Terrace Plaza Hotel facts for kids
The Terrace Plaza Hotel is a cool 18-story building in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. It was finished in 1948 and is a great example of something called the International Style of architecture. This building was designed to be used for many different things, all in one place!
A Special Design
The hotel was designed by a famous architecture company called Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM). They worked on it between 1946 and 1948. This was their very first hotel project, and it was one of the first tall buildings built in the United States after World War II. SOM later designed some of the world's tallest and most famous buildings.
A talented architect named Natalie de Blois was the main architect for the hotel. She and her team thought about every tiny detail, even down to the furniture and matchbook covers! When the hotel first opened, people thought its design was very new and exciting. Harper's Magazine even wrote that if you wanted to see what people in the future would think was elegant, you should visit Cincinnati.
What Was Inside?
The Terrace Plaza Hotel was unique because it had many different parts. The bottom floors, which didn't have windows, were home to two department stores. Above the stores, the hotel part of the building rose up, looking very different.
High above the hotel, there was a fancy French restaurant with huge windows all around. Imagine eating there with amazing views! The 8th floor even had a special outdoor area where people could go ice skating in the winter.
Inside, the hotel was decorated with modern art. This included a stunning abstract painting by Joan Miró and another painting showing famous Cincinnati places by Saul Steinberg. There was also art by Alexander Calder. Later, this art was moved to the Cincinnati Art Museum so more people could enjoy it. Guests would take fast elevators up to the hotel lobby on the 8th floor, above the stores.
A Historic Building
The Terrace Plaza Hotel closed its doors in 2008. However, there are plans to fix it up and make it new again! Because it's such an important building, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2017. This means it's recognized as a special place in history.
In 2020, the National Trust for Historic Preservation said it was one of America's most endangered historic places. This means they want to make sure it's saved and protected for the future.
