Underwriters Salvage Corps (Cincinnati, Ohio)

The Underwriters Salvage Corps is a historic building in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. Located on Eighth Street in the city's downtown, it has historically been the home of a firm that worked together with both the Cincinnati Fire Department and local fire insurance companies.[2]

Underwriters Salvage Corps
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Cincinnati Local Historic Landmark
Front of the Salvage Corps
Location	110-112 E. 8th St., Cincinnati, Ohio
Coordinates	39°6′18″N 84°30′42″W
Area	less than one acre
Built	1897
Architect	William Schuberth
Architectural style	Queen Anne
NRHP reference No.	82003589[1]
Added to NRHP	July 15, 1982

Local insurance companies formed the Underwriters Salvage Corps in 1886 at the end of a four-year-long process of negotiations. As a salvage corps, their goal was largely to assist firefighters in danger zones: employees rushed to burning buildings to try to save both lives and property, and they were accorded the same status as official firefighters while at fire zones.[2]

The present building was erected in 1897 under the direction of local contractor William Schuberth; its purpose was the storage of equipment and the housing of the Salvage Corps' employees who were on duty at any given point.[2] A brick building with a stone foundation,[3] it is a Queen Anne structure three-and-a-half stories tall.[2]

In 1982, the Underwriters Salvage Corps was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[1] Key to this designation was its place in local history,[3] for it was the only Cincinnati-area corporation that worked closely with both insurance companies and the city's fire department.[2]

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
2. Owen, Lorrie K., ed. Dictionary of Ohio Historic Places. Vol. 1. St. Clair Shores: Somerset, 1999, 681-682.
3. Underwriters Salvage Corps, Ohio Historical Society, 2007. Accessed 2010-11-02.