Carew Tower

Carew Tower is the tallest building in Cincinnati, Ohio. It stands 49 stories tall in the heart of downtown, overlooking the Ohio River waterfront. It contains the Hilton Netherland Plaza, (formerly the Omni Netherland Plaza), a national historic landmark. Palm Court, the former lobby of the hotel, and now the restaurant, is described by the hotel as the "finest example of French Art Deco architecture in the world."

History

The building was designed by the architectural firm Shreve, Lamb and Harmon Associates, the designers of the Empire State Building. The Carew Tower, built before the Empire State Building was conceived, served as the basis for the design of the larger Empire State Building, as evidenced by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon Associates' ability to produce the building drawings for the Empire State Building in just two weeks.

Construction began in September of 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.

Today the building is home to a mixed crowd of tenants, including a shopping mall, the Netherland Plaza Hotel, and offices. Visitors can pay a small fee to access the observation deck, which is located on the 49th floor. On a clear day, visitors can see for several miles in all directions and three states (Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio).

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

Name & location

Technical data

Construction

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

Trivia

This building was prominently featured in the opening and closing sequences of the daytime drama The Edge of Night prior to 1980; Cincinnati's skyline was used as a stand-in for the show's setting, Monticello. Coincidentally (or not), Procter & Gamble, who produced The Edge of Night, is based in Cincinnati.

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