Located at 15th and Race, Over-the-Rhine’s St. Paulus Kirche is the oldest standing Protestant church in the city and the second oldest church in Cincinnati. Recently, I snapped the above “action shot” of what’s left of its steeple.
The structure is currently being stabilized. For more on that as well as some shots of the interior, check out the article Divine Inspiration: New Uses for Old Churches.
Below are photos I took a few years ago. I seem to remember reading in an OTR history book that the congregation was running out of funds to finish construction and decided to incorporate ground-level retail into the church to help with financing. Can anyone verify or correct that?
CityKin took this photo of the church right after the crazy winds we sustained in Sep 08, when this building seemed possibly doomed to demolition:
For more, see photos of the 2008 windstorm damage and also old photos of the church. How is this structure holding up after the almost-tornado we had a couple of nights ago?
Cincinnati: Over the Rhine (1987) says the church was established in 1850, those guys left in 1950 to merge with a German Evangelical church in Western Hills & a new UCoC church was established there. It then says the church established the drugstore. it’s not clear which church that was. Kinda guessing the 1950s church.
The drugstore WAS built into the original structure in 1850. I’ve met congregants of St Peter and Paul (at Ferguson and Montana) whose ancestors established this church an they attest to this.
I thought so! I remember reading that a while back and thinking that it was really innovative financing for its time. I can’t remember which OTR book mentioned this.
Anyone know how the building survived this last storm?
Any idea how long the drug store stayed in business?
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I know this is an old post but here is some information on the drugstore and the family that ran it for many years.
http://diggingcincinnati.blogspot.com/2012/01/what-do-these-have-in-common.html
Wow, awesome!
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