Mount Lookout :: History
The hilly eastern community of Mt. Lookout, which was annexed to the city of Cincinnati in 1870, was once called Delta. The name became Mt. Lookout from the "lookout" at the Cincinnati Observatory, which was moved into the neighborhood from Mt. Adams. The Observatory, now designated as a National Historic Landmark, sits on property donated by John Kilgour, a wealthy Cincinnati banker.
Some of the property in the area was reportedly first surveyed by George Washington, and much of the area was put to use as vineyards. A rail line operated in the area between 1873 and 1897. A combination post office and rail station was at the west end of Mt. Lookout Square until 1958, when it was replaced by the Gasoline Service Station.
Our Lord Christ the King Parish Church began in 1926 in a rented room, and the Cardinal Pacelli School was erected in 1936.
An important contribution to the Mt. Lookout neighborhood is Ault Park, named in memory of Ida May Ault and her husband, Levi Addison Ault, a former Park Commissioner. They donated the initial tract of land in 1911, donating around 30 acres of former vineyard land in all. The Pavilion was dedicated in 1930.
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