Carew Tower

Coordinates: 39°06′03″N 84°30′48″W / 39.1007°N 84.5132°W / 39.1007; -84.5132
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Carew Tower
Carew Tower is located in Ohio
Carew Tower
Location within Ohio
Record height
Tallest in Cincinnati from 1931 to 2011[I]
Preceded byFourth and Vine Tower
Surpassed byGreat American Tower at Queen City Square
General information
StatusCompleted
TypeCommercial offices
Architectural styleArt Deco
Location441 Vine Street
Cincinnati, Ohio
Coordinates39°06′03″N 84°30′48″W / 39.1007°N 84.5132°W / 39.1007; -84.5132
Construction started1927
Completed1931
CostUS$33 million
OwnerVictrix Investments, LLC[1]
Height
Antenna spire190 m (623 ft)
Roof175 m (574 ft)
Top floor171.3 m (562 ft)
Technical details
Floor count49
Floor area128,000 m2 (1,377,780.5 sq ft)
Lifts/elevators14
Design and construction
Architect(s)W.W. Ahlschlager & Associates
Delano & Aldrich
DeveloperJohn J. Emery
Main contractorStarrett Investment Corp.
Col. William A. Starrett
Carew Tower-Netherland Plaza Hotel
Area10 acres (4.0 ha)
NRHP reference No.82003578
Significant dates
Added to NRHPAugust 5, 1982
Designated NHLApril 19, 1994
References
[2][3][4][5][6][7]

Carew Tower is a 49-story, 574-foot (175 m) Art Deco building completed in 1931[8] in the heart of downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, overlooking the Ohio River waterfront. The structure is the second-tallest building in the city, and it was added to the register of National Historic Landmarks on April 19, 1994. The tower is named after Joseph T. Carew, proprietor of the Mabley & Carew department store chain, which had previously operated in a building on the site.[9]

The complex contains the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza (formerly Omni Netherland Plaza), which is described as a fine example of Art Deco architecture.[10] The hotel's Hall of Mirrors banquet room was inspired by the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles.[11]

Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza is a member of Historic Hotels of America, the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.[12]

The tower remained the city's tallest until the completion of the Great American Tower at Queen City Square on July 13, 2010, rising 86 ft (26 m) higher than Carew Tower.

History[edit]

The Carew Tower replaced the late nineteenth-century Carew Building, a nine-story structure built in 1891 in the Romanesque style, designed by Cincinnati architect James W. McLaughlin. The Carew Building, home to the Mabley & Carew department store, included a clock tower and hydraulic elevators. Following the death of J.T. Carew in 1914, the building was purchased by a real estate corporation founded by Cincinnati industrialist Thomas Emery.[13] By the summer of 1929, the Carew Building had been demolished to build the new tower.[14]

Construction began in September 1929, just one month before the stock market crash on October 24 that triggered the Great Depression.[15] Because of this, construction was continued on a modified plan.[16] Art Deco stylistic motifs can be found throughout the building, particularly in the metalwork and areas surrounding the elevators and lights.[17] Locally-made Rookwood Pottery floral tiles adorn the east and west entrances of the building. Sculpture on the exterior and interior of the building were executed by New York City architectural sculptor Rene Paul Chambellan.[17]

Eighteen Louis Grell murals can be found throughout the Hilton Netherland Plaza Hotel on the bottom floor: 10 wall-to-ceiling murals in the hotel's original lobby, now the Palm Court; four murals in the Continental Room; two above the side entry staircase. The staircase mural says "Welcome Travelers" and the four in the Continental Room represent the four seasons of the year. The 90-foot long Apollo Gallery includes an "Apollo on Chariot" mural and a large "Hunt of Diana" mural by Grell.[citation needed] These subjects echo similar ones that appear at the Palais de Versailles.[18]

The total cost of the building was US$33 million ($602 million in 2023 dollars). It took crews only 13 months to complete the construction, working 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.[15]

Through the 1930s, the Netherland Plaza Hotel was run by hotel industry pioneer Ralph Hitz's National Hotel Management Company.[19]

From 1930 until 1960, the Carew Tower was the home of the Mabley & Carew department store.[citation needed]

From 1967 to 1980, the Carew Tower and the neighboring Fourth and Vine Tower, then called the Central Trust Bank tower, were featured in the opening and closing credits of the daytime soap opera The Edge of Night, which used Cincinnati as the stand-in for the show's fictional locale of "Monticello". Procter & Gamble, the show's producer, is based in Cincinnati.[citation needed]

From 1978 to 1982, the building was featured in the opening and closing credits on the sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati.[20]

Today, the building is home to a mixed group of tenants, including a shopping arcade, Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza, and offices. Visitors can access the observation deck located on the 49th floor.[21] 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.[citation needed] The observation deck is closed.

In August 2022, the building sold for $18 million (USD) to Victrix Investments LLC. The building is to undergo residential conversion.[1]

In November 2023, wind hit scaffolding while the building was undergoing renovation, causing bricks to fall from the tower.[22]

Design[edit]

The Carew Tower is a leading example of Art Deco architecture. It 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, an office accommodation, and a hotel to rival the Waldorf-Astoria. Emery took on as partner with William A. Starrett (Starrett Investment Corp.) and Starrett Brothers, Inc. as general contractors.[23] 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.

The building was originally designed with 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. The third parking tower was demolished in 1980 due to corrosion from road salt. There was also a turntable for vehicles to assist in pointing delivery trucks in the right direction. The system has since been dismantled.

Statistics[edit]

  • 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[citation needed]

Gallery[edit]

  • Hall of Mirrors
    Hall of Mirrors
  • Hilton Netherland Plaza restaurant, displaying Art Deco style
    Hilton Netherland Plaza restaurant, displaying Art Deco style
  • Ceiling detail and chandelier inside the Carew Tower
    Ceiling detail and chandelier inside the Carew Tower
  • Hotel lobby
    Hotel lobby
  • The elevator lobby of Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza displays Art Deco style with original postal drop box
    The elevator lobby of Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza displays Art Deco style with original postal drop box

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Monk, Dan (August 23, 2022). "Carew Tower sold for $18 million". WCPO. Retrieved August 23, 2022.
  2. ^ "Carew Tower". CTBUH Skyscraper Center.
  3. ^ "Emporis building ID 122028". Emporis. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016.
  4. ^ Carew Tower at Glass Steel and Stone (archived)
  5. ^ "Carew Tower". SkyscraperPage.
  6. ^ Carew Tower at Structurae
  7. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  8. ^ CLEE25 (December 22, 2013). "Carew Tower Observation Deck". Cincinnati USA. Retrieved December 22, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ Suess, Jeff (2015). Lost Cincinnati. The History Press. p. 126. ISBN 978-1-62619-575-2.
  10. ^ McCarty, Mary (July 1983). "Cincinnati: The City for People with Big City Tastes and Hometown Hearts". Cincinnati Magazine Jul 1983. p. 66. Retrieved May 8, 2013.
  11. ^ Morris, Jeff (June 8, 2009). Haunted Cincinnati and Southwest Ohio. Arcadia Publishing. p. 92. ISBN 9780738560335. Retrieved May 18, 2013.
  12. ^ "Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza, a Historic Hotels of America member". Historic Hotels of America. Retrieved January 20, 2014. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  13. ^ Suess, Jeff (June 22, 2015). Lost Cincinnati. Arcadia Publishing. p. 127. ISBN 978-1-62585-108-6.
  14. ^ Korom, Joseph J. (2008). The American Skyscraper, 1850-1940: A Celebration of Height. Branden Books. ISBN 978-0-8283-2188-4.
  15. ^ a b Schrage, Robert (July 1, 2006). Along the Ohio River: Cincinnati to Louisville. Arcadia Publishing. p. 12. ISBN 9780738543086. Retrieved May 27, 2013.
  16. ^ Hoevener, Laura (2010). Adventures Around Cincinnati. Hillcrest Publishing Group. p. 25. ISBN 9781936107438.
  17. ^ a b Pender, Rick (April 15, 2021). Oldest Cincinnati. Reedy Press LLC. ISBN 978-1-68106-304-1.
  18. ^ "The King's State Apartment". Palace of Versailles. March 27, 2016. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  19. ^ Cincinnati Enquirer Newspaper, 11 May 1937, Pg. 7; https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/99498652/ Retrieved 08 March 2018
  20. ^ Kiesewetter, John. "The area's famous places: As seen on TV". The Enquirer. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  21. ^ Smith, Steve; et al. (2007). "Around Town: How to Decode Cincinnati's Many Motorways". Cincinnati USA City Guide. Cincinnati Magazine. p. 12. Retrieved May 6, 2013.
  22. ^ Moorwood, Victoria (November 13, 2023). "Bricks fall from Carew Tower causing road closure downtown". Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
  23. ^ Painter, Sue Ann (2006). Architecture in Cincinnati: An Illustrated History of Designing and Building an American City. Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press. ISBN 0821417002.

External links[edit]

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