Bellevue Park Overlook – 2191 Ohio Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45219; Accessible parking area near playground.
Take in the magic and history of the city at this special Cincinnati Park overlook, located in the Clifton Heights neighborhood. The centerpiece of the park is the ornate pavilion. An example of organic architecture, the pavilion was designed by architect R. Carl Freund in 1955 to serve as an outdoor dancing venue, a nod to the park’s history. It features a cantilever roof, bandstand and three pergolas that form the pavilion’s signature concrete canopy.
From underneath the magical pavilion, visitors can gaze upon the rooftops of Over-the-Rhine and point out Cincinnati landmarks like Union Terminal, Music Hall, the West End, and the Ohio River bending on the west side.
This park’s unique history dates back to the Cincinnati-Clifton Incline Plane, better known as the Bellevue Incline - one of five inclines radiating out of the river basin and into the hills of Cincinnati. The incline connected Elm Street in OTR to Ohio Avenue in Clifton Heights and was touted as “the only direct route to Burnet Woods Park, Zoological Garden and Clifton.” The Elm Street steps used to run adjacent to the incline from McMicken to Clifton avenues. A stone pier still stands near the sidewalk on Clifton Avenue halfway between the park and the bottom of the hill. Its twin pier, now long gone, helped to form a bridge over Clifton Avenue.
For many years, the Bellevue House stood at the top of the incline and was a popular destination for dancing and leisure. This ornate resort that once perched on the edge of the hill at the end of Ohio Avenue, in what is now Bellevue Park, had a 400-foot-high rotunda, a wrap-around veranda and a crow’s nest view of the city. It is memorialized today with a small bronze plaque and flower garden.
EXTEND YOUR VISIT:
Come for the view, stay for a picnic! Bellevue Park offers park users several amenities to take in a beautiful summer day in our city. Enjoy a large lawn to play frisbee, toss a baseball, or spread out a picnic lunch. The park also features a new playground to keep the kids busy, and a wheelchair-friendly, paved path that leisurely loops around the main lawn area.
Bellevue Park was recently featured in Cincinnati Park’s “Hidden Parks” Video Series. Join Park Board Senior Park Naturalist Michael George as he walks you through the unique character and history of this iconic, hidden gem:
