Death and Trauma Cleanup for Westwood and Cheviot

Which police department responds

Westwood and East Westwood are in Cincinnati Police District 3. Cheviot has its own police department on Harrison Avenue, staffed by 15 full-time officers plus part-time officers.

Whichever department answers, a death that needs review becomes the Hamilton County Coroner's case, handled by investigators who work out of Blue Ash. Its staff arrange transfer to the funeral home the family picks and hand back wallets, phones and other effects. From that point a house on either side of the city line is the responsibility of whoever owns it, rents it out or inherits it, and that person chooses the cleanup company.

Two jurisdictions, one ZIP

Westwood is Cincinnati's biggest neighborhood in both size and population, with 33,774 residents in the 2020 Census. It was a village from 1868 until the city annexed it in 1896, and in its early years it drew wealthy families such as Procter & Gamble co-founder James Gamble.

Cheviot sits on Westwood's western edge but is its own city. Founded by Scottish settler John Craig in 1818 and named for the Cheviot Hills, it became a village in 1901 and a city in 1931. It had 8,658 residents in 2020 on just 1.17 square miles, and it has held the Harvest Home Fair on the same ground since 1855.

Getting to the West Side hills

Harrison Avenue is the main road through both and links to downtown by the Western Hills Viaduct, a 3,500-foot span built in the early 1930s across the Mill Creek valley. I-74 runs along the area's northern side.

Many streets off Harrison Avenue are hilly with on-street parking only. Tell the provider whether there is a driveway, an alley or a garage behind the house, and whether the front steps are long or steep.

Cheviot's compact grid around Harrison Avenue has short blocks and tight curbs, and the Harvest Home Fair each September brings extra traffic to the north end of the city.

What ZIP 45211 includes

ZIP 45211 covers most of Westwood, including the Westwood town center and Bracken Woods, all of East Westwood, and the entire city of Cheviot along Harrison Avenue. It also reaches the southwest edge of Mount Airy, parts of North and South Fairmount, and a corner of West Price Hill.

Homes just west of Cheviot in Green Township generally use 45248, which is covered on a different page of this site.

West Side homes built to last

Most of Westwood is single-family housing, from Victorian houses near the historic town center to brick bungalows and postwar homes on the side streets. About 16,456 housing units were counted in 2020.

Cheviot is similar but denser, with modest houses on small lots and a little over half of homes owner-occupied. East Westwood, with about 1,438 housing units, has more apartment complexes and a larger share of renters. In a rented unit there, the property manager controls access, and the lease spells out who handles damage to carpet, walls and fixtures.

Basements are common in these older West Side houses, and many hold decades of stored belongings, which can add time to any job that reaches the lower level.

Practical tips for West Side families

Many homes in 45211 have been in the same family for decades and are full of belongings. Settle early which relative can sign off on throwing things away, and ask the crew to box up letters, photo albums and keepsakes for the family instead of hauling them out.

If the home will be sold, the estate's attorney or the Hamilton County probate court may need receipts. Keep copies of the provider's scope and invoice.