Last night, Dan, Bradley and I schlepped to the Cincinnati Museum Center to take a more in-depth tour of Union Terminal's architecture than is commonly available. I've become more interested in architecture as a result of recent tours of Chicago's riverside buildings and Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater, and when I saw a chance to tour my favorite building in Cincinnati, I jumped.
The tour was fantastic. As a kid, most kids tour Union Terminal... you focus on the gorgeous mosaics, the history of the train station, usually watch an Omnimax film. I remember those tours, and the weak-in-the-knees feeling I always got from looking straight up to the ceiling of the dome.
This tour engaged both that kid-like sense of wonder, and a more mature quest for history and education. Union Terminal has always fascinated me-- it was, after all, the source of inspiration for the Justice League's HQ-- but last night we were able to look behind the scenes.
I know more about the concept of art deco now... can point out pillars and colors, materials and indirect lighting. I know that there are wires under the seats of the original 1930s theater because men needed a place to put their hats while watching the newsreels. I know that the Rookwood Ice Cream Parlor is worth more than the entire rest of the building, because of its rare tiles. I know that the entire monstrosity was almost demolished, until they discovered it would cost more to tear it down than to turn it into something else. ...And thank gawd they did.
If you get a chance to take a similar tour, I highly recommend it. Ours was at night, which meant it was closed to the public, quiet, and with a completely different lighting than you normally get to see.
There is apparently a very rare tour coming up in February, during which you get to walk over the dome in the concrete infrastructure. We'll definitely pass along information about that if we hear more.
See my Flickr set (mostly taken by Dan) here: Union Terminal tour
Cincinnati Museum Center website: http://www.cincymuseum.org/
2 comments:
Here's another fun fact about Union Terminal -- the top of Terminal A is used for monthly meetings and events run by the Cincinnati Railroad Club. The events are usually slideshow presentations about specific train routes or types, or some other aspect of railroad history. They're very esoteric but fascinating. Also, they're free and open to the public!
Aah, are you kidding me? Open to the public? As in, to MEEEE?
Must have!
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