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Ohio inventions and firsts · Achievement · 1933

Cincinnati Union Terminal

Opened March 19, 1933 at 1301 Western Ave., the Fellheimer & Wagner Art Deco terminal has the largest semi-dome in the Western Hemisphere and Winold Reiss mosaics of 18,150 sq ft. NHL 1977; now the Cincinnati Museum Center.

At a glance

Year
1933
Place
Cincinnati (Queensgate), Hamilton County ZIP 45203 · Cincinnati · Hamilton County

The story

In the 1920s Cincinnati had several railroad stations scattered around the city. Civic leaders pushed to combine them into one grand terminal, and the result was Cincinnati Union Terminal.

It opened on March 19, 1933 at 1301 Western Avenue. The architects were Fellheimer and Wagner; their lead architect, Roland Wank, first proposed a Gothic design, but consultant Paul Philippe Cret redesigned it in 1931-32 as a modern Art Deco building. The rotunda held the largest semi-dome in the Western Hemisphere, 180 feet wide, until the Sydney Opera House passed it in 1973.

Artist Winold Reiss made 23 mosaic murals totaling 18,150 square feet, the largest collection of secular mosaics in the United States in 1933. The station was underused at first and reached its peak in World War II. Passenger service ended in 1972.

The building was named a National Historic Landmark on May 5, 1977. The Cincinnati Museum Center opened in it in 1990, and a $228 million renovation was finished in 2018.

Timeline

  • 1931-1932: Consultant Paul Philippe Cret redesigns the building in Art Deco. (Cincinnati, OH) source
  • 1933-03-19: Cincinnati Union Terminal opens. (Cincinnati, OH) source
  • 1972: Passenger train service ends. (Cincinnati, OH) source
  • 1977-05-05: Named a National Historic Landmark. (Cincinnati, OH) source
  • 1990: The Cincinnati Museum Center opens in the building. (Cincinnati, OH) source
  • 2018: A $228 million renovation is completed. (Cincinnati, OH) source

What it changed

  • 23 mosaic murals, 18,150 square feet.
  • A $228 million renovation completed in 2018.

Why it matters

Landmark Art Deco railroad station.

Places in Ohio to see

Further reading

Sources

Confidence. Medium: the main facts were confirmed, but some details (often an address or ZIP code) were not.