Terminal Tower Building, Cleveland Union Terminal, 50 Public Square, Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, OH

Significance: The Terminal Tower Building is one of seven buildings built in the 1920's, known as the Terminal Group, an urban business complex comparable to and predating Rockefeller Center in New York City. Air rights, then a new concept, were required to construct the complex consisting of the train station (Cleveland Union Terminal) on the lower levels and the various buildings on top of it. Literally built in layers, the railroad tracks run directly beneath the buildings. For the first time in the United States, electric locomotives were in operation. The design development of the Terminal Tower Building, Cleveland Union Terminal examined several design concepts. The existing 52-story skyscraper replaced the original concept of a 14-story building capped by a cupola. The tower and main entrance of the Terminal Tower Building are designed after the New York Municipal Building. The Terminal Tower Building rises 708 feet and until 1967 was the second tallest building in the country. Fred Harvey concessions which were located in the concourses of the 72.5 level of the station, created the world's largest railroad service operation.

Survey number: HABS OH-2280

Building/structure dates: 1930 Initial Construction

Building/structure dates: after 1960 Subsequent Work

Building/structure dates: after 1970 Subsequent Work

Building/structure dates: 1982 Subsequent Work

National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 72001018

railroad stations commercial facilities cleveland terminal tower terminal tower union cleveland union terminal public square cuyahoga cuyahoga county ohio anderson graham historic american buildings survey edward probst howard j white photo ultra high resolution high resolution architecture railroad railroad architecture interior electric locomotives library of congress national register of historic places

1930 - 1980

Library of Congress

http://www.loc.gov/

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