Henry Powell House | |
 Front of the house | |
   | |
| Location | 2209 Auburn Ave.,Cincinnati,Ohio |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 39°7′20″N84°30′31.5″W / 39.12222°N 84.508750°W /39.12222; -84.508750 |
| Area | 0 acres (0 ha) |
| Built | 1858 (1858) |
| Architect | Samuel Hannaford |
| Architectural style | Second Empire |
| Part of | Mount Auburn Historic District (ID73001464) |
| MPS | Samuel Hannaford and Sons TR in Hamilton County |
| NRHP reference No. | 80003076[1] |
| Added to NRHP | March 3, 1980 |
TheHenry Powell House is a historic house in the Mount Auburn neighborhood ofCincinnati,Ohio,United States. Constructed in the mid-19th century, it experienced a radical transformation near the end of the century under the direction of a leading regional architect. This French-style residence has been named ahistoric site.
William Powell established a Cincinnati metalworking firm in 1846 under the name of "Powell Valve and Brassworks Company". Among his sons was Henry Powell, who became wealthy enough to finance the construction of a larger and more ornate house. This residence, the present house,[2] was constructed in 1858.[1] At the time of construction, Powell's home was aGreek Revival structure, greatly different in appearance from its present form. Its structure was profoundly modified in an extensive reconstruction of 1882, performed according to a design by leading Cincinnati architectSamuel Hannaford; by replacing the old roof with amansard roof and adding a wooden porch, Hannaford destroyed the original Greek Revival styling and replaced it with theSecond Empire exterior that remains today.[3]: 5 The Powell House was reconstructed during Hannaford's longest period of independent practice: his reputation solidified by his design ofMusic Hall, Hannaford operated without partners from 1877 until 1887.[3]: 11 During this time, he produced many buildings in variousVictorian architectural styles.[3]: 3
Today, the Powell House is a brick building with stonefoundation and aslate roof, plus additional elements of brick and wood.[4] Threestories tall, the facade is divided into threebays, with the wooden porch extending across the entire width of the first story. More decorations are present on the porch than on any other sections of the exterior, due to components such as an exceptionalbalustrade and an unusually flat mansard roof featuring acornice withdentils; the structure comprises similar sides that differ substantially from the central section.[2]
In 1973, much of Mount Auburn was designated theMount Auburn Historic District and added to theNational Register of Historic Places. Thehistoric district embraced both sides of Auburn Avenue throughout the neighborhood,[1] and the Powell House was considered important enough to the district's integrity that it was designated acontributing property.[3]: 5 Although it was already part of the district, the house was added to the Register again in 1980, this time by itself;[1] it was part of a group of dozens of buildings designed by Samuel Hannaford, nominated as amultiple property submission due to their place as examples of the work of the most important architect to practice in nineteenth-century Cincinnati.[3]: 10
