Cincinnati icon still a vibrant center of culture today
CINCINNATI – On March 31, 2014, Cincinnatians will celebrate Opening Day, a longstanding tradition near and dear to people’s hearts. Union Terminal, likewise has a rich heritage that has rightly earned its place in people’s hearts. On March 31, Union Terminal will also be celebrating as it enters its 81st year as a vibrant city icon.
Union Terminal was an ambitious undertaking when it was began in 1929 at the onset of the Great Depression. Originally designed in a neo-classical style, it was deemed too cold and expensive prompting the design to be modified to the then-modern art deco style that has been a Cincinnati staple for 81 years. The building opened on March 31, 1933, ahead of time and under budget, an accomplishment in any era, but even more so with the equipment and technology of the 1930s.
Cincinnati’s Union Terminal has seen its fair share of history, including several visits by presidents and presidential candidates, beginning with FDR in 1936 and most recently Mitt Romney in 2012. It was also the site of the nation’s first USO transit lounge, serving over 3 million servicemen and women, early one-fifth of all World War II GIs, during the war.
As rail traffic declined in the 1960s, Union Terminal remained a mainstay of the Cincinnati skyline even as the activity inside changed. It has been home to a science center and shopping mall before finally becoming home to Cincinnati Museum Center. From a bustling temple of transportation to a center of education and inspiration, Union Terminal’s use has evolved just as the city of Cincinnati itself has.
While Union Terminal has been designated a national historic landmark it’s much more than that to the people of Cincinnati. “Union Terminal has been a source of pride for Cincinnati since it first opened in 1933,” says Douglass McDonald, President and CEO of Cincinnati Museum Center. “It’s a building filled with history and memories that so many Cincinnatians hold dear and we are honored to call it home and celebrate its 81st birthday.”
Norton Outdoor Advertising has joined in the birthday celebration by generously donating several billboards around Cincinnati wishing Union Terminal a happy birthday. You can join us as we celebrate the 81st birthday of Union Terminal!
Union Terminal will also be featured in the “Engineering Map of America,” an interactive map presented by PBS and American Experience.
Visit cincymusuem.org for fascinating Union Terminal facts and images you can download to join in on the celebration. Follow Cincinnati Museum Center on Twitter @CincyMuseum for more ways you can celebrate.