- Carew Tower
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Carew Tower-Netherland Plaza Hotel
View from the base
Location: W. 5th St. and Fountain Sq., Cincinnati, Ohio Coordinates: 39°6′3″N 84°31′31″W / 39.10083°N 84.52528°WCoordinates: 39°6′3″N 84°31′31″W / 39.10083°N 84.52528°W Area: 10 acres (4.0 ha) Built: 1930 Architect: W.W. Ahlschlager & Associates with Delano & Aldrich Architectural style: Art Deco Governing body: Private NRHP Reference#: 82003578[1] Added to NRHP: August 5, 1982 
Carew Tower, the second tallest building in Cincinnati, is an example of French Art Deco.
Carew Tower is the second tallest building in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. However, it is still the highest elevated building in the city. The Great American Insurance building is only taller because of the basement. Completed in 1930, it stands 49 stories tall in the heart of downtown, overlooking the Ohio River waterfront, and is a National Historic Landmark. It contains the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza (formerly the Omni Netherland Plaza). The hotel is described as "one of the world's finest examples of French Art Deco architecture" and was used as the model for the Empire State Building in New York City. The building was eclipsed by the Great American Insurance Building at Queen City Square on July 13, 2010, rising 86 feet (26 m) higher than the Carew Tower. Prior to the Great American Insurance Building, Carew Tower gave Cincinnati the distinction of having an American city's tallest building, constructed pre-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.
Contents
History
The building 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. [2] [3]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. To make the site available the Carew Building, an office block belonging to Mabley & Carew, and the Hotel Emery were demolished. [4]
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.
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, the Carew Tower was the home of the Mabley & Carew department store.
From 1967 to 1980, the 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, the 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
View of Carew Tower from Tower Place atrium
The elevator lobby of the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza displays Art Deco style with original postal drop box, still in use today.Name & location
Official Name: Carew Tower Namesake: Joseph T. Carew Address: 441 Vine Street
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202Cross streets: Vine Street
West 5th StreetZone: Fountain Square Neighborhood: Central Business District / Riverfront District: District 1 (center) Current status: In use (designated National Historic Landmark in 1994) Technical data
Height (structure): 574 ft (175 m) Floors: 49 Construction begin: September, 1929 Construction end: January, 1931 Elevators: 41 Construction
Type: High-rise building Structural materials: Steel Facade materials: Brick Architectural style: Art deco Original cost (1929): $33,000,000 Statistics
- 1.383 million square feet (128,000 m²) of total floor area
- 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
Gallery
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North side view from the observation deck.
See also
- List of tallest buildings in Cincinnati
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2009-03-13. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html.
- ^ Painter, Sue Ann. Architecture in Cincinnati: An Illustrated History of Designing and Building an American City, Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press, 2006.
- ^ National Historic Landmark Nomination.
- ^ http://www.emporis.com/application/?nav=building&id=122028&lng=3
External links
- National Historic Landmarks Program: Carew Tower-Netherland Plaza Hotel
- Carew Tower & adjoining Netherlands Hotel
- The Carew Tower-Netherland Plaza Hotel - University of Cincinnati
- 360 degree interactive panorama from the top of the Carew Tower
U.S. National Register of Historic Places Topics Lists by states Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • WyomingLists by territories Lists by associated states Other Categories:- 1931 architecture
- Art Deco skyscrapers
- National Historic Landmarks in Ohio
- National Register of Historic Places in Cincinnati, Ohio
- Skyscrapers in Cincinnati, Ohio
- Skyscrapers between 150 and 199 meters
- Hotels in Ohio
- Art Deco architecture in Ohio
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