Well, I fell in love again.
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 tourCincinnati Museum Center website:
http://www.cincymuseum.org/
It's a free museum with a fantastic private collection, which was on display when I recently visited.
Charley Harper!
When I visited, it was to see my incredible friend Dave. He spent a handful of months in Berlin with an art residency and was describing his stay for the museum patrons. If you stop in, say hi to Dave-- he'll be around for a few more months, until he scuttles off to Germany again.
To be honest, the tour guide was spoke at a fairly technical level, so I didn't always understand the nuance of the machines. The museum typically caters to people in the business, when they have trade shows and the like. The fact that there were outsiders there at all seemed to really surprise them-- they asked me a handful of times how I'd discovered the museum at all.
Since I can't tell you much about the machines, check out these awesome old brand typefaces. These alone were worth the trip (and the $5 admission).
16623 Liberty Hi Road
Even when we were planning on visiting, we didn't realize that there was a theater within the Carnegie. The museum staff explained that the building used to have political uses; the theater was an area where elections were held. Now they have concerts and theater performed on their intimate stage.
The Carnegie website says the building was also a public library at one time. I can picture it.
My friend Amber sent me some pictures of a flying pig that I'd somehow missed last time I was at my beloved Cincinnati Museum Center. She was awesome enough to write up a post about "Animal House"-- thank you, Amber!
One Sunday afternoon we had planned to go to the zoo, but the weather didn't agree with our plan. So since we had already planned on being in the downtown area, I suggested that we go to Union Terminal. Well, needless to say, our kids instantly fell in love with it and it soon became our regular rainy day spot.
Part 1 of my friend Meredith's wedding took place at the Holy Cross-Immaculata Church in Mt. Adams. For her reception, we scooted over to Eden Park to visit the Cincinnati Art Museum.
Meredith's cocktail hour took place in a little courtyard within the museum grounds... which, with the falling dusk, was incredibly pretty.
Meredith made her rounds with a huge smile and a glass of white wine. As it grew darker there were candles and lanterns lit. Picturesque.
I'll have to re-visit the art museum to give it a proper review; none of the exhibits were open, though Dan and I half hoped they'd let us mill around in there. This museum is one of the places in Cincinnati that I do visit about once a year, so I'm sure we'll be back in no time.
