Live like a beer baron in this old house

Six bedrooms, five baths and a whole lot of history near Over-the-Rhine is yours for the asking price of $320,900.

The building at 18 Mulberry St. in Mount Auburn was once the mansion of Cincinnati beer baron Christian Moerlein. In June his former mansion went on the market. It’s listed as a single-family home with a total of 11 rooms.

A fixer-upper, the listing promotes the positives including large rooms and high ceilings located in OTR’s historic district.

In its current condition, the once fine mansion is more of a shell lacking defined spaces. The Greater Cincinnati Redevelopment Authority (Port Authority) got involved with the house around 2012 when it faced demolition, according to port Vice President of Communication Strategy Gail Paul.

Like many houses and buildings, it had an out-of-town owner and was falling into disrepair, she said. The walls were crumbling and it was inhabited by squatters, she said.

Because of multiple code violations, the port went in and made repairs and assessed the costs to the property owner, Paul said.

The port used its historic stabilization funds to secure and stabilize the structure, according to Cheryl Besl, manager of communications for the port.

Repairs exceeded $180,000 and were focused on stabilizing the home, she said. The port eventually took ownership in 2016.

The interior has not been renovated and the power is not on, Besl said. It's pretty dark inside, she added.

Moerlein lived in this house from 1870 to 1882, before moving to his home in Clifton on Ohio Avenue, according to DiggingCincinnati.com.

For a time the port thought it had a buyer but that fell through, Paul said. Hopes remain high, however, that the former mansion will be sold and find a new purpose.

"We hope someone falls in love with this redevelopment opportunity, buys it and restores it to its former beauty and significance to the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood," Besl said.