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Carew Tower

Coordinates: 39°06′03″N 84°31′31″W / 39.10083°N 84.52528°W / 39.10083; -84.52528
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Carew Tower
Map
General information
TypeCommercial offices
Architectural styleArt Deco/Art Moderne
Location441 Vine Street
Cincinnati, Ohio
Coordinates39°06′03″N 84°31′31″W / 39.10083°N 84.52528°W / 39.10083; -84.52528
Construction started1927
Completed1931
CostUS$33,000,000
Height
Roof175 m (574 ft)
Technical details
Floor count49
Floor area128,000 m2 (1,377,780.5 sq ft)
Lifts/elevators14
Design and construction
Architect(s)W.W. Ahlschlager & Associates
Delano & Aldrich
DeveloperJohn J. Emery
Carew Tower-Netherland Plaza Hotel
Area10 acres (4.0 ha)
Built1930
NRHP reference No.82003578
Added to NRHPAugust 5, 1982
References
[1][2][3][4][5][6]

Carew Tower is a 49-story, 574-foot (175 m) building completed in 1930 in the heart of downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, overlooking the Ohio River waterfront. It is the second-tallest building in the city and was added to the register of National Historic Landmarks on August 5, 1982.

The site comprises Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza (formerly Omni Netherland Plaza), which is described as "one of the world's finest examples of French Art Deco architecture",[by whom?] and was used as the model for the Empire State Building in New York City. The tower was eclipsed by the Great American Insurance Building at Queen City Square on July 13, 2010, rising 86 ft (26 m) higher than Carew Tower. Prior to the construction of the Great American Insurance Building, Carew Tower gave Cincinnati the distinction of having an American city's tallest building, constructed prior to World War II. It is named for Joseph T. Carew, proprietor of the Mabley & Carew department store chain, which had previously operated on the site since 1877.

History

Carew Tower was designed by the architectural firm W.W. Ahlschlager & Associates with Delano & Aldrich and developed by John J. Emery. The original concept was a development that would include a department store, a theater, office accommodation and a hotel to rival the Waldorf-Astoria. Emery took on as partner Col. William A. Starrett (Starrett Investment Corp.) and Starrett Brothers, Inc. as general contractors.[7]<The building is widely considered to be an early prototype of an urban mixed-use development, a "city within a city". New York City's Rockefeller Center, built around the same time, is a more famous example of this concept. The Hotel Emery and an office block belonging to Mabley & Carew were demolished to make the site available for construction.

Construction began in September 1929, just one month before the stock market crash on October 24 that triggered the Great Depression. Because of this, construction was continued on a modified plan. The grand details (architectural motifs, friezes, and decorative metal) that are common on art deco buildings were stopped at the third floor and plain bricks were used on the floors above. Art deco themes can be found throughout the building, particularly in the metalwork and grillwork of the elevators and lights. Rookwood Pottery floral tiles add the "Cincy" touch to the building. Sculpture on the exterior and interior of the building were executed by New York architectural sculptor Rene Paul Chambellan.

Eighteen Louis Grell murals can be found throughout the Hilton Netherland Plaza Hotel on the bottom floor. Ten wall-to-ceiling murals can be found in the hotel's original lobby, now the Palm Court, four Greek Themed murals in the Continental Room and two above the side entry staircase are the work of muralist and painter Louis Grell. The ten murals in the Palm Court represent the recreation and it is believed that the artist representations of Carew Tower can be found worked into each background by Grell. The staircase mural says "Welcome Travelers" and the four in the Continental Room represent the four seasons of the year. The massive 90 foot long Apollo Gallery boost another "Apollo on Chariot" mural and a large "Hunt of Diana" mural by Grell. All murals are believed to be oil on canvas.

The total cost of the building was US$33 million, which at that time was an enormous amount of money. It took crews only 13 months to complete the construction, working 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.

From 1930 until 1960, Carew Tower was the home of the Mabley & Carew department store.

From 1967 to 1980, Carew Tower and the neighboring PNC Tower, then called the Central Trust Bank tower, were featured in the opening and closing credits of the long-running daytime soap opera The Edge of Night, since Cincinnati was the stand-in for the show's fictional locale of Monticello. Coincidentally (or not), Procter & Gamble, the show's producers, are based in Cincinnati.

Today the building is home to a mixed crowd of tenants, including a shopping mall, Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza, and offices. Visitors can pay $2 each to access the observation deck, which is located on the 49th floor. On a clear day, visitors can see for miles in all directions, and three states (Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio). Because of its architectural standards, as well as its identity with the city's heritage, Carew Tower was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1994.

The building originally had three towers, the tallest housing offices, the second the hotel, and the third serving as a parking garage which had an elevator rather than traditional ramps for access. There was also a turntable for vehicles to assist in pointing delivery trucks in the right direction. The system has since been dismantled. During the mid- to late-1980s a giant inflatable gorilla was attached to the upper floors.

Statistics

  • 9 miles of brass piping
  • 15 railroad cars full of glass
  • 37 miles of steel piping
  • 40 railroad cars full of stone
  • 60 miles of floor and window molding
  • 60 railroad cars full of lumber
  • 4500 plumbing fixtures
  • 5000 doors
  • 8000 windows (upon its completion in 1931)
  • 15000 tons of structural steel
  • 4 million bricks in the outer structure
  • Carew Tower, the second tallest building in Cincinnati, is an example of French Art Deco.
    Carew Tower, the second tallest building in Cincinnati, is an example of French Art Deco.
  • View of Carew Tower from Tower Place atrium
    View of Carew Tower from Tower Place atrium
  • The elevator lobby of Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza displays Art Deco style with original postal drop box
    The elevator lobby of Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza displays Art Deco style with original postal drop box
  • North side view from the observation deck.
    North side view from the observation deck.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Carew Tower". CTBUH Skyscraper Center.
  2. ^ Carew Tower at Emporis
  3. ^ Carew Tower at Glass Steel and Stone (archived)
  4. ^ "Carew Tower". SkyscraperPage.
  5. ^ Carew Tower at Structurae
  6. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  7. ^ Painter, Sue Ann (2006). Architecture in Cincinnati: An Illustrated History of Designing and Building an American City. Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press. ISBN 0821417002.
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