If you want to feel like you're in Cincinnati without living in downtown Cincinnati, Hyde Park is a good choice. The center of the community is Hyde Park Square, a two-block area of Erie Avenue, full of retail shops and restaurants. It was initially a wealthy enclave when it was created in 1892, named after the fashionable Hyde Park neighborhood in New York City. Business bought up the land that would become Cincinnati's Hyde Park and then they did something they could never get away with today. They sold homes to their friends, family and anyone they deemed appropriate for the area -- and turned away those they didn't want. It's not a great way to begin a neighborhood, but the businessmen got what they wanted. Hyde Park is now one of Cincinnati's most prestigious and well-regarded neighborhoods.
It's a very centrally located community with a lot to offer its residents, like sidewalks, for easy jogging and walking. The Krohn Conservatory is nearby, and that's a fun place to go and commune with flowers, plants and butterflies. You're also close to the Cincinnati Art Museum and just about four miles away from everything that downtown offers. They also are next to Ault Park, which Cincinnati considers to be part of the neighborhood of Mount Lookout. Hyde Park residents insist that the popular park is theirs, but of course, anyone can go to the park, Hyde Park resident or not.
By Geoff Williams, FrontDoor.com | Published: 3/12/2009