Cincinnati Union Terminal

Yesterday we visited the Cincinnati Union Terminal building, which is in use by Amtrak and several museums. We only had time to visit the Cincinnati History Museum, which is excellent.

The building itself is an architectural monument, built between 1929 and 1933 in Art Deco. It also houses the science and natural history museum, a children's museum, and the Imax theater. It fell on hard times and was thoroughly restored.

For our readers the most interesting artifact is the body of Cincinnati streetcar 2435, a standard curved-sider built by the Cincinnati Car Co., the manufacturing arm of the street railway. After abandonment, it became a farmer's shed for 30 years. The museum then restored what was left. New seats and other items were installed. There are no trucks, except for cardboard cutouts.

The museum personnel are very helpful. We listened to an entertaining and informative talk by one of the docents, Ben Butler, seen here in his Pullman porter's uniform. He spoke briefly about the history of the street railways in Cincinnati, and about various aspects of life during WWII. He also has various other historical roles he presents.

The replacement seats look like this.

This model was actually used by a salesman for the Cincinnati Car Co.

The museum also includes a huge model railroad layout depicting Cincinnati at various stages of history. I'll post more about this when I get home.

I'd say this is a must-see for anyone in the area.