Owner seeks permit to raze P&G mansion

CINCINNATI (AP) — A lawsuit seeks to allow the property owner to tear down a 19th-century Cincinnati mansion once owned by a Procter & Gamble heir.

The suit filed in county court Wednesday by the Greenacres Foundation looks for approval of a demolition permit and aims to block the city from allowing the former James Norris Gamble house to be preserved.

Gamble was the son of one of the co-founders of Procter & Gamble, the consumer-products giant based in Cincinnati. He lived in the home from 1875 until his death in 1932.

Hours after the foundation went to court, scores of people rallied to save the mansion. They carried signs with messages including: “Don’t Gamble away our history.”

Greenacres says restoring and maintaining the house is not economically feasible.