The Betts-Longworth Historic District in Cincinnati features two old buildings that have survived the wholesale demolition of the West End in the 1960s. These buildings were constructed in the late 19th century and have retained much of their historic craftsmanship, charm, and beauty. The building on the left features ornate woodwork and brickwork, but is missing its Italianate cornice. On the other hand, the building on the right has an ornately detailed stone facade and an intact cornice, along with a service Alley that is accessed via a small archway.
Unfortunately, the building next to these two was cleared sometime during the neighborhood’s decline, along with a large structure housing the Queen City Vocational Center blocking off the end of the street in the late 20th century. These buildings serve as an example as to why large-scale clearance of the West End was a big mistake. The city hasn’t learned its lesson and has opted to demolish a large part of Camp Washington in the 1990s for the widening of Hopple Street and South Fairmount in the past few years for the Lick Run project.
These projects are short-term and short-sighted, and will hurt those neighborhoods as the inner city becomes nicer. They will not have the amount of historic buildings available that some other neighborhoods do, putting them at a steep disadvantage and making them like the parts of the West End that went through urban renewal, rather than the Betts-Longworth District, which is desirable and has a largely intact set of historic buildings anchoring it.