Lower Price Hill’s historical value further depleted by fire

LOWER PRICE HILL - The fire erupted last night at 650 Neave St., and was contained—although debris landed in the backyards of nearby homes.

Eileen Gallagher has lived in her home with her husband, just two doors down from the fire, for 29 years.

“The building burned very rapidly. There were enormous plumes of fire,” said Gallagher of Thursday night’s Lower Price Hill fire.

But her concern lies with history lost in her neighborhood.

"It is principally a major loss of a beautiful building that was built circa 1885. And this area of Lower Price Hill is Cincinnati's largest single positioning on the National Historic Register, so naturally any building is a loss and too much of the housing stock has already been lost."

Gallagher’s home was built on 1870.

No one was injured in the fire that took more than 100 firefighters and two hours to get under control.

Crews tore what was left of the building down early Friday morning. Damage was estimated at $30,000 for the building and another $10,000 to an exposure building next door.

The Cincinnati Fire Department believes the fire was intentionally set, and is offering up to $5,000 reward.