By Ken Alltucker
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Closson's, whose humble beginning as a Civil War-era art gallery and frame maker blossomed into Greater Cincinnati's elite furniture and interior design retailer, will close its downtown store March 31.

President Paul Darwish poses with a 1914 antique auto at Closson's. (Tony Jones photo) | ZOOM |

Stung by a deteriorating shopping district and changing consumer habits, the retailer says it is forced to leave downtown, its home since 1866, to survive.

Closson's art gallery, a pivotal stage for generations of Cincinnati artists, will reopen at Hyde Park Square this spring. Closson's will maintain its satellite suburban store in Montgomery, which opened in 1997.

The move eliminates a marquee name from downtown's increasingly fragile retail environment, where merchants have complained of lackluster sales and little vision from city leaders.

Closson's decided to vacate its Fourth and Race street store, President Paul Darwish said, because it thinks a new location offers the best chance to survive and flourish. "Every one of us is sad about leaving downtown," said Mr. Darwish, who became president in 2001.

The retailer will pursue a new flagship home, possibly at the proposed Rookwood Exchange expansion in Norwood, or other, yet-to-be-named sites in Oakley or Hyde Park.

All downtown inventory (except original artwork) will be offered at a liquidation sale starting mid-January.

E-mail kalltucker@enquirer.com