Oesterlein Machine Company-Fashion Frocks Inc. Complex | |
 Front and eastern side of the complex | |
  | |
| Location | Cincinnati, Ohio |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 39°8′36.10″N84°32′18.75″W / 39.1433611°N 84.5385417°W Coordinates: 39°8′36.10″N84°32′18.75″W / 39.1433611°N 84.5385417°W |
| Architectural style | Classical Revival and Early Commercial [1] |
| NRHP reference # | 05001186 [1] |
| Added to NRHP | October 27, 2005 [1] |
Oesterlein Machine Company-Fashion Frocks Inc. Complex is a registered historic building in Camp Washington, Cincinnati, Ohio, listed in the National Register on October 27, 2005.
Camp Washington is a city neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It is located north of Queensgate, east of Fairmount, and west of Clifton and University Heights. The community is a crossing of 19th-century homes and industrial space, some of which is being converted into loft apartments. The population was 1,343 at the 2010 census.
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the Great Lakes region of the United States. Of the fifty states, it is the 34th largest by area, the seventh most populous, and the tenth most densely populated. The state's capital and largest city is Columbus.
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance. A property listed in the National Register, or located within a National Register Historic District, may qualify for tax incentives derived from the total value of expenses incurred preserving the property.
Built in 1918, the complex was originally home to the Osterlein Machine tool plant. In the 1930s, the Fashion Frocks dress company acquired the property and manufactured women's clothing. [2] Fashion Frocks also made parachutes during World War II. Currently, the complex is home to the American Sign Museum and loft apartments. [3]
World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countries—including all the great powers—eventually formed two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. A state of total war emerged, directly involving more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. The major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history, marked by 50 to 85 million fatalities, most of whom were civilians in the Soviet Union and China. It included massacres, the genocide of the Holocaust, strategic bombing, premeditated death from starvation and disease, and the only use of nuclear weapons in war.
The American Sign Museum in Cincinnati, Ohio, preserves, archives, and displays a collection of signs. The museum also displays the equipment utilized in the design and manufacture of signs. Tod Swormstedt began working on the museum in 1999. It opened to the public in 2005.
