FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 22, 2026
1940s Day turns back the clock on Union Terminal Aug. 22
Classic cars, big band music, costume contest and more bring history to life at Cincinnati Museum Center
CINCINNATI - Cincinnati Museum Center is taking Union Terminal back to its roots for 1940s Day. The August 22 event immerses you in the sights, sounds and tastes of the decade that changed the world, and one that Cincinnati’s National Historic Landmark played a major role in. 
The 1940s will live once again inside and outside Union Terminal as a celebration of the music, fashion, vehicles and people that shaped the pivotal era. Live reenactments of radio programs, a costume contest and history-inspired cooking demonstrations will have you dancing the jitterbug and cooking up a real humdinger. The gleaming chrome of classic cars will line the front of Union Terminal and the brass of live big band music will echo inside the building. Special OMNIMAX® screenings of D-Day: Normandy 1944 will pull back the curtain on one of the war’s most incredible operations. Partners from the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center will also be participating, sharing firsthand stories of hope, resilience and survival from one of humanity’s darkest moments.
For a building that played such an active role in the decade, 1940s Day is like a homecoming for the Art Deco icon. Union Terminal buzzed with activity as World War II necessitated even greater traffic through the train station. During the war, over three million American troops passed through the station – nearly one-fifth of the nation’s soldiers who served. To offer troops traveling from across the country a bit of rest and the comforts of home, the nation’s first USO Troops-in-Transit lounge opened in Union Terminal in the space that is now the Rookwood Ice Cream Parlor. The lounge offered service to all troops, regardless of race, at a time when the military, like much of the country, was still segregated. Troops not only shipped off from Union Terminal, many also returned home there to joyful reunions. Among the people disembarking at the station following the war were Holocaust survivors, stepping into Union Terminal’s grand Rotunda to begin new chapters of their lives in Cincinnati.
As Cincinnati Museum Center continues planning for the event, they are looking for 1940s musicians, vintage car owners and demonstrators to participate. Anyone interested can visit cincymuseum.org/1940sday to fill out a registration form.
1940s Day activities are included with Museum Admission and are free for museum Members. Visit cincymuseum.org/1940sday for updated event information.
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About Cincinnati Museum Center
Cincinnati Museum Center (CMC) at Union Terminal is a nationally recognized, award-winning institution housed in a National Historic Landmark. CMC is a vital community resource that sparks curiosity, inspiration, epiphany and dialogue. CMC was awarded the 2009 National Medal for Museum and Library Service from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and received accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums in 2012, one of a select few museums in the nation to receive both honors. Organizations within CMC include the Cincinnati History Museum, Museum of Natural History & Science, The Children’s Museum, Robert D. Lindner Family OMNIMAX® Theater, Cincinnati History Library and Archives and the Geier Collections and Research Center. Housed in historic Union Terminal – a National Historic Landmark restored in 2018 and recognized as the nation’s 45th most important building by the American Institute of Architects – CMC welcomes more than 1.8 million visits annually, making it one of the most visited museums in the country. For more information, visit cincymuseum.org.
