[2] In 1894, Cox arranged for the construction of a new house, to be designed by leading Cincinnati architect Samuel Hannaford.

[3] Two of its most prominent elements are a large porch that covers the southern front of the house and half of its western side, and a 3+1⁄2-story circular turret that dominates the rest of the building.

[4] Cox's house was built near to the end of Samuel Hannaford's career; in practice since 1858,[5]: 10  he retired in 1897 at the age of sixty-two.

[5]: 11  Many of his buildings, including the majority of the houses that he designed in Cincinnati, were constructed as the homes of wealthy or powerful members of the city's society; numerous rich and famous individuals of the Gilded Age found his style highly attractive.

The library stated that the Cox House would replace a small storefront that previously served the Clifton branch.