Terminal Tower
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The Terminal Tower is a landmark skyscraper located on Public Square in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. It is a part of the Tower City Center mixed-use development. Major tenants include Forest City Enterprises (corporate headquarters and current building owner) and Riverside Company.
It was built by the Van Sweringen brothers to serve as an office building atop the city's new rail station, Union Terminal. The top of the 52-floor building is 708 ft (216 m) high.
Designed by the firm of Graham, Anderson, Probst, and White, it was modeled after the Beaux-Arts New York Municipal Building by McKim, Mead, and White. The Terminal Tower opened in 1928, two years before the entire Union Terminal complex was complete. It would remain the tallest building in the world outside of New York City until the completion of the Prudential Center in Boston, Massachusetts in 1967. Since its completion, it has remained one of the most recognizable parts of the Cleveland skyline.
In the 1980s a plan to build a taller building than the Terminal Tower was put forward, but was rejected by city officials who wanted to keep the Terminal Tower as the city's tallest building. The building, the BP Tower (at the time known as the Sohio or Standard Oil Building), was scaled down. The Terminal Tower remained the tallest building in Cleveland until the completion of the Key Tower (at the time known as the Society Center) in 1991.
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[edit] Facts
- The Terminal Tower construction costs in 1930 dollars was $179,000,000, however, in 2007 dollars, the Terminal Tower would cost about 2.5-4.0 billion dollars to be built.
- The original height of the Terminal Tower was supposed to
be 14 floors but was expanded by 38 to give it its 52-floor height
- The Observation Deck was supposed be used by Goodyear for future blimp travel between Cleveland and NYC. The Deck was
supposed be a terminal, but was ruled unfeasible.
- Radio Station WHK placed its antennas for more range of
its 1420khz signal so more people could listen to their radios.
- The caissons of the Terminal Tower go 280-feet underground.
- In the movies, The Fortune Cookie(1966), The Deer Hunter(1978), and Major League the Terminal is featured in these films.
- In the 2001 movie, Proximity starring Rob Lowe, the Terminal Tower was the main climax scene. Rob Lowe's character led his pursuers from the RTA rapid station to the shopping concourse.
- The Terminal Tower has an observation deck, but since the 9/11/2001 terror attacks it has remained closed. On a clear day you could see some thirty miles from downtown Cleveland.
- The Terminal Tower is lit in a golden color at night, but for special occasions it is lit for the season. At Christmas, Terminal tower is lit in red and green for the holidays. On 4 of July, Terminal Tower is lit in red, white and blue. After the 9/11/2001 terror attacks in New York City, Terminal Tower was lit in red, white and blue to remember the 9/11 victims and people of New York City.
- The Terminal Tower complex is in the process of renovating its elevators, and the upper floors and its spire.
- The Terminal Tower was built in the skyscraper boom of the 1920s-30s. The Terminal Tower goes sometimes unnoticed by skyscraper groups as they focus on New York's Empire State, Chrysler, and Rockerfeller Center. The Terminal Tower was one of the world's tallest buildings. Outside of New York City, the Terminal Tower was the tallest building.
- During February in 2003-2006, the Terminal Tower has hosted an annual "Tackle the Tower" stairclimb race from the Tower City mall concourse to the observation deck.
[edit] References
- Herrick, Clay. Cleveland Landmarks (1986) ISBN 0-9646459-0-4
- Johannesen, Eric. Cleveland Architecture 1876-1976 (1979) ISBN 0-911704-21-3
- Rarick, Holly. Progressive Vision: The Planning of Downtown Cleveland 1903-1930 (1986) ISBN 0-910386-86-2
- Van Tassel, David. Grabowski, John. The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History (1987) ISBN 0-253-33056-4
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