SPACE FOR CULTURAL SITES AND MUSEUMS
The Cincinnati Museum Center houses Amtrak, a library and three museums.
» Please read our in-depth case study on the restoration of the Cincinnati Union Terminal (1.1 MB PDF file).
City train stations built in the early 1900s were often massive structures designed to accommodate the large number of rail travelers that passed through on a daily basis. As demonstrated in Cincinnati’s Union Terminal, these spacious buildings, often built in central locations, present an opportunity to take advantage of abandoned spaces by turning them into cultural sites or museums.
Union Terminal train station was originally built in 1933 and was a heavily-travelled route as a major transfer point for soldiers during World War II. The station accommodated as many as 34,000 passengers daily. In the 1950s, with the expansion of interstates and airlines, railroad travel declined and the station eventually shut down in 1972.
In 1986, Hamilton county voters approved a $33 million bond issue for the restoration of the terminal and the State of Ohio and City of Cincinnati also contributed to the restoration with grants of $8 million and $3 million, respectively. In addition, more than 3,000 individuals, corporations and foundations contributed to the renovation in the late 1980s. It was reopened as the Cincinnati Museum Center in 1990.
