″N 84°29′16″W
AreaLess than 1 acre (0.40 ha)
Built1895 (1895)
ArchitectSamuel Hannaford & Sons
Architectural styleVictorian, Romanesque Revival
MPSSamuel Hannaford and Sons TR in Hamilton County
NRHP reference No.80003079[1]
Added to NRHPMarch 3, 1980

During the late 19th century, S.C. and L.A. Ransley were a pair of businessmen in Cincinnati; by the 1890s, they owned a chain of three confectionery stores in various parts of the city. One of their properties was located along Kemper Lane on the southeastern corner of its intersection with McMillan Street, and it was here that they chose to erect a large new structure with plenty of residential space. To design the building, they chose prominent architect Samuel Hannaford,[2] the regionally famous architect celebrated for designing important city buildings such as City Hall and Music Hall.[3]: 12 

Three and a half stories tall,[2] the Ransley Apartment Building is built of both brick and stone;[4] the stonework is the ashlar of the first floor,[2] while the other floors are brick.[3]: 7  One enters the building through a recessed main doorway on the first floor, framed by a large stone archway; inscriptions "The Ransley" and "A.D. 1895" appear on and around the archway. Among the other major components of the design is a turret on the building's main corner, facing the intersection.[2] Although the building's architecture has been described as a generic "Victorian", many of its components evince clear Romanesque Revival themes.[3]: 7 

In early 1980, the Ransley was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, qualifying because of its historically significant architecture. It was part of a large group of Hannaford-designed buildings added to the Register together as a multiple property submission:[1] 55 buildings composed the whole group,[3]: 3  including 4 apartment buildings.[3]: 7 

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. Owen, Lorrie K., ed. Dictionary of Ohio Historic Places. Vol. 1. St. Clair Shores: Somerset, 1999, 656.
  3. Gordon, Stephen C., and Elisabeth H. Tuttle. National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Samuel Hannaford & Sons Thematic Resources. National Park Service, 1978-12-11.
  4. Ransley Apartment Building, Ohio Historical Society, 2007. Accessed 2013-12-15.
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