Flanked by symmetrical curved wings and decorated with a broad foreground of greenery, cascading fountain, and a pool, the Union Terminal's massive arched facade outlines one of Cincinnati's most beloved city landmarks. Designed to consolidate the city's rail system, four of Cincinnati's most prominent rail lines were finally guided into the Union Terminal, located near the heart of the city.
   First planned in the early 1900s to follow a neoclassical design, the Cincinnati Union Terminal was ultimately cast in the art-deco style in 1930 to trim costs in the Depression Era. The terminal complex, taking up nearly a quarter of a million yards of concrete and 45,000 tons of steel, accommodated 17,000 passengers and over 200 trains a day.
   Ceasing to serve a dwindling rail system, the City of Cincinnati bought the building, hoping to utilize this marvelous structure. Floundering as a shopping mall in the 1980s, the spacious interior rotunda lent itself well to house a natural history museum. Restoration grants, city taxes and bonds all hope to fund the long term future of the Cincinnati Museum Center. Its well preserved 180 foot interior dome is finished in acoustical plaster, trimmed in striking bands of silver and brightened with original 1930s color mosaic murals. Created by German-born artist Winold Reiss, the huge mosaics depict working class people of Cincinnati, various forms of transportation, leaders of the Union Terminal project, and the 1930s mayor and terminal president.
   Appreciated as a community treasure and iconic landmark, Cincinnati residents love their Union Terminal and continue to support it financially. Reopened in 1990, the Cincinnati Museum Center, a children’s museum, library and OMNIMAX® Theater have all merged their operations, attracting more than a million visitors each year.

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