Two Rooks

My student rental on one of the famous hills in Cincinnati yielded a one bedroom first floor apartment in an older house on a busy street.  It seemed safe, was affordable, but most importan,t and the selling point for me, were the Rookwood tiles embedded in the fireplace and doorway frame. Such tiles were popular at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, both on the exteriors of buildings for fireproofing qualities in response to the Chicago fire of 1871, and on interior surfaces, reflecting the public’s desire for more sanitary conditions.