Crosley Building

*** PRIVATE PROPERTY - PLEASE ADMIRE FROM THE OUTSIDE! *** The Crosley Building is a ten story light industrial facility located in the Camp Washington neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio. Throughout it's long history, it has been home to the design and manufacture of Crosley cars, radios, and refrigerators (amongst other things). The studios of WLW and a handful of other broadcasting stations owned by the Crosley Corp. were also housed on the top floors of this building. Throughout the last half of the past century the Crosley Corporation has dissipated, and so too has their flagship facility. Built to house the headquarters of the Crosley Corporation in 1928, the Crosley Building was a state-of-the-art facility. Samuel Hannaford and Sons were responsible for the design of the building. The famous architect had retired in 1904 and passed away in 1911, leaving the firm behind to his sons. They carried on his legacy, and adapted their style to fit the popular trends of the time and requests of the clients. The ornamentation of the Crosley Building is based upon the art deco style, a very new and trendy style in the late 1920's; this detailing is visible on what is left of the street level facade, as well as on the tower. The lower floors of the building originally served as manufacturing and production facilities for Crosley radios and other appliances. Aside from this building, an adjacent structure now owned by Reliable Castings was part of the Crosley facility. A large warehouse across the street was built and operated by Crosley as well, and originally connected via an enclosed bridge two stories above the ground. The entire facility was served by rail sidings, allowing quick access to the warehouse and production centers. The rails are still partially visible today, after decades of disuse and covered in layers of pavement. There are several smaller buildings scattered throughout Camp Washington that were at one time or another owned and utilized by the Crosley Corporation. The Crosley Corporation still partially exists, in the Crosley Radio Corporation and the Crosley Corporation (which makes appliances), although neither has a presence in Cincinnati. Most of the companies assets were sold to AVCO Electronics, and in 1960 the Crosley Building was taken over by AVCO which continued to use the facility for its original use - manufacturing radios. In the late 1970's the building was sold, and began to pass through a series of owners. The building was used primarily as a printing facility, but several floors were used as offices and storage. Today, the building is littered with left behind printed materials and various other stored and forgotten goods. The current owner, David Hosea of Hosea Worldwide (a storage and moving company), has been contacted a number of times by the City of Cincinnati for allowing the building to exist in a state of nuisance (example). The current intentions of the owners are unknown, but little to no activity takes place on the site. Environmental assessments have been undertaken, and all utilities are available to the 290,000 square foot facility (source).