Press Room

Febuary 8, 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact: Rodger Pille, piller@cincymuseum.org, (513) 287-7054

Union Terminal in Top 50 of America’s favorite architecture

Highest ranking in Ohio/Kentucky/Indiana region

CINCINNATI, OHIO—The American Institute of Architects (AIA) announced this week its list of the top 150 favorite works of architecture in the United States. Wedged between the Crane Library (43) in Quincy, Massachusetts and the Woolworth Building (45) in New York City is Cincinnati Union Terminal, now home to the Cincinnati Museum Center complex.

Union Terminal is the highest ranked architectural work in Ohio. It is also the highest ranked in the Ohio/Kentucky/Indiana region, besting the Humana Building (98) in Louisville, The Athenaeum (116) in Indiana and the only other Ohio structure, Paul Brown Stadium (101).

Union Terminal shares the list with extraordinary company, including the Empire State Building (1) in New York City, the White House (2) and the Washington National Cathedral (3) in Washington, D.C.

The survey, conducted by Harris Interactive as part of the institute’s celebration of its 150th anniversary, was released in the Wall Street Journal on February 7. More than 1,800 randomly selected Americans ranked America’s Favorite Architecture from a list pre-selected by an AIA panel of 248 structures in numerous categories, including famous homes, public buildings, sports arenas, transportation hubs, and office buildings.

Union Terminal is one of seven former or current railroad stations, including Grand Central Station (13) in New York City and the Union Station buildings in Washington (37), St. Louis (40), Los Angeles (75), Chicago (110) and Kansas City (127).

Other museums or museum complexes on the list include: the Metropolitan Museum of Art (17) in New York City, the Philadelphia Museum of Art (24), the Rose Center For Earth And Space at American Museum of Natural History (33) in New York City, the National Gallery of Art (34) in Washington, the Field Museum of Natural History (52) in Chicago and the Guggenheim Museum (74) in New York City.

Long hailed as one of the greatest train stations ever constructed, Union Terminal was first proposed in the early part of the 20th century as a solution to Cincinnati’s chaotic existing railroad system, which consisted of seven separate rail lines operating out of five stations. 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. German-born artist Winold Reiss was commissioned in 1932 to design huge color mosaic murals for the concourse and Grand Rotunda and assist in creating the Art Deco style for the entire building for the terminal.

The completed terminal was dedicated and opened in March 1933. 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.

Cincinnati Museum Center gratefully acknowledges operating and capital support from the City of Cincinnati, Hamilton County and the State of Ohio.

Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal is home to the Cincinnati History Museum, Duke Energy Children's Museum, the Museum of Natural History & Science, the Robert D. Lindner Family OMNIMAX® Theater, and the Cincinnati Historical Society Library. It is a nationally recognized educational and research resource and one of the top cultural attractions in the Midwest. Cincinnati Museum Center serves more than 1.47 million visitors annually, reaching out to almost 200,000 young people through hands-on exhibits and programs. Originally built in 1933 as the Union Terminal train station, the building is a national historic landmark and was renovated and reopened as Cincinnati Museum Center in 1990. For information, call (513) 287-7000 or 1-800-733-2077 or visit www.cincymuseum.org.

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