An unexpected climb on Liberty Hill

Liberty Hill, or Prospect Hill Historic District – neither name says much about its history. Located on a hillside outside downtown Cincinnati, this district is more known for the unexpected sight of a stairway leading you up the hill than anything else. The city's roller coaster called Coney Island controls the western part of the district, while the bustling downtown lies in the north, but Liberty Hill stands as the most unique neighborhood in the city.

This district is different from Cincinnati's other neighborhoods. When the terrain proved unfit for construction, the planners came up with a solution: paper streets and brick steps. So, Liberty Hill is a maze of steps and back alleys running into each other. Some of the streets, like Morrill Avenue or Creighton Street, cut sharply into the hillside, requiring retaining walls along lot fronts. These walls, constructed primarily of stone, support original iron fences and contribute to the character of the district. The open space between lots reflects the fact that the land was too irregular for construction purposes.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons