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Preservation Merit Award to Greenacres Foundation and ATA Beilharz
Architects, LLC / Robert Powell Associates, Inc. for the rehabilitation and adaptive use of the
1924 Julius Fleischmann House at 8400 Blome Rd. in Indian Hill as the Greenacres Art Center.
This project involves the adaptive use of one of Indian Hill’s grandest estates as an arts and
educational center. Designed by Cincinnati architect Stanley Matthews, the house was built in 1924
as the centerpiece of Winding Creek Farm, the Julius Fleischmann estate. By the 1990s it had
seriously deteriorated due to neglect, vacancy, and alterations. Renovation began in 2006,
preserving and restoring original fabric while adapting the house for public use. The project was
carried out with sensitivity, preserving as much of the original house as possible. Damaged
architectural features were restored and missing ones, removed years ago, were faithfully
recreated. The original radiators were cleaned and reconditioned for use with a new boiler.
Leaded casement windows and hardware were restored and reinstalled. Wooden doors were restored and
reused, and where fire-rated doors were required, new ones were created to harmonize with the
originals. One of the most complex efforts was recreating the salon fireplace, which had been
removed and dumped outside years before. The 5,000-pound stone mantelpiece was restored to its
original place, and the chimney was rebuilt in its original U form. Finally, the Aeolian pipe organ
was restored to working condition, filling the room with music. Outside, the cascade fountain
descending into a moat, part of the original landscape designed by A.D. Taylor, was restored to
functioning condition. Greenacres Foundation is a private non-profit established in 1988 by Louis
and Louise Nippert, who bought Greenacres Farm in 1949.
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