The Clifton Cultural Arts Center was first imagined in 2004 after a series of community engagement meetings addressed the fate of two key historic buildings (the 1906 Clifton School and the adjacent McDonald Estate Carriage House) scheduled to fall into disuse in 2008 as a result of imminent initiatives included in the Cincinnati Public Schools Master Plan. A seed was sown, and the CCAC is the outgrowth of that idea: that participation in cultural and artistic activities contributes to more cohesive communities and more successful, more inspired children and adults.

Today, a proactive, dedicated group of citizens have nurtured the potential of that ideal to create a rare and remarkable opportunity: a multi-venue, truly regional Cultural Arts Center encompassing and preserving over 57,000 square feet of historically significant space in an incomparable urban campus.