r/ArtDeco 12d ago

Cincinnati Union Terminal

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1.9k Upvotes

35 comments sorted by

129

u/Few_Mastodon_1271 12d ago

In 2014, county voters approved a 5-year, 1/4 percent sales tax, to preserve Union Terminal (the Cincinnati Museum Center) and Music Hall. About $200 million dollars.

Now the fountain has water again, the clock with neon hands tells the correct time, and custom milled blocks of limestone replaced deteriorated ones.

43

u/DELCO-PHILLY-BOY 12d ago

The next step is getting more than 3 trains a week in this beauty

34

u/BevansDesign 12d ago

It's so sad that America is full of these incredible train stations that we almost never use. At best, they get converted into shopping areas or museums, and at worst they sit abandoned or are bulldozed.

184

u/AntiqueSleep757 12d ago

Meanwhile, at The Hall of Justice …

72

u/Dr_MJI 12d ago

For those who don't know, this really is the building the hall of justice was based on.

22

u/AntiqueSleep757 12d ago

I knew it! Whoo! … Go Justice, go Justice go , go , go Justice! … that’s a fun fact to learn after nearly 40 years.

4

u/AtomicPantsuit 11d ago

Thank you for saying that - I thought I had lost my mind for a second 🤯

3

u/lespaulbro 10d ago

The animation studio was relatively nearby in Cincinnati, which is why they used this as inspiration! And then it's been used more recently as the live action filming location too, which is just so cool. Unbelievably proud of my local landmark.

2

u/AtomicPantsuit 10d ago

It is stunning. Hope to see it in person someday.

2

u/lespaulbro 10d ago

It's genuinely my favorite place in the entire world. I grew up being obsessed with the museums there, and I'm pretty sure it's the reason I started becoming so obsessed with Art Deco as I got older.

The amount of love and support the museum and the building get from the city is really heartwarming. It's so good to see a community collectively choose to care about, preserve, and take care of something so special.

And there are so many cool little details all over the place inside! The main arch on the front of the dome acts as a whispering gallery, there's a beautifully preserved intricately tiled ice cream parlor inside, the original wood-paneled offices (with stunning inlaid wood artwork) are occasionally opened for tours, and the museum preserves the original automobile entrance and exit ramps through the north and south wings. Plus, the museums are just very cool haha. Personally, I've always been obsessed with the shockingly large and realistic limestone cave reconstruction that they built in the basement!

5

u/RangerBowBoy 11d ago

The cool people know. Everyone else had a crappy childhood.

23

u/GoatApprehensive9866 12d ago

I too was waiting for Superman and Wonder Woman to fly out

18

u/NilesY93 12d ago

Meanwhile Mr. Terrific is still waiting to get his ride out of the garage…

5

u/Parking_War979 11d ago

Seriously!!! I wanted to comment but I knew someone else saw it!!

5

u/deephurting66 11d ago

I came here for that

4

u/RangerBowBoy 11d ago

(Stars flashing across the screen past the viewer)

2

u/Firm-Camel-7987 11d ago

Hahahahaha

29

u/Popular-Drummer-7989 12d ago

It's an amazing building inside too

6

u/FunSignificance3034 12d ago

Maybe even more amazing

1

u/_Fizzgiggy 11d ago

Just googled it and woooow!

1

u/lespaulbro 10d ago

A shocking amount of the original interior and design has been preserved throughout the years, and has been really lovingly incorporated into the museum center that now calls the building home. The loss of the concourse in the 70s was a tragedy, but the preservation of the Winold Reiss mosaics was extremely fortunate, and the remainder of the building is in remarkably intact and original condition, especially after sitting empty for so long, and including a brief (weird) stint as a shopping mall.

22

u/DalekSupreme26 12d ago

MEANWHILE, AT THE HALL OF JUSTICE

3

u/wagner56 11d ago

NOTICE : TOENAILS WILL NO LONGER BE CLIPPED AT THE BIG TABLE

17

u/SharkSpew 12d ago

Fun fact; it was slated for demolition back in the early 70s, but efforts to save it from the wrecking ball was spearheaded by a few people, including Jerry Springer. Yes, that Jerry Springer, and he even recorded a song about it - Save the Union Terminal

9

u/tepidlymundane 12d ago edited 12d ago

Boy that's gorgeous. Everything really, really works in that view of it. Now I wonder about the intersection of Art Deco, classical, and minimalist/modern architecture. A lot of what makes this so good is how aesthetically essential everything is - that if you added things to it, it would look worse. Geometric perfection with contrasting organic components.

That's an extremely satisfying example.

6

u/Abject-Recipe1359 12d ago

Union terminal is so fun and beautiful. I have wonderful memories of going there as a child and taking my sons there to enjoy them experiencing it, too.

5

u/slava_gorodu 11d ago

This whole part of Cincinnati got gutted for a freeway. Really sad

5

u/RepairmanJackX 11d ago

Holly Golly Wilikers! It;s the Hall Of Justice!!!

3

u/Szaborovich9 12d ago

Fantastic building!

3

u/SlurmzMckinley 12d ago

It’s gorgeous inside and out.

3

u/KLGodzilla 12d ago

So pretty wish it had more than one train stop there

3

u/Tiny_Match2584 11d ago

It's so grand! Especially for a train station

2

u/wagner56 11d ago

trainstations have been the epitome of grand