The Hooper Building is a historic building in

downtown Cincinnati Downtown Cincinnati is one of the 52 List of Cincinnati neighborhoods, neighborhoods of Cincinnati, Ohio. It is the central business district of the city, as well as the economic and symbiotic center of the Cincinnati metropolitan area. Original ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. Built in 1893, the 7-story structure was designed by architect

Samuel Hannaford Samuel Hannaford (10 April 1835 – 7 January 1911) was an American architect based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Some of the best known landmarks in the city, such as Music Hall and City Hall, were of his design. The bulk of Hannaford's work was d ...

in the Queen Anne style. Located within the West Fourth Street Historic District, the building itself is also listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. The building is named for

William Hooper William Hooper (June 28, 1742 October 14, 1790) was an American Founding Father, lawyer, and politician. As a member of the Continental Congress representing North Carolina, Hooper signed the Continental Association and the Declaration of ...

, president of the

John Church Company The John Church Company Building is a historic commercial building in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. Designed by one of Cincinnati's most prominent architects, it was home to one of the country's leading vendors of sheet music and mu ...

, which was the building's first tenant. Built as a primarily commercial property, the structure was acquired by Bernstein Cos. in 2024, who announced plans to convert it into a residential building. The converted building is slated to open to residents in 2026.

Description and history

From its establishment until 1885, the

operated from premises at 66 W. 4th Street, selling musical instruments and printed music. It chose to move in 1885, and in 1893 it arranged for the construction of the present structure in the 100 block of 4th Street. The company's president was

at this time, and as such, the new building was given his name.Owen, Lorrie K., ed. ''Dictionary of Ohio Historic Places''. Vol. 1. St. Clair Shores: Somerset, 1999, 614. Built of brick on a

foundation Foundation(s) or The Foundation(s) may refer to: Common uses * Foundation (cosmetics), a skin-coloured makeup cream applied to the face * Foundation (engineering), the element of a structure which connects it to the ground, and transfers loads f ...

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

Ohio Historical Society Ohio History Connection, formerly The Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society and Ohio Historical Society, is a nonprofit organization incorporated in 1885. Headquartered at the Ohio History Center in Columbus, Ohio, Ohio History Connect ...

, 2007. Accessed 2013-11-26. the seven-

story Story or stories may refer to: Common uses * Narrative, an account of imaginary or real people and events ** Short story, a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting ** News story, an event or topic reported by a news orga ...

Hooper Building features a symmetrical facade designed in a variant of the Queen Anne style.Gordon, Stephen C., and Elisabeth H. Tuttle. '.

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

, 1978-12-11. Accessed 2013-11-26. Among its most prominent themes are its division into five

bays A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

on both the front and the western side, with the three central bays being recessed from the corners. On the top story, the normal

lintels A lintel or lintol is a type of beam (a horizontal structural element) that spans openings such as portals, doors, windows and fireplaces. It can be a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented/structural item. In the case of ...

give way to an

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated video, pinball, electro-mechanical, redemption, etc., game ** Arcade video game, a coin-operated video game ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade video game's hardware ** Arcad ...

decorated with limestone keystones carven in the shapes of scrolls. Masonry

courses Course may refer to: Directions or navigation * Course (navigation), the path of travel * Course (orienteering), a series of control points visited by orienteers during a competition, marked with red/white flags in the terrain, and corresponding ...

divide the building into several vertical components: the second and third stories are separated by a large beltcourse, while lintels are placed throughout the facade. In 1976, much of West 4th Street was designated a

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains historic building, older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal p ...

, the West Fourth Street Historic District, and added to the

. Although the district's boundaries did not include the Hooper Building, it was expanded eastward in 1979, and the Hooper was included as a

contributing property In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic dist ...

in the larger district. One year later, the building was individually listed on the Register, due to its well-preserved historic architecture. Dozens of other properties in Cincinnati, including the Brittany Apartment Building, were added to the Register at the same time as part of a

multiple property submission The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of sites, buildings, structures, districts, and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

of buildings designed by Samuel Hannaford. By 2024, the ground floor was occupied by two dining venues, though the office space in the building was mostly vacant. In May of that year, the building was purchased by

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

-based developer Bernstein Cos., who announced plans to convert the structure into a residential building. The plan, which was projected to cost $33.6 million, called for 102 market-rate apartment units, a gym, shared working space, and 150 storage units. Hooper Building residents would also have access to the common facilities of the nearby Textile Building, which Bernstein had converted into a residential property in 2022. In exchange, Textile Building residents would have access to the storage units in the Hooper Building. In November 2024, the

Cincinnati City Council The Cincinnati City Council is the lawmaking body of Cincinnati, Ohio. The nine-member city council is elected at-large in a single election in which each voter chooses nine candidates from the field. The nine top vote-getters win seats on the co ...

approved a 15-year tax abatement for the project. The following month, Bernstein received the full $3.35 million in tax credits that it requested from the Ohio Historic Tax Credit Program for the conversion. Bernstein was also granted $5.2 million from the federal government for

historic preservation Historic preservation (US), built heritage preservation or built heritage conservation (UK) is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance. It is a philos ...

. Bernstein hired HGC Construction as general contractor and the RDA Group as architect. Bernstein filed a commencement notice for the conversion on April 28, 2025. On May 1, Cincinnati issued a permit to convert the building into a

mixed-use Mixed use is a type of urban development, urban design, urban planning and/or a zoning classification that blends multiple uses, such as residential, commercial, cultural, institutional, or entertainment, into one space, where those functions ...

space, and construction began later that month. The conversion is scheduled to complete by summer 2026.

References

{{Samuel Hannaford and Sons TR Commercial buildings completed in 1893 National Register of Historic Places in Cincinnati Office buildings in Cincinnati Queen Anne architecture in Ohio Historic district contributing properties in Ohio Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio 1893 establishments in Ohio