Wrecking Cincinnati, 4/28/09

68 Forest Avenue, Avondale
Two-family
DOB: 1917
Died: February 2009
Cause of death: Orders on the house date back to at least 2001, and, following a couple of civil fines, the owner lost the building to Bank One through foreclosure.

The Cincinnati Zoo Foundation acquired the still-vacant property in 2005. In 2007, there was talk of donating the property to Cincinnati Habitat for Humanity for rehabilitation or a rebuild. Evidence of squatters was found in 2008, and the house eventually was boarded up.

It was razed privately following asbestos abatement.

Mark Fisher, senior director of facilities and planning for the Cincinnati Zoo, says that they plan to plant some trees on the site and keep it green indefinitely.