Castles to Visit Around Southwest Ohio

You don’t have to go far to take a step back in time. Check out these castles around southwest Ohio, perfect for your little princes and princesses!

Loveland Castle

Loveland Castle, 12025 Shore Drive, Loveland, OH

Located on the banks of the Little Miami in Loveland, Cincinnati’s Loveland Castle (“Chateau Laroche”) is a true testament to the power of imagination. This authentic, full-scale castle was built brick by brick by Cincinnati native (Sir) Harry Andrews. He began construction in 1929 and spent the next 50 years working on his masterpiece, using stones from the Little Miami River and hand-molded bricks made of cement and quart milk cartons. The castle includes gardens, several towers, a dungeon and rooms full of medieval replicas and memorabilia.

Flickr/Cathy
1292-1298 Elsinore Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45202
You can’t miss the Elsinore Arch, which stands proudly at the corner of Gilbert Avenue and Elsinore Place (it’s also the home of Channel 9).  Known as Elsinore Arch, the castle-like building sits at the base of the Eden Park steps was completed in 1883 with the initial purpose of being an eccentric valve house for Cincinnati Water Works. The architectural design was actually inspired by a performance of Shakespeare’s Hamlet playing at Music Hall in 1883. Elsinore Arch was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

Frankenstein’s Castle

Flickr/Ted
Frankenstein’s Castle, 2655 S Patterson Boulevard, Kettering, OH
Who can resist a name like “Frankenstein’s Castle?” Frankenstein’s Castle (technically “Stone Tower”) sits in Hills and Dales MetroPark. The structure features a turret-shaped, stone-studded lookout, and local legend has it that in 1967, a teenager named Peggy Harmeson was killed on the tower’s metal stairs during a storm. If you visit during a storm, you might even run in to her ghost.

Piatt Castles

Facebook/Piatt Castles
Piatt Castles, 10051 Township Road 47, West Liberty, OH
These historic homes were built by a pair of brothers and Civil War veterans named Donn and Abram Piatt in the late 1800s. The gothic-style homes are named Mac-A-Cheek and Mac-O-Chee, which comes from the Mac-A-Cheek settlement that the Shawnee Native Americans named the land before it became West Liberty. The Native American phrase translates to “smiling valley.”

Ravenwood Castle

Facebook/Ravenwood Castle
65666 Bethel Road, New Plymouth, OH
If you’re looking for a legit castle experience (of the Game of Thrones variety), this Eastern Ohio gem is for you. Nestled in Hocking Hills State Park, this castle was designed to replicate the castles that defended the English and Welsh borders in the 12th and 13th centuries. (The building was actually constructed in 1995, however.)

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