Historic Tours at Twin Towers

A Historic Tour of Twin Towers Senior Living Community in College Hill will treat you to a combination of art and architecture that is uniquely Cincinnati. Designed by Samuel Hannaford, the circa 1908 building demonstrates Hannaford’s signature design elements and beautiful attention to living space that transcended him to national acclaim as an architect. From public buildings to private residences Mr. Hannaford designed over 1,000 structures in Cincinnati, including Music Hall and Cincinnati City Hall. Unfortunately, less than 300 of the buildings he designed remain.

In addition to Italian marble columns and Tiffany style stained glass windows, Twin Towers houses the private art collection of Obed J. and Amanda Landrum Wilson, collected during their travels in Europe in the early 1900’s. The Wilsons, a prominent Cincinnati couple, also donated the original 10 acres which housed their summer home, for the construction of Twin Towers.

The bequeathed art collection includes original works by Elizabeth Jane Gardner (1837-1922), one of the first American women artists who dared to invade the all male establishment of the French art academies. According to her obituary in the New York Times, she "literally opened Paris ateliers to the women of the world." She also became the first American woman to exhibit, and later to win a medal, at the Paris Salon.

Also in the collection are portraits of Obed J. and Amanda Landrum Wilson painted by Raphael Strauss (1830-1901), a renowned local artist who painted many of the leading citizens of Cincinnati. There is a work by William L. Sonntag (1822-1900), entitled “Morning in the Alleghenies,” which was part of a collection that Sonntag was commissioned to paint by the B&O Railroad, of the wild scenery in the Allegheny Mountains along its route.

Tours are free and open to the public and each tour lasts approximately 1 hour. Group tours can be arranged with a maximum capacity of 15 – 20 people, no individual tours please. The building is wheelchair accessible and all tours are led by Docents who live at Twin Towers. To schedule a Docent tour for your group, please contact the program’s Tour Coordinator at (513)853-2745.