Cincinnati Union Terminal photograph   Save
Works Progress Administration, Ohio Guide Photographs
Description: This photograph shows an exterior view of the Union Terminal, Cincinnati, Ohio, ca. 1935-1943. Cars are parked in front of the terminal and along the approach to the building. New York architectural firm Fellheimer and Wagner was in charge of its design. The firm’s designer, Roland Wank, and Paul Cret, an architectural consultant from Philadelphia, transformed the terminal’s original Classical design into an acclaimed Art Deco masterpiece. The rotunda of the terminal’s distinctive semi-dome is 180 feet wide and 106 feet high, making it second only to the half-dome of Australia’s Sydney Opera House in size. Two massive bas-relief sculptures representing Transportation (south side) and Commerce (north side) were carved by sculptor Maxfield Keck. Creations by visual artists Reinhold Weiss, Pierre Bourdelle, and William Hentschel decorated the terminal’s rotunda, concourse, and public rooms. Although planning discussions for a new terminal begin in the 1900s, the project was delayed by floods, World War I, and inter-railroad squabbles. Union Terminal was dedicated on March 31, 1933. The building ended its role as a railroad terminal in 1972; however, the city purchased the building in 1975 to ensure that it would be preserved. After experimenting with various options, the city and local organizations gave the historic building a new life as the Cincinnati Museum Center, which is home to several museums and other attractions, in 1990. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06191
Subjects: Railroads--Buildings and structures; Art Deco; Architecture--Ohio--Cincinnati--Pictorial works; Cincinnati (Ohio); Trains
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio)