Walking Cincinnati. Danny Korman

      Mount Auburn offers multiple sweeping views of the city below.

      BOUNDARIES: Sycamore St., Loth St., Wellington Pl., Highland Ave., Liberty Hill

      DISTANCE: 3.2 miles

      DIFFICULTY: Strenuous

      PARKING: On-street parking is available on Milton and Sycamore Streets.

      PUBLIC TRANSIT: Cincinnati Red Bike (cincyredbike.org) has nearby bicycle rental stations at 1422 Main St., 500 E. Liberty St. in Prospect Hill, and elsewhere. Metro buses (go-metro.com) serve this area.

      After watching Over-the-Rhine undergo a major transformation over the past decade, Cincinnati’s first hilltop neighborhood is poised for its moment on the revitalization stage. Mount Auburn, which saw virtually no new housing for decades, is now experiencing a rush of building rehabs and new construction. Thoughtful community leaders are making sure the neighborhood is home to people of all incomes, races, and ages. Mount Auburn, tucked between the still-booming Over-the-Rhine and growing Uptown neighborhoods, is made up of multiple parts. To the south is Prospect Hill, geographically more a part of Over-the-Rhine. To the east are streets with houses dating from 1870 to 1910. To the west is lower Mount Auburn, a somewhat forgotten area with an earlier building stock more closely related to Over-the-Rhine. In the middle is Auburn Avenue, the most visible symbol of the neighborhood’s efforts to sustain itself. Despite some architectural losses in recent years, Mount Auburn retains much of its 19th-century housing stock. While the area lacks an official business district, the Auburn Avenue Corridor Strategic Development Plan calls for Auburn Avenue to become the commercial center of the neighborhood.

      Walk Description

Our walk starts at Milton’s Prospect Hill Tavern, which clings to the steep corner of Sycamore and Milton Streets. Stop in if the climb up Sycamore Street and subsequent hillside streets proves too much. Walk up Sycamore past Boal Street, and cross at Mulberry Street. Take Mulberry to Main Street. On the right is the base of the Main Street Steps, which intersect with three streets above and eventually summit at Jackson Hill Park, which offers a sweeping panorama. Climb the steps here to see for yourself, and then descend the steps to return to Mulberry Street. This was originally the site of the Mount Auburn incline, opened in 1872.

Continue along Mulberry Street. Rehabs, gutted buildings, and new town houses stand close together. Incredible views open up over the city. Mulberry narrows as it nears Rice and Loth Streets on the right. Before beer baron Christian Moerlein moved to his final home on Ohio Avenue in Clifton Heights (Walk 7), he lived in the mansion at the northeast corner of Mulberry and Loth Streets from 1870 to 1882. The once fine Christian Moerlein House is currently a shell. The Greater Cincinnati Redevelopment Authority got involved with the house around 2012 when it faced demolition, funding the purchase and stabilization of the historic structure. Hopes remain high that the former mansion will find a new