混乱中的秩序:1880-1933

统一终端

早在19世纪80年代, people were talking about building a union terminal in the city to try 和 fix these issues. 制定了许多计划和研究, but most of them failed for several reasons: they planned to build near the heart of downtown 和 they required that all seven railroads to agree on the location 和 to help fund the projects.

一个计划, 1910年由当地商业领袖委托建造, 是约翰·布里克曼准备的吗, 纽约铁路规划师. It called for a massive terminal along the riverfront on Third Street, between Main 和 Walnut. This building would combine both passenger rail 和 freight operations in one location. The building would be capped with a large office tower to accommodate the dem和 for a modern skyscraper in the city. 虽然这个项目看起来很合适, its $30 million price tag made it impossible to finance without railroad support. 铁路, which had not been involved in the Bleekman Plan, 对这个项目没什么兴趣. 结果是, the project 和 other planning efforts languished until World War I, when the nationalization of the railroads temporarily ended the discussions.

第一次世界大战后

第一次世界大战后, the union terminal idea reemerged with the return of civilian control of the railroads. The troop movements during the war had further highlighted the poor passenger rail situation in the city. Local business 和 civic leaders felt that this poor performance, along with the scattered freight operations in the city, was earning Cincinnati a reputation as a city to avoid on rail. 1924年，辛辛那提铁路发展公司. was incorporated 和 appointed local businessman George Dent Crabbs as president. Crabbs worked with the railroads 和 secured two important agreements that moved the union terminal project forward. In 1926 he got the railroads to agree on unified freight facilities, 和, in 1927, the railroads also agreed to consolidate passenger facilities. Following these agreements, the Cincinnati 结合终端 Company was formed. Their job would be to construct 和 operate the union terminal.

选择场地和建筑师

The site chosen by the company for the new station matched the site recommended by the 1925 City Master Plan, which shifted the terminal from its pre-WWI proposed downtown location, to a location just east of the Mill Creek in the West End. The site was considered ideal from a number of perspectives, not the least of which was the open space adjacent to Mill Creek was ready for development 和 property prices in the area were cheaper. 也, four of the city’s seven railroads already had tracks 和 facilities in the Mill Creek basin, 和 the valley was wide enough for future expansion.

New York architects Alfred Fellheimer 和 Steward Wagner were chosen to design the new station 和 Paul Cret from Philadelphia was hired by the 结合终端 Company to advise Fellheimer & Wagner's designer, Rol和 Wank, on the proposed design. The initial proposal had called for a classical structure, 这是非常昂贵的, 到那时, 相当过时. Cret 和 Wank were tasked to bring the design into the modern style, what we now call art deco. They broke ground in 1929, just before the stock market crash.

As the rail yards in the Mill Creek valley were exp和ed, the existing viaducts that crossed over the tracks 和 Mill Creek required replacement. 作为整个项目的一部分, the Western Hills Viaduct was built jointly by the Cincinnati 结合终端 Company 和 the City of Cincinnati, so that Harrison Ave would still connect to the rest of the city.

联合车站是公共艺术的画布

During construction, four artists contributed outst和ing examples of public art. German born artist Winold Reiss prepared paintings which were then turned into 23 glorious glass tile mosaic panels by Ravenna Tile. French born Pierre Bourdelle provided art for the Men’s 和 Women’s lounges, 三个用餐空间, 新闻片剧院, as well as the alcove outside of a women’s restroom located in the dining area. Sculptor Maxfield Keck carved the two massive bas relief figures on the front of the building, 代表运输及商业. 威廉Hentschel, 为卢克伍德制陶公司工作的人, created the designs for the tile installation in the Tea Room.