cincinnati union terminal 1933 -...

CincinnatiUnion Terminal1933 - 2003

Planning, Construction and Opening

Cincinnati Union Terminal officially openedon March 31, 1933, with a crowd estimated at50,000 attending the dedication ceremony. The lastgreat railroad station built in the United States,Union Terminal is an Art Deco masterpiece.

In 1926 George Dent Crabbs completed negoti-ations with the seven railroad companies that served

Cincinnati from five stations scattered around thecity. The seven companies then signed an agree-ment in 1927 to construct one terminal to serve alltheir railroads: Baltimore & Ohio Railroad,Louisville & Nashville Railroad, CincinnatiSouthern Railway Company, New York CentralRailroad, Chesapeake 61 Ohio Railroad, Norfolk &Western Railroad and the Pennsylvania Railroad.

Fall 2002 Cincinnati Union Terminal 1933 -2003

Crabbs chose the New York architectural firmof Fellheimer and Wagner to design the building butFrench architect Paul Cret provided the Art Decoelements that made Union Terminal such a signa-ture building. Construction began in August 1929and the cornerstone was laid on November 20, 1931,in an elaborate ceremony. Trains began using Union

Terminal on March 19, 1933, twelve days before theofficial dedication because flood waters once againclosed four of the five existing train stations. Theoriginal construction schedule called for theTerminal to open in December 1933 but the projectwas completed nine months ahead of schedule.

Ohio Valley History

/ !


German-born artist Winold Reiss designed themosaics that lined the rotunda and the concourse.The two large murals in the rotunda illustrate thehistory of transportation, westward expansion andthe growth of Cincinnati. The concourse containedfourteen murals highlighting workers in significantCincinnati industries and companies, includingProcter &. Gamble, Baldwin Piano Co., Kahn's MeatPacking, Crosley Broadcasting, and RookwoodPottery. The end wall of the concourse contained amap of the United States with views of the conti-nents on each side.

1

The huge project involved over two thousandworkers constructing twenty-two buildings on 287acres. It included the Western Hills Viaduct, coolingstation, machine shop, power plant, roundhouse anda car service building. Some facts and figures:

300 separate contracts negotiated94 miles of track laid5,663,065 cubic yards of fill material8,250,000 bricksTotal cost $41,000,000 - almost entirely from

private funds through the sale of bonds (In 2001 dol-lars, the construction figure would be $512,119,484.)

Union Terminal is a monumental structure.The rotunda dome spans 180 feet and reaches aheight of 106 feet. The train concourse was 450 feetlong with eight station platforms that extended1,600 feet.

The station could accommodate 216 trainsdaily. During its first year of operation, the stationsaw an average of 150 trains each day. Amenities inthe new terminal included a newsstand, toyshop,tearoom, barbershop and elegant lounges for menand women.

8 Ohio Valley History

Pierre Bourdelle painted murals for the diningrooms and lounges and created the jungle scenescarved from linoleum panels still seen in thewomen's restroom next to the dining room.Maxfield Keck designed the two large figures on thebuilding facade representing transportation andindustry .


The great flood of 1937 crested at 79.9 feet onJanuary 26. Although the rotunda of UnionTerminal was above the floodwaters, only two rail-road companies—Chesapeake 8k Ohio andCincinnati Southern Railway—were able to continuetheir service during the devastating flood.

1 0 Ohio Valley History

Fall 2002 Cincinnati Union Terminal 1933 -2003 II

The War Years

During World War II, Cincinnati UnionTerminal was the center of rail activity for theregion. By 1944, Union Terminal averaged 34,000passengers daily. Armed forces personnel and civil-ians coping with gasoline rationing packed the build-ing. The USO took over the Rookwood Tea Roomfor the duration of the war.

Cincinnati's many factories counted on rail-roads to move their products. During the warCincinnati plants and warehouses unloaded andloaded an average of 28,300 railroad cars eachmonth. The war years saw Union Terminal used tocapacity, the only such time in its history.

Ohio Valley History

Ohio Valley History

1945 - 1972

With postwar prosperity and the return of civil-ian industry, Americans renewed their love affairwith the automobile. The construction of the inter-state highway system and the growth of passengerairline service in the 1950s and 1960s dealt analmost fatal blow to passenger rail service in the

United States. In 1953, fifty-one trains arrived atUnion Terminal daily. By 1962, passenger train traf-fic at Union Terminal had shrunk to only twenty-four trains a day. Seeking a solution to the enor-mous operating costs, Cincinnati Union TerminalCompany offered to lease the building to the City ofCincinnati for $ 1 a year. The City could then uti-lize the building for other purposes.


ENTRANCE ROTUNDA - A CENTER FOR SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY

A. M KINNEY ASSOCIATES • ARCHITECTS AND ENGINEERS • CINCINNATI, OHIO

In June 1963, the Cincinnati PlanningCommission received a report that included eightpossible uses for Union Terminal: railroad museum;transportation center for air, bus and rail lines;courts building; convention center; Air ForceMuseum; museum of science and industry; privateindustry; and a shopping center. Nothing resultedfrom these efforts.

From 1968 to 1970, the Cincinnati ScienceMuseum operated in Union Terminal.

Ohio Valley History

SAVE THETERMINAL2101 Carew Tower

Cincinati, Ohio 45202

1972 - 1985

By 1972, Union Terminal was handling onlytwo trains each day and passenger train servicehalted on October 28, 1972. The Cincinnati UnionTerminal Co. put the facility up for sale for$10 million.

The Cincinnati Southern Railway purchasedthe rail yards and planned to demolish the 450 foot-long concourse in 1973 to provide height for piggy-back railroad cars. Before demolition, workersremoved the fourteen Cincinnati worker/industrymurals designed by Winold Reiss and installed themat the Greater Cincinnati International Airport. Agroup called Save the Terminal raised over $400,000to cover the cost of removing and transporting themurals to the airport.

Fall 2002 Cincinnati Union Terminal 1933 -2003 17

when Shes gone

she's gone

In August 1975, the City of Cincinnati pur-chased Union Terminal for $2.00 and its fifteen-acresite for $1,000,000. The City then began to look foruses for the building. Three developers presentedideas for the building and Cincinnati selected theplan presented by the Columbus-based firm ofJoseph Skilken. Company president Steve Skilken

proposed turning Union Terminal into a thematicshopping complex with everything from an ice skat-ing rink to a human pinball machine to a bowlingalley. He called the project "Oz." Skilken's elabo-rate plans never materialized but Skilken did createan urban shopping center in Union Terminal. Itopened on August 4, 1980 with forty tenants. At its

18 Ohio Valley History

peak, the complex had fifty-four tenants and drew7,800 to 8,000 customers a day. Les Palmiers, anupscale restaurant, opened in the Terminal as well.However the first tenant moved out in 1981 and by1982 only twenty-one vendors remained. By 1985,only Loehmanns, situated in the center of the rotun-da, did business in the Terminal.

The Museum of Health, Science and Industryopened in Union Terminal in August 1982.


Museum Center at Cincinnati Union Terminal

Dedication Luncheon

Thursday, November 1,1990

Program

Master of Ceremon iesNick ClooneyTrusteeThe Cincinnati Historical Society

InvocationDr. Alfred GottschalkPresidentHebrew Union College

Luncheon

Musical SelectionsVocal Arts Ensemble of Cincinnati

Introduction of Distinguished Guests

RemarksJohn Weld Peck

PresidentMuseum Center Foundation

Honorable Stanley J. AronoffPresident

Ohio SenateGale E. Peterson

Executive DirectorThe Cincinnati Historical Society

DeVere BurtExecutive Director

Cincinnati Museum of Natural HistoryDavid C. Phillips

Past PresidentMuseum Center Foundation

BenedictionReverend John MurphyPastorFlorence Christian Church

Cincinnati Museum Center1985 -2003

In the early 1980s, the Cincinnati HistoricalSociety and the Cincinnati Museum of NaturalHistory were both looking for new homes. In a 1981report for the Historical Society, museum consultantE. Vernon Johnson provided three options forgrowth. One option proposed that the Society joinforces with the Natural History Museum to form amuseum complex. A site selection study completed

in April 1985 had only one recommendation-Cincinnati Union Terminal. Voters of HamiltonCounty approved a bond levy in May 1986; the Stateof Ohio provided $8 million; and the remainder ofthe funding came from corporations, foundations,and individuals.


Mrs. Helen C. BlackDeVereBurt, ex officioWallace T.CollettTheodore H. EmmerichOliver M. Gale, Vice President

Dr.ComptonAllynNick ClooneyJohn F. CrowleyDr. Roger DanielsTheodore H. EmmerichAshley L FordPatricia GainesMs. Sue A. Huffman

Dr. W.D. AeschbacherVincent H. BeckmanWallace T. CollectJ. Rawson CollinsFrank G. Davis

cMrs. Robert L. Black, Jr.Henry B. BondW. Rowell ChaseMrs. Murat Davidson

Board of TrusteesMuseum Center Foundation Board

C. Scott Johnson, Executive DirectorRobert D. Lindnerjr.Jerome P. Montopoli, TreasurerJohn Weld Peck. President

Board of TrusteesThe Cincinnati Historical Society

Jim JohnsonMichael K.KeatingRonald A. KoettersRobert D.Lindner, Jr.George A. MakrauerCortland J. MeaderPaul D. MyersDr. Lorena O'Donnell

Trustees Emeriti

John DiehlDr. Frederick A. HauckLouis NippertWarner A. Peck, Jr., M.D.

Board of TrusteesCincinnati Museum of Natural History

Hon. Charles LukenMrs. James LytleKarl H. MaslowskiTim McEnroe

George H. PerbixGale E. Peterson, ex officioRonald R. RobertsDr. Halloway C. Sells, Secretary

Robert W. OlsonRobert B. Ott, Sr.John Weld PeckGenevieve H. PenningtonDr. Lee Etta PowellDr. Halloway C. SellsHarris K. Weston

Joseph S. Stern, Jr.Mrs. Elsie H.WarringtonCharles M. WilliamsRosamond R. Wulsin

George Rieveschljr.. Ph.D.Edwin J. RigaudGerard RobertoRonald R. Roberts

Richard DurrellMrs. Eugene FarnyCharles Fleischmann IIIPatricia A. Foxx, CPAOliver M. GaleLewis G. GatchJames A. D. GeierReuben B. HaysJules I. Klein, M.D.Nelson S. Knaggs

Kenneth E. Caster, Ph.D.Mrs. Richard Durrell

Charles S. Mechem, Jr.Jerome MontopoliHoward J. MorgensRobert MuhlhauserLouis NippertJohn A. CSteenJack W PartridgeGeorge H. PerbixCharles G. PuchtaJackson H. Randolph

Governing MembersCincinnati Museum of Natural History

Mrs. Frederick HaffnerMrs.John F. Steele

Brian H. RoweJohn RuthvenRobert SternMichael H. StoughThomas W. WenzCharles WestheimerRandolph N. WilkinsonMrs. Richard M.WilsonHoward Withrow

Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Wiseman

The new venture opened to the public onNovember 10, 1990. At that point the museumcomplex included the Cincinnati Historical SocietyLibrary, the Cincinnati History Museum, theCincinnati Museum of Natural History and theRobert D. Lindner Family OMNIMAX Theater. Ayear later the two museums opened the first of theirpermanent exhibits. "Grand Opening Day" was onNovember 2, 1991.

Passenger train service returned to UnionTerminal on July 29, 1991, with the arrival ofAmtrak's Cardinal that runs from Washington, D.C,to Chicago.

In 1995 the separate entities of the CincinnatiHistorical Society and the Cincinnati Museum ofNatural History merged to become CincinnatiMuseum Center. The Cinergy Children's Museumopened in October 1998.

Fall 2002 Cincinnati Union Terminal 1933 -2003 2 1

Cincinnati Museum Center is the largest cul-tural institution in the region. Total attendance forCMC for the 2001 fiscal year was 1.47 million.During the 2001-2002 school year, over 110,000 stu-dents toured Museum Center. Our education staffreached another 21,000 with presentations at localand regional schools. In September 2002, theUniversity of Cincinnati's Economics Center forEducation and Research reported that MuseumCenter had a total economic impact of $75.6 millionon the Greater Cincinnati community for the 2001fiscal year.

In 2003 Cincinnati Union Terminal willcelebrate its seventieth year. In its thirteenth year,Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal willcontinue to educate and entertain with specialexhibits on Africa, Harriet Beecher Stowe, the CivilWar, baseball, and treasures from the Vatican.


cincinnati union terminal 1933 -...

Documents