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Cincinnati History Preservation Project • 70 + Years • 7 Major Railroads • 70,000 Treasures
Rail News
This gallery contains 8 photos.
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Going up or coming down? Bridge and viaduct construction was an integral part of the Union Terminal construction project
Going up or coming down? Over the last 70+ years, the landmark has been the subject of wonder, awe and unfortunately from time to time, of thoughts to tear it down and reclaim the land for other uses.
The Cincinnati Union Terminal building has had a couple of lives– in service of trains, as a shopping mall and now as the Cincinnati Museum Center.
The construction of the Terminal was a one time thing in our history. Never before or again will opportunity, need, art and function come together to shape our surroundings.
Could we build a stadium for $41,000,000.00? An airport?
As one railroad club member is fond of saying, maybe a lane of highway. Even if we had put away that money in the 1920′s with inflation and interest, the cost of building a landmark like the Cincinnati Union Terminal could not be repeated.
Capturing the history of the building, rail history and the effect this had on Cincinnati is a legacy we need to capture and share–to preserve our memories for our children before they fade…
Please consider how you can help, by sharing memories here in the comments sections, by volunteering or donating.
Thanks~!
Joseph T. Ryerson and Sons
Have you ever wondered about the old ghost signs on buildings around downtown Cincinnati? How about the signs on old buildings that are still thriving after all these years? Maybe you have seen the front – or back – of the Ryerson building, just one of the Cincinnati companies that made the rails possible. Cincinnati is still, after all one of the largest train hubs in the U.S.!
Can anyone share a little more info about Ryerson and their role in Cincinnati history?
Before the days of private jets, athletes traveled by train. In fact, teams didn’t move west of St. Louis until the late forties when air travel was coming into vogue. Imagine what life would have been like back then as a kid… Heading out of town for summer vacation to visit relatives and running into your favorite all-star outfielder.
These placards were used by major league baseball teams to gather the players prior to hopping the freight to their next road series.
Votto on the rails to St. Louis? Happened all the time until the mid fifties! Kids could just hang out at Cincinnati Union Terminal and wait to see their teams come to play, or even just roll through town to their next home stand.
Union Terminal Project Management
Back when I was but a wee pup, we did project management the hard way – with Microsoft Project! Printing out a gantt chart took many, many minutes. Back in the day of Union Terminal’s construction, the architects drew their gantt charts by hand, just like their blueprints.
The construction project was so controlled and disciplined, they even had a project font created specifically for blueprints and planning. The planners even created an ‘expected mortality’ chart to estimate the loss of life during construction (which we also hear was extremely minimal, thank goodness).
Take that, six sigma!
More planning and construction photos can be seen in the galleries. Please feel free to look around, comment and ask questions. Our club experts are standing by…
OK, so technically they are in front of the building. The Cincinnati Union Terminal construction was one of the largest earthworks projects in the region. While most people consider...
Cincinnati Union Terminal Company executives, architects and contractors
Back in the days of the Terminal planning and construction, men wore suits, people smoked at meetings and donuts were conspicuously missing from the center of the room. These were the executives who made the decisions that shaped the building and grounds. More of these photos can be seen in the galleries. Click here to view images from the recently posted volume 11 from the Gibson Yungblut collection.
Laying the cornerstone
What a sight – the time capsule cornerstone being ceremoniously lowered into place back in 1931. This stone would be reopened in 2008, the Terminal’s 75th anniversary. In 1958, another capsule was added.
In 2008, both capsules were opened to reveal some items from our past – as well as some items that had completely deteriorated! A new capsule was added to be opened some time in the future.
From the press release:
On Saturday, Mar. 29, 2008, in celebration of the 75th anniversary of Cincinnati Union Terminal, Museum Center celebrated the opening of two historic time capsules. The first time capsule was removed from the cornerstone where it had been placed in Nov. 1931, two years before the construction of the terminal was completed.
The second capsule was removed from the façade of the building where it had been placed in honor of the terminal’s 25th anniversary. In 1983, the 50th year of the terminal, the 1958 capsule was removed and the contents were examined. The original contents were put back into the capsule and augmented with items from 1983. The capsule was then resealed and carefully placed back into its cavity in the façade.
Items for the current time capsule were chosen based upon three criteria: results of a survey conducted within Union Terminal of volunteers, guests, and members; general item themes from the previous capsules; and timely artifacts hand-picked by the Cincinnati Museum Center Time Capsule Committee.
