Cincinnati Union Terminal

Cincinnati Union Terminal
Amtrak intercity train station
Main (east) facade
General information
Location	1301 Western Avenue Cincinnati, Ohio
Owned by	City of Cincinnati
Line(s)	CSX Cincinnati Terminal Subdivision
Platforms	1 side platform (originally 8)
Tracks	2 (originally 16)
Connections	SORTA Metro route 49
Construction
Accessible	Yes[N 1]
Other information
Station code	Amtrak: CIN
History
Opened	March 19, 1933[2]
Closed	October 29, 1972; reopened July 29, 1991[2]
Passengers
FY 2023	8,303[3] (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station Connersville toward Chicago Cardinal Maysville toward New York
Former services Preceding station Amtrak Following station Indianapolis toward Chicago James Whitcomb Riley and George Washington 1971–1972 Ashland toward Washington, D.C. or Newport News Preceding station Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Following station Delhi toward St. Louis St. Louis Line Winton Place toward Cumberland Terminus Toledo Division Winton Place toward Detroit Cincinnati – Pittsburgh Winton Place toward Pittsburgh Preceding station Chesapeake and Ohio Railway Following station Terminus Main Line Covington toward Washington, D.C. or Old Point Comfort Brighton toward Hammond Chicago, Cincinnati & Louisville Railroad Terminus Preceding station Louisville and Nashville Railroad Following station Covington toward New Orleans Main Line Terminus Terminus Cincinnati – Atlanta Covington toward Atlanta Preceding station New York Central Railroad Following station Delhi toward Chicago Chicago – Cincinnati Terminus Terminus Cincinnati – Cleveland Dayton toward Cleveland Winton Place toward Cleveland Cincinnati – Toledo Winton Place toward Toledo Preceding station Norfolk and Western Railway Following station Terminus Main Line Clare toward Norfolk Preceding station Pennsylvania Railroad Following station Winton Place toward Chicago Chicago – Cincinnati Terminus Terminus Cincinnati – Cleveland Winton Place toward Cleveland Cincinnati, Lebanon and Northern Railway Oak Street toward Lebanon Preceding station Southern Railway Following station Cincinnati Junction toward New Orleans New Orleans – Cincinnati Terminus
Proposed services Preceding station Amtrak Following station Oxford toward Chicago Cardinal Maysville toward New York
Coordinates	39°6′36.0″N 84°32′16.1″W / 39.110000°N 84.537806°W / 39.110000; -84.537806
Area	287 acres (116 ha)
Built	1928–1933
Restored	2016–2018
Architect	Fellheimer & Wagner
Architectural style(s)	Art Deco
Visitors	1.8 million (in 2019)[4]
Website	Amtrak station listing
U.S. National Historic Landmark
Designated	May 5, 1977
Reference no.	72001018
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Designated	October 31, 1972
Reference no.	72001018
Cincinnati Local Historic Landmark
Designated	March 6, 1974
Reference no.	0079-1974
Location

Cincinnati Union Terminal is an intercity train station and museum center in the Queensgate neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio. Commonly abbreviated as CUT,^[5] or by its Amtrak station code, CIN, the terminal is served by Amtrak's Cardinal line, passing through Cincinnati three times weekly. The building's largest tenant is the Cincinnati Museum Center, comprising the Cincinnati History Museum, the Museum of Natural History & Science, Duke Energy Children's Museum, the Cincinnati History Library and Archives, and an Omnimax theater.

Union Terminal's distinctive architecture, interior design, and history have earned it several landmark designations, including as a National Historic Landmark. Its Art Deco design incorporates several contemporaneous works of art, including two of the Winold Reiss industrial murals, a set of sixteen mosaic murals depicting Cincinnati industry commissioned for the terminal in 1931. The main space in the facility, the Rotunda, has two enormous mosaic murals designed by Reiss. Taxi and bus driveways leading to and from the Rotunda are now used as museum space. The now-demolished train concourse held all 16 of Reiss's industrial murals, along with other art and design features.

The Cincinnati Union Terminal Company was created in 1927 to build a union station to replace five local stations used by seven railroads. Construction, which lasted from 1928 to 1933, included the creation of viaducts, mail and express buildings, and utility structures: a power plant, water treatment facility, and roundhouse. Six of the railroads terminated at the station, which they jointly owned, while the Baltimore and Ohio operated through services.^[6]

Initially underused, the terminal saw traffic grow through World War II, then decline over the following four decades. Several attractions were mounted over the years to supplement declining revenues. Train service ended in 1972, and Amtrak moved service to a smaller station nearby. The terminal was largely dormant from 1972 to 1980; during this time, its platforms and train concourse were demolished. In 1980, the Land of Oz shopping mall was constructed inside the station; it operated until 1985. In the late 1980s, two Cincinnati museums merged and renovated the terminal, which reopened in 1990 as the Cincinnati Museum Center. Amtrak returned to the terminal in 1991, resuming its role as an intercity train station. A two-year, $228 million renovation was completed in 2018.

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