Photograph courtesy Kenton County Public Library
Court Street Market
In 1829, tons of produce and livestock arrived in Cincinnati via the Erie Canal. A widened Court Street made room for an open-air market house, which was replaced after the Civil War. In the early 1910s, city officials attempted to condemn it several times. In 1915, those efforts were finally successful, and it was demolished.
Covington Markets
A series of markets served residents here. One on Park Place in the early 1800s was replaced with one on Seventh Street between Washington Street and Madison Avenue by mid-century. That spot was so successful, a two-story brick version built on the site in the 1880s stood until the 1930s. MainStrasse had its own market house in the middle of the Sixth Street promenade from 1860 to 1895.
Fifth Street Market
The gift of The Genius of Water spelled the end for this market between Vine and Walnut. City leaders wanted to get rid of what they considered an eyesore, but butchers occupying the market sued. When the state supreme court sided with the city in February 1870, groups of workers on standby reduced the market to rubble in 43 minutes, according to The Enquirer reporter on the scene.
Keller’s IGA
A staple in Clifton since 1939, its closing in 2011 (the state shut it down for non-payment of taxes and penalties) left neighbors high and dry. Clifton Market opened as a co-op in 2017, but financial difficulties didn’t go away. Members voted to sell the market to Gurmukh Singh, the owner of Elephant Walk, who closed on the sale in 2019 and continues to run the market today.
Norwood Market
City leaders built a market house at the corner of Mills and Walter avenues in 1912 to attract producers and shoppers. Unfortunately, it didn’t work—by 1919 it sat abandoned. Part of the building became the bathhouse for the municipal pool when it opened in Victory Park in 1921. While the building still stands, it has most recently been used as city storage.
Sixth Street Market
The Mill Creek Expressway—otherwise known as I-75—displaced not one but two markets along Sixth Street. The Jabez Elliot Flower Market occupied the block between Plum and Central from the 1890s until 1950, when it was razed for a parking lot. The rest of the market fell under the wrecking ball in early 1960.
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