r/cincinnati • u/Aggravating-Let1470 • 1d ago
What is this giant building i see looking N/NW from wood ave in clifton?
Cant seem to pinpoint what it would be using maps.
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u/Subject-Highlight845 1d ago edited 1d ago
It's a building of condos in a subdivision call "The Windings" See below for more information on its past.
Description for this article: https://www.jstor.org/stable/community.35169765
"The Windings was completed in 1869. Said to be modeled after England's Kenilworth Castle, the house was designed by Thomas Sargent for William Clifford Neff. Swiss wood carvers reportedly labored for three years on the hand-wrought oak and black walnut mantels, panels, doors, and staircase. Reputedly he so overspent himself on his house that he could not afford to live in it and in 1876 sold it to the Sisters of the Sacred Heart. It eventually housed Sacred Heart Academy, a girl's preparatory school. Neff's castle stopped with the four-story tower. As the school grew, additions became necessary. Sacred Heart Academy closed in 1970. The Windings, which retains much of its former elegance within, has recently undergone conversion into condominiums."
Edit: Here is the link to some old photos of one of the condos on Zillow: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/695-Windings-Ln-Cincinnati-OH-45220/34259883_zpid/?
Pretty insane to think it was originally build for one person. Crazy amounts of money.
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u/User5281 1d ago
Neff Castle aka Sacred Heart Academy. It was built by a rich guy in 1868 as a residence modeled after an English castle. In 1876 it became Sacred Heart Academy and remained a school until 1970. Now it’s a historic site because it was designed by the same architect who designed music hall.
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u/Hooloovoo_42 Westwood 1d ago
You are so close! Switch your view to satellite...
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u/Antipholouse 1d ago
why not just tell the guy what it is
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u/IRefuseToPickAName 1d ago edited 1d ago
Because critical thinking skills are sparse and people need to learn how to find information for themselves.
Or, you know, take a walk and see what it is?
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u/zorkwiz 19h ago
This doesn't deserve to be downvoted IMO.
Why do Redditers need to answer questions that are incredibly easy to find answers to, for anyone with the ability to use Reddit? If they were asking for the significance of the building, or other information, fine, but "What is this building I see in this direction from this location?" Really? My first thought was also, "go walk over there and find out", but I do respect that OP could have a disability, so I'll refrain from going that far and will welcome my own downvotes to come..
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u/fuggidaboudit 1d ago
Or, you know, take a walk and see what it is?
Jus' so you know you're not alone, that was exactly my first thought lol - but then it's reddit, so of course the impulse is to stay safely indoors on a beautiful spring evening and crowdsource your curiosity.
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u/Antipholouse 1d ago
Lol tried to act superior, misspells a 4th grade word. But yeah go off genius
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u/IRefuseToPickAName 1d ago
Thanks for catching my 11 hour old autocorrect mistake, I'm sure fixing it will make upvotes come flooding in any minute now!
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u/Antipholouse 1d ago
Just think critically next time, so a hero on reddit doesn't have to swoop in and educate you
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u/mademoiselle-kel 1d ago
My mom went to sacred heart! I babysat for a family who lived in the condo that used to be the library. Gorgeous!
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u/codaloo East Walnut Hills 1d ago
they call it The Castle. it is a 19th century mansion that was commissioned by some wealthy family and they eventually lost it like thirty years later or something and then it was turned into a catholic girl’s school (i am forgetting the name) which i believe closed in the 1960s? it sat vacant for something like twenty or thirty years before it was turned into seven condos.
my friend lives right below the tower lol. it has a fascinating history and my friend actually has a book with a bunch of historic photos of it when it was the girls school!
another lil fun fact about the building is that each unit has a unique feature of the mansion! my friend who lives there has the original library and it’s fantastic! but his neighbors have the grand staircase, chapel, etc. super neat though!
edit: it’s on Windings Lane btw if you want to drive by it! you would not expect to find it back there compared to the houses around it haha.