Hill Yes!
Historical Vignettes of Mount Adams
A new book by Mount Adams resident, historian and author, Jim Steiner

A must read for local history buffs.

And for anyone who grew up on Mount Adams, lived there, or just visited and fell in love with the place.

About the book

Hill Yes!
Historical Vignettes of Mount Adams

Jim Steiners newest book is scheduled to be published December 2025 in time for the holiday season. Watch this space for updates.


Jim Steiner has lived on Mount Adams for over 25 years and each year he lives on the Hill, his love for her grows. When asked why he has written three books about his favorite subject, he quickly replies: “The rich history of the Hill needs to be preserved.” His newest book features over 50 vignettes on all things Mount Adams written by Jim and twelve articles by Kathleen Scully Hueneman, who remembers her Mount Adams childhood during the Great Depression.


You’ll meet Charles Manson who may or may not have lived on Mount Adams, US President John Quincy Adams, the ghost at the Pavilion Café, Jerry Springer at the Blind Lemon, and Doris Kappelhoff who got her start on the Hill and became a Hollywood star. There are stories about local Mount Adams personalities, special old buildings, adversity overcome, Mount Adams traditions, and of course, visits to popular neighborhood saloons. You’ll also learn about Immaculata Church, Holy Cross Church and Monastery and Pilgrim Chapel. My all-time favorite Janis Joplin makes a cameo appearance.


The new book is hard cover, 220 pages long, and contains over 225 images. Cost is $55 which includes tax and postage. Profits from the book will be donated to Pilgrim Chapel, a Hill church founded in 1890.


This book is a must read for local history buffs, people who grew up on Mount Adams, lived there or visited and fell in love with the place.


More information? Contact Jim Steiner at jimsteiner321@gmail.com


The Church of the Immaculate Conception, widely known as Immaculata, during the 1911 Good Friday Pilgrimage begun over 150 years ago. Today, over 8,000 Pilgrims come from the tristate region, rain or shine, to pray up the steps in remembrance of Christs suffering on the Cross. Many three generation families make the steps together and, when asked why, the grandparents usually say their grandparents brought them to the pilgrimage and they wanted to keep the tradition alive. It is a beloved Cincinnati event. 
Photo Holy Cross Immaculata Archives.


The Belvedere was built in 1914 as a silent movie house which closed in the mid 1920s. When Prohibition was repealed, it reopened as the Belvedere Tavern in 1934. The tavern closed in 1937 and was reborn as the Belvedere Theater in 1938 and closed in the late 1950s. It was leased to the Mount Adams Church of Christ in the mid 1960s. It became the Mount Adams Cinema in 1973 and focused on notable foreign and American cult films such as Harold and Maude and the Rockey Horror Picture Show. It closed in 1979. The building was converted to condominiums in 1990.

Photo Jim Steiner.

Sometime soon after November 1848, John Lowden, built this home at the corner of today’s Hill and St. Gregory Streets. Lowden was a prominent stonemason and builder and is believed to have been involved in operating the stone quarries on Mount Adams coursing down the Hill from Louden Street, thought to be named for Lowden even though the spelling is different. The home has been occupied since 1977 by Mary Baskett and is believed by many to be the oldest home on Mount Adams. Immaculata Church is seen in the background.

Photo Mary and Bill Baskett.