A celebration and fountain activation marked the official reopening today of Lytle Park following a comprehensive renovation led by the Cincinnati Board of Park Commissioners with funding support from Western & Southern Financial Group and other sources. This project represents the latest iteration of the park, originally necessary due to the Ohio Department of Transportation’s (ODOT) Lytle Tunnel ventilation project completed in 2017.
Cincinnati Parks and Western & Southern previously collaborated on Lytle Park renovations in 1967 that included Western & Southern’s funding support to help cap interstate I-71 with a concrete slab and extending the park over the highway. Upon its completion in 1970, Lytle Park became the first park situated above an interstate road.
The new “urban oasis” represents an enduring commitment to Lytle Park and the surrounding neighborhood. Western & Southern and the Cincinnati Parks have a longstanding history of jointly maintaining the park, particularly the seasonal flower beds featuring tulips and many varieties of flowering plants. The revitalized green space boasts several plazas and brick walkways, a decorative fountain, a quarter-mile running/walking track, new lighting and landscaping, new exercise area, and benches. An 11-foot bronze statue of a beardless Abraham Lincoln faces downtown to welcome park visitors.
“Lytle Park is important to our city. That is why we have not only committed to supporting the park renovation, but we have doubled our annual support for the long-term enjoyment of area residents and visitors for many years to come,” said John Barrett, Western & Southern chairman, president and chief executive officer. “Cincinnati has incredible potential and we have to take advantage of our advantages. The future looks very bright for Lytle Park and the surrounding neighborhood.”
Lytle Park is a 2.8 acre green space nestled in the southeastern corner of downtown Cincinnati. The park resides on the area originally named Fort Washington and became a park in 1907 under the Cincinnati Park Commission.
