The Dow’s Corner Renovations
The Dow’s Corner building was CHCURC’s first partial acquisition in 2000, purchased in 2014, and became full owners in 2020; this was made possible by a grant that the community matched with local donations. The building was renovated in 2019-2022, bringing 4 residential units on the second floor; three are income-restricted for tenants earning 80% area median income. MashRoots and the second-floor apartments opened in February of 2021.
The Dow’s Corner was built in 1926 intentionally to house the Dow Drugstore, a local chain of drugstores with an interesting history. Dow Drug occupied the corner from 1927 to 1958 and was the first woman-run pharmacy chain in Cincinnati. Cora Dow was the second woman to graduate from Cincinnati College of Pharmacy in 1886 and expanded her family’s drugstore to 11 stores by the time she sold the company in 1915. She hired as many female pharmacists as she did males and offered equal pay for equal work. Many people in the neighborhood remember this storefront as Piazza Discepoli, a neighborhood wine store located in this space, for 20 years until 2012.