Beneath your feet once rose an ancient Indian mound, long since replaced by this Cincinnati square, founded in 1871. Beneath your feet once rose an Indian mound when the first white settlers arrived; the site later became a butcher's market until the square replaced it as a civic gift from Henry Probasco in memory of his business partner and brother-in-law, Tyler Davidson. Probasco went to Munich and commissioned a bronze allegorical fountain from Ferdinand von Miller called The Genius of Water.
Imagine the square as it first was — a large island in the middle of Fifth Street with buildings to the north and south, much like nearby Piatt Park. In 1971 the fountain was slightly moved and re-oriented to the west while the plaza was enlarged by removing the original westbound portion of 5th Street and demolishing buildings to the north. The square was later renovated again in the early 2000s and in 2005, with a redesign by 3CDC and BHDP Architecture.
Today it's still a center of city life, used for lunch-breaks, rallies, and other gatherings and framed by many shops, restaurants, hotels, and offices. Henry Probasco's bronze Genius of Water still crowns this plaza, framed today by shops, restaurants, and offices for you.