Western Avenue and Lincoln Park Drive (Ezzard Charles Drive)
Cincinnati, Ohio
In the early 1900s, Cincinnati was notorious for its poorly-configured passenger rail connections. Seven major railroads converged on the city, serving five different terminals. A plan to build a new, unified rail station was conceived in the 1890s, with a committee formed in 1912 to conduct formal studies. However, it would be 1928 before all seven railroad companies could come to a final agreement on a new passenger terminal.
The New York City firm of Fellheimer & Wagner was enlisted to design the train station. They envisaged a Neoclassic structure, similar to Washington Union Station (1907), in Washington, DC. However, Paul Phillipe Cret, a consultant on the project, convinced the planners to redesign the edifice utilizing a "style moderne" ["mah-dairn"] (or art deco) motif.
A 287-acre plot was acquired, which was located 1.4 miles northwest of Cincinnati's Fountain Square, in the Queensgate section of the city. At the time, the site was occupied by railroad yards, residential dwellings, grain silos, an ice warehouse and garbage dump. On the east end of said site was the 10-acre Lincoln Park, a city recreational facility that had been established in the late 1860s.
Initial construction on the CINCINNATI UNION TERMINAL began in August 1929. The cornerstone of the 42 million dollar depot was laid in 1931, with its official dedication taking place on March 31, 1933. Encompassing 535,000 square feet, the massive building covered 130 acres and consisted of 3 levels; Lower, Mezzanine and Concourse. Its epicenter was a 180-foot-high, and 106-foot-wide, Rotunda, which was the largest half dome in the Western Hemisphere.
Artisan Winold Reiss created several mosaic murals for the Rotunda and adjacent Train Concourse & Waiting Room. These artworks depicted events in the westward expansion of the United States and history and industry of Cincinnati. Other ceiling and wall murals were painted by Pierre Boudelle. Maxfield Keck supervised stone carvings on the building's exterior.
The CINCINNATI UNION TERMINAL complex included ladies' and men's clothing shops, a bookshop, toy shop, drug store, five restaurants and food vendors and an air-conditioned (120-seat) movie theater.
CINCINNATI UNION TERMINAL was originally designed to accommodate up to 17,000 passengers and 216 trains per day. During World War II, two additional train tracks were added, increasing this capacity to 34,000 passengers and 465 trains per day. The station enjoyed great success during the global conflict. However, there was a massive decline in patronage over the post-war years, when automobiles and airlines became the preferred means of transportation in the United States.
By 1965, traffic had fallen to forty-four trains per day. In 1970 there were eighteen...and only four per day by 1972. Finally, on October 28, 1972, the last train departed. Amtrak service was moved to a tiny train station situated .8 mile southwest of CINCINNATI UNION TERMINAL.
The massive -and now abandoned- depot was considered a white elephant. Several possible reuses for the structure were conceived. These included converting it to a railroad museum, multi-modal transportation center and / or vertical lift-off airport, courts building, city hall, convention center, juvenile detention facility, Air Force Museum, shopping center, National Football Foundation Museum, sports stadium facility or Museum of Science & Industry.
Between 1968 and 1970, a portion of the building housed a museum known as the Cincinnati Science Center. In the early 1970s, the Southern Railway Company purchased some of the property with plans to demolish at least some of the 40-year-old edifice and expand their adjacent railroad freight facility.
In May 1973, the Cincinnati City Council's Urban Development & Planning Committee voted in favor of designating the structure as an historic landmark. However, in 1974, Southern Railway went ahead with demolition plans and destroyed the 450-by-80 foot Train Concourse & Waiting Room. Before its demolition, fourteen Weinold Reiss murals were removed. These were installed in a new terminal facility at Greater Cincinnati International Airport.
Thwarting the bulldozer brigade was the fact that the sturdy reinforced concrete building that remained would be more expensive to demolish than to repurpose. Additional impetus to save the remaining structure was provided when it was -finally- designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1977.
The City of Cincinnati had purchased the CINCINNATI UNION TERMINAL in 1975. Somewhat in desperation, they ran an advert in the New York Times which read "World-famous Cincinnati Union Terminal for lease - 1 dollar per year!" The Joseph Skilken Organization, a Columbus, Ohio-based developer, leased the edifice and initiated a 20 million dollar renovation.
The plan was to create a "family entertainment & shopping complex," to be known as THE LAND OF OZ. This was to feature shoppes, restaurants, a bowling alley and Rotunda roller skating rink, among other attractions. Somewhere along the way, the official name of the complex was changed to simply CINCINNATI UNION TERMINAL. Loehmann's, a New York City-based discount fashion retailer, would anchor the retail hub. The store would be set up in the Rotunda, in area originally planned for a skating rink.
Work commenced on the renovation project on May 22, 1979. The first operational tenant, the Les Palmiers French Restaurant, opened for business on March 12, 1980. An official mall-wide dedication was held August 3, 1980. The festivities began with a parade led by a painted white elephant, which was hosed down upon arrival at the TERMINAL building; this symbolizing its rebirth. There were also hot air balloon rides, an airplane show, dance contest and nighttime fireworks display.
Forty tenants, out of an eventual fifty-four, opened for business. These included F.A.O. Schwarz, Wood You Remember, Le Clique VIP Club & 2001 Disco, Koch's Sporting Goods and the Giggles Comedy Club.
The original Phase II plan would have installed a total of 150 stores and services, including a super-fitness club, multiplex cinema and hotel. Moreover, a transit train line, to connect the TERMINAL and Riverfront Stadium, was proposed. These never came to pass.
The failure of the CINCINNATI UNION TERMINAL as a shopping mall was primarily attributed to the national recession of the late 1970s and early '80s. The location of the complex, not quite downtown but not far enough out to be suburban, could also have contributed to its lack of success.
In addition to all of the commercial competition downtown, there were suburban retail hubs in its vicinity, such as WESTERN HILLS PLAZA (1954) and WESTERN WOODS MALL (1966) {4.9 miles northwest, in Hamilton County}.
By 1982, the retail roster at CINCINNATI UNION TERMINAL had shrunk to a total of twenty-one tenants. The complex was officially shuttered in 1984, although a smattering of stores, such as Loehmann's and G.D Ritzy's Ice Cream Parlor, held on until 1986.
In May of that year, local voters approved a 33 million dollar bond issue. The moribund mall was converted into CINCINNATI MUSEUM CENTER using bond issue proceeds, 11 million dollars in state grants, and various private donations. This second reinvention of the TERMINAL got underway in 1988. The new cultural complex would house a relocated Cincinnati Museum of Natural History and Cincinnati Historical Society Museum & Library as well as the Robert T. Lindner Family Omnimax Theater.
A grand opening for CINCINNATI MUSEUM CENTER was held on October 10, 1990. A third component, the Children's Museum of Cincinnati, was dedicated in July 1997. The history of the grand art deco edifice had come full circle when Amtrak passenger service was reinstated on July 29, 1991.
Sources:
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Cincinnati Magazine
"Historic American Buildings Survey" / National Park Service, Department of the Interior / Compiled by Monica Weinert and Steven Shuckman
https://libapps.libraries.uc.edu / Angela Vanderbilt
https://www.cincymuseum.org
www.ohiomagazine.com
https://libapps.libraries.uc.edu / Angela Vanderbilt
https://www.cincymuseum.org
www.ohiomagazine.com
"Cincinnati Union Terminal" article on Wikipedia
