Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal
Information Center
 

Press Room

 
 

Media Contacts:

Rodger Pille, (513) 287-7054, rpille@cincymuseum.org
Holly Greaves, (513) 287-7055, hgreaves@cincymuseum.org
Laura Partridge, (513) 345-2658, lpartridge@cincymuseum.org

                          

Brief history of Cincinnati Union Terminal

General Information Sheet

  • Cincinnati Union Terminal was first proposed in the early part of the 20th century as a solution to the chaotic existing railroad system, which consisted of seven separate rail lines operating out of five stations.
  • Planning for Cincinnati Union Terminal began in the early 1900s, but floods, inter-railroad bickering and World War I delayed the plan until the late 1920s.
  • New York architects Alfred Fellheimer and Stewart Wagner, recognized leaders in the planning of urban railway stations, were hired to design the Union Terminal building. Philadelphia architect Paul Cret contributed to the Art Deco style.
  • The completed terminal was dedicated in its official grand opening on March 31, 1933. In 2003, Cincinnati Museum Center celebrated the building's 70th anniversary.
  • During World War II, Cincinnati Union Terminal experienced unprecedented success. As a major transfer point for soldiers, the station served as many as 20,000 passengers per day.
  • In the 1950s, the sudden expansion of interstates and airlines led to the rapid decline of the railroad industry.
  • By the early 1970s, only two trains a day passed through Union Terminal.
  • In 1972, train service to the terminal was halted completely.
  • In 1975, the City of Cincinnati bought the terminal and ran advertisements in the Wall Street Journal that read, "World-famous Cincinnati Union Terminal for lease $1 per year."
  • In 1980, a Columbus developer converted the terminal into a shopping mall, but the recession of the early 1980s caused the project to fail.
  • During the mid-1980s, the administrators of the Cincinnati Museum of Natural History and the Cincinnati Historical Society developed plans for a joint museum project. The spaciousness of Union Terminal, coupled with its history and design, made it the top choice as a location for the project.
  • In 1986, Hamilton county voters approved a $33 million bond issue for the restoration of the terminal. The State of Ohio and the City of Cincinnati also contributed to the restoration with grants of $8 million and $3 million, respectively.
  • In one of the city's most successful capital campaigns ever undertaken for a Cincinnati cultural organization, more than 3,000 Cincinnati individuals, corporations and foundations also contributed to the building's renovation.
  • In November 1990, Cincinnati Union Terminal reopened as Cincinnati Museum Center, an educational and cultural complex featuring the Cincinnati Museum of Natural History, the Cincinnati Historical Society Museum and Library and the Robert D. Lindner Family OMNIMAX® Theater.
  • The success of the Union Terminal renovation made it possible for Amtrak to schedule a Cincinnati stop on its Chicago-bound route from Washington, D.C. On July 29, 1991 train service was officially restored to the terminal.
  • The Cincinnati History Museum, Cincinnati Historical Society Library, the Museum of Natural History & Science and the Robert D. Lindner Family OMNIMAX Theater merged operations in January 1995 as Cincinnati Museum Center, and merged with the Children's Museum of Cincinnati in July 1997. The new Duke Energy Children's Museum opened in October 1998.
  • Since its opening in 1990, Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal has attracted more than 1.47 million visitors each year.

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