Paramount Building, 1931

900 East McMillan Street, Walnut Hills

Crowe & Schulte, architects

Peebles Corner Historic District

“A three-story cylindrical corner tower takes advantage of the splayed angle of two major streets and creates an effective neighborhood landmark.” (Sue Ann Painter, Architecture in Cincinnati, op.cit., p. 287)

“Next stop Peebles Corner!” Architect Edward J. Schulte designed the Paramount Theater and office complex for Mrs. Howard Wurlitzer, and leased office space in the building once it was completed. The sleek Moderne commercial building was advantageously located at a streetcar junction in the city’s second-busiest business district. The corner building and its sphere-topped cylindrical spire (now gone) shared the name of the nearby theater, likely to attract the multitude of motorists and streetcar riders passing by each day.  

The theater, located farther east on McMillan, was demolished years ago, but the central office section survives. The smooth limestone façade features flanking piers carved with circular motifs and chevron details. The cylindrical tower rises to an aluminum cap.

Until recently the building’s storefronts housed a pawnshop and numerous small businesses. After years of vacancy and disinvestment, the building is presently under renovation using historic rehabilitation tax incentives.

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