Pretty. Nothing spectacular but neat. I was looking for things to do local in Cincinnati that are…read morefree and this came up as a option.

Commonly known as the Channel 9 castle, you won't find armored knights protecting our local news…read morestation. Elsinore Castle was erected in 1883 by the Cincinnati Waterworks to house a valve for water to be transported to Eden Park. The company was interested in enhancing the view of the park, and this location was the former main entrance. The castle was built be renown architect Samuel Hanneford, modeled after Kronberg Castle, which was featured in a local play of Hamlet. The real Kronberg Castle can be found in Denmark. When the Cincinnati Art Museum opened in 1886, stairs were placed at the base of Elsinore Castle. The steps were too steep to ever become popular and the Elsinore Castle soon lost its appeal as an entrance to Eden Park. A mere 100 years later, it was integrated into the landscaping of Channel 9 and is seen more as a landmark of the news station than of the park. Set alongside Gilbert Avenue, the public can still stop and photograph the castle, however it was sadly never used for anything magical, like kings and armored battle. Viewing Time: 15 minutes

Fairytale-like house [Cincinnati OH]…read more We couldn't just drive-by this whimsical house without stopping and doing a double take... and staring. This is the Mushroom House in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Cincinnati. The amount of detail is really breathtaking: circular steel steps, deck rails of wood shingles, stained glass windows, tiled ceilings... of course, I had to snap some pics. How often do we come to Cin City. The original owner/builder by the name of Terry Brown has passed away in 2008. The house is currently not on the market and occupied as a private residence as of 2021. Here are the deets in Zillow: 1 beds, 1 baths, 1,260 sq-ft. If you are curious about the inside of the home you can click on this link and watch it on YouTube: https://youtu.be/pVUFwH9Q6fk Review #3885

A cute spot for a quick stop and to admire! There's no indoor access, but seeing the outside…read moredetails was an experience in itself (plus the garden).

Wow.... How have I never heard of this place? Gorgeous grounds, amazing architecture, you'll feel…read morelike you are in Europe or at least anywhere other than Cincinnati. Marble everywhere, gold leaf, gilded pianos, African wood paneled walls... This place oozes suave and sophistication like the Dos Equis fellow. Every nook and cranny of this place is well maintained and will be perfect for whatever event you attend. The staff are very easy to work with and I've since heard this echoed by others that have used this location formerly owned by the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Donald "Buddy" Larosa, and most recently the Moyer family who are the current caretakers. Another fun fact, this is the highest point in Hamilton County. Enough history! According to their website they offer tours, but I am not sure as their calendar did not seem to be current. So give them a call and see what is available http://www.laurelcourt.com/contact.html

Working with Laurel Court has been such a positive experience for my business and clients…read more The grounds & estate architecture is simply exquisite and Judy truly goes above and beyond to serve her couples throughout the planning process and on the day of the event! Natalie Rice Owner & Lead Planner Natalia's Event Planning

Did you know Cincinnati is home to the World's Largest Unfinished Subway System?…read more In 1916, Cincinnatians had a dream: to relieve traffic congestion and improve health concerns by creating a rapid transit system underneath present day Central Parkway. Originally part of the Miami-Erie Canal, the unused waterway was drained, dug out by horse-and-plow, then filled in with concrete. The plan was to create a 16-mile loop of mass transit around the city, stretching from Race Street at Central Parkway, to Clifton, Norwood, Oakley, then back Downtown. The project progressed for ten years then came to a halt after a change in political leaders and financial troubles. The completed portion included six stations along a route spanning from Downtown to Norwood. In 1928, the Cincinnati Subway project was officially abandoned. Over the years, people tried to revive the subway system as well as proposing other uses for it, such as: a wine cellar, a mushroom farm, an aeronautic wind tunnel, and an entertainment venue similar to Underground Atlanta. The Cincinnati Subway is still in tact today. Two miles of tunnels are located underneath Central Parkway between Race Street to just north of the Western Hills Viaduct. Three of the stations remain; the other three were demolished in the 1950s to make way for I-75. While the concrete structure is complete, no rails, electricity, or trains were ever installed. The structure itself is in good condition, especially for being almost 100 years old. While it is off-limits to the public, Cincinnati Museum Center gives an annual tour of the subway in May; an excellent opportunity to go exploring in our city's deepest secret. The tunnels have the potential to be used for modern-day rail transit, with a few improvements, of course.

If you are in the area this is worth a visit. There is a small parking lot and parking is free. The…read moreadmission fee can be paid via cash or card. There is a short video that tells you about the property and then you can tour. Everything is completely dog friendly but some areas do have steep steps. The employees were kind and ensured any questions we had were answered.

The castle, along with the road to get here, can be treacherous. Take extreme caution when visiting…read moreand don't visit on a stormy day! There's a $5 cover charge per person and the gravel parking lot isn't huge. But if you do manage to visit, it's really a treat! I love the stones embedded in the walls from all over the world. The layout is also really interesting, given the spy hole and ladder.

Beautiful views of the river and the city. It was clean and close to everything. No matter what…read moretime of the day it is amazing.

What a beautiful area…read more There's a gorgeous walk about the area, not far from the bridge, and a greenspace with a little lending library and a collection of bronze statues that over look the Ohio River.

This is a really impressive monument that was completed in 1906. The names etched in the marble…read morewalls on the inside of the monument consequently end with the Spanish American War, but the wonderful staff set up rotating displays that acknowledge later individuals involved in later conflicts. There was a very interesting and moving display related to the Vietnam War at the time of our visit. The staff was incredibly friendly and informative, and we learned quite a bit. There are stunning stained glass windows, including tributes to the women who were involved in the conflicts, more displays upstairs, and a ghost story. Information about the large sculpture on the roof of Billy Yank is also provided and quite interesting (and wow, is that sculpture large and heavy!). This was free to enter and well worth the time. It has a nice location along the river and there is a historic cabin located outside next door, as the area had a lot to do with early fort and settlers.

This was a really cool site to see while traveling in the area. The main attraction is a replica of…read morethe tomb Jesus was buried in with stones from the Jordan river and Solomon. It's hidden away behind an apartment building up a steep hidden road. Overall, if you are nearby stop by for a little religious history

I visited this place based on my Roadside America App (great app for finding weird and unusual…read morestuff on and off the beaten path). It is beautiful and we enjoyed the visit of the things on the property as well as the view of Cincinnati from the property. Upon posting my photos on Facebook in an album dedicated to the places I visit based on the app, I was reported to Facebook and my photos removed. The only thing I can think is they didn't like my skepticism of their claim that angels showed up at night and built the big cross. I was skeptical also of stones claiming to have come from The Good Samaritan Inn. But with further research I realized this could be true. If they had contacted me to discuss the issues rather than having facebook remove an entire post I spent half an hour working on and tagging, I'd have given them five stars. I did ask if it was "earth angels". That I would have believed. So, Five for the garden itself. One for the folks running the Facebook page. As the Roadside App says, it is worth a stop. Just post only positives or you could go to Facebook jail.

Harriet Beecher Stowe is known for her book Uncle Tom's Cabin. Her living quarters are actually…read moreavailable to tour . On the tour you will be guided both inside and around the grounds and learn about Harriet and her home life.I'm glad these historical markers still exist so that we can get a small window into the past . I visited this location in July 2023 as part of a translantic tour of the Underground Railroad.

There are places I see on my travel where I roll my eyes at paying admission, but then there's…read morelittle gems like the Harriet Beecher Stowe House where I want to support them and keep it running. I'm a big fan of Civil Rights and the Underground Railroad, plus I'm a writer, so everything about this was right up my alley. It was very educational, there were a lot of interesting artifacts. I would highly recommend it! Just be mindful of the hours! I was here on a work trip and almost missed out. After the event I hauled balls to the Harriet Beecher Stowe house. It closed at 2 p.m. and according to my gps I was going to get there at 1:55 p.m. I didn't give up. I went anyway. When I showed up I wasn't alone. There were three women who were part of a book club that drove all the way from Yorktown, Ohio to see the museum. After ringing and banging on the door, an elderly, slender black man appeared. After some convincing by one of the ladies, he agreed to a tour. Woohoo! How very kind and generous. "How I wish you could see Walnut Hills...the road to it is as picturesque as you can imagine a road to be...Much of the wooding is beech of a noble growth. The straight, beautiful shafts of these trees as one looks up the cool greens..." - Harriet to a friend, 1833 Uncle Tom's Cabin was first published in installments in the antislavery newspaper, The National Era. Readers breathlessly awaited new installments, so when it appeared as a book in 1852, the novel became an immediate bestseller. In its first year, it sold an astonishing 300,000 copies! It was by far the best-selling novel of the 19th century. Readers found Stowe's representation of the horrors of slavery to be both thrilling and troubling. The novel was the first of its kind to use the platform of race, religion and womanhood as a rallying cry for change. Stowe's melodramatic representation of innocent, God-fearing slaves being abused by evil, God-less slave-owners touched the hearts of Northern readers. Stowe fueled the abolitionist cause by asserting that Christian love could overcome the evils of slavery. With the publication of the novel, Stowe added her name to a growing list of writers who used the written word to change the world. Most of the furniture in the home is not actually furniture used by the Beecher family but it is from the time period. There is a desk, however, that was actually owned by Beecher's father. The house is original. It has been added on to, though. It was originally in an L shape. I was lucky to see an exhibit of clay sculptures by Raymond Lane, Jr., focusing on Harriet Tubman's work on the underground railroad, which were temporarily at the facility. All in all, good palace to go! If you're in Cincinnati, don't miss this! It's not expensive, doesn't take long and it's valuable history!