Former Verdin CEO's vision led to creation of Pendleton, Middletown art centers

By Franck Mercurio – Courier contributor
Jul 17, 2026

Who says art can’t change the world? Or, at the least, a neighborhood?

This past June, on the last Friday of the month, some 680 people explored an eight-story brick structure in Cincinnati’s Pendleton neighborhood. A manual freight elevator carried visitors up and down to each level while the fittest chose to climb and descend an ancient but solid wooden staircase. Their collective mission: to visit some 200 studios where artists create and sell their original works, from paintings and ceramics to prints and photographs.

Outside the building, valets parked vehicles. Bars and restaurants buzzed nearby. A mix of apartments, condos and single-family townhouses surround this former shoe manufacturing warehouse. The scene is light years from 1990 when the building, constructed in 1909, sat largely vacant in a struggling neighborhood.

Today’s vibrant Pendleton Art Center (PAC OTR) is the vision of one man, the late Jim Verdin. He was the former president and CEO of the Verdin Co., a Cincinnati-based manufacturer of bells and clocks for religious and civic buildings. Founded in 1842 and headquartered in the Pendleton neighborhood, the family-run company occupies a five-building complex that includes the Bell Event Centre, formerly St. Paul’s Catholic Church.

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The success of PAC OTR has been exported to other communities, most notably downtown Middletown. Fifteen years ago, Jim Verdin purchased a vacant two-story retail building on Central Avenue and South Broad Street. The structure once housed department stores and later Armco Steel’s sales offices. After Armco left, the building sat empty. Verdin turned the first floor and basement level into artist studios, following the PAC OTR model. The second floor became an event space. Instead of Final Fridays, PAC Middletown hosts First Fridays, when artists open their studios to the public.

“I’ve seen our downtown and First Fridays change quite a bit in the past 15 years,” said Teresa Rivers, owner of Cherry Vintage Design, located in PAC Middletown. “We were off to a good start with some revitalization and First Fridays in 2011. When Covid happened, it affected many businesses, and we’re just now getting the ball rolling again.”

Today, many downtown Middletown storefronts remain empty despite well-designed streetscaping and a schedule of public events organized by Downtown Middletown Inc. PAC Middletown, however, is at capacity with all 30 studios leased to artists.

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“I think it’s also attributable to Middletown being an arts city,” Crew said of the success of PAC Middletown’s location. “Middletonians seem to support the arts. There are also several core businesses across the street and diagonal from the PAC that have been good anchors to the downtown corridor.”

Can art save the world? If the Pendleton Art Center model is an indication, then art definitely can revitalize and transform neighborhoods.

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Photo Credit: Franck Mercurio for ACBJ