George Hunt Pendleton House facts for kids
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George Hunt Pendleton House
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U.S. Historic district
Contributing property |
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The house as visible from Liberty Hill
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 Location in Ohio
Location in the United States
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| Location | 559 Liberty Hill, Cincinnati, Ohio |
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| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1870 |
| Architectural style | Second Empire |
| Part of | Prospect Hill Historic District (ID80003078) |
| NRHP reference No. | 66000611 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966 |
| Designated NHL | January 29, 1964 |
| Designated CP | September 4, 1980 |
The George H. Pendleton House is a special old house in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is part of the Prospect Hill Historic District. This house was built in 1870. It shows off the French Second Empire style.
From 1879 until he passed away in 1889, this was the home of Senator George Hunt Pendleton. He was a U.S. Senator from 1879 to 1885. During this time, Pendleton led efforts to change how government jobs were given out. In 1882, an important meeting happened here. They worked on a new law called the Pendleton Act. This law created a fair system for getting government jobs. Today, the building is used for both businesses and homes. It was named a National Historic Landmark in 1964.
About the Pendleton House
The George H. Pendleton House is located north of downtown Cincinnati. It sits in the Prospect Hill area. You can find it on the south side of Liberty Hill. The house is high up on a ridge. This means you can see it from many places in the city below.
The house is a brick building with 2 and a half stories. It has a special roof called a mansard roof. This roof makes the attic into a full third floor. The roof has decorative brackets under its edge. It also has windows that stick out, called dormers. These dormers have brackets too.
The front of the house has three sections. The main door is in the middle. It has columns on each side and a decorative top. The windows on the first floor also have decorative tops. The windows on the second floor have special sills with brackets. The inside of the house has been changed a lot over time.
History of the House and Its Owner
This house was built around 1870. It became the home of George Hunt Pendleton in 1879. He lived here until he died in 1889. Pendleton was a lawyer and a politician from the Democratic Party. He was first elected to the United States Senate in 1857. He left Congress in 1865. But he returned to the Senate in 1879.
Back then, many jobs in the government were given out based on who you knew. This was called "political patronage." It often meant people got jobs even if they weren't the best fit. George Pendleton wasn't always a strong supporter of changing this system. However, a group of Senators met at his Cincinnati home in early 1882. They worked on a new bill to reform the civil service.
This bill became law later in 1882. It was called the Pendleton Act. This act was very important. It created the modern system where people get government jobs based on their skills and qualifications. This is called a "merit-based" system. Pendleton's involvement in this law actually cost him his re-election in 1884. Many party leaders did not like the changes he supported.
After Pendleton passed away, the house had many different owners. It was even used as a building with nine small apartments at one point. In the late 1900s, the outside of the house was restored. Today, the ground floor has offices for businesses. The upper floors are used as homes.
