Carew Tower

Identification

Map

Structure in general

Usage

Facts

• Construction began in September 1929, one month before the Stock Market crash. The resulting budget cuts forced changes in the design, including a switch from limestone cladding to brick, and a reduction in decorative metalwork.
• The basement parking garage has a tile floor and multicolored terra-cotta ornamentation.
• Upon completion, the lower floors were home to the Mabley & Carew Department Store, one of Cincinnati's largest. The store eventually moved across 5th Street to The Mabley & Carew Building.
• The former department store space was renovated in the early 1990s and is now part of the Tower Place mall.
• There is an outdoor public observation deck above the 48th floor. It is reached by taking the main elevators to the 45th floor and then by stairs or another separate elevator.
• The 49th floor consists of a small room with a ticket attendant and gift shop. This room opens directly to the observation platform.
• This building was once accompanied by the Carew-Netherland Garage, one of the tallest buildings ever built devoted exclusively to parking.
• Before the World Trade Center was attacked, Cincinnati was home to the tallest pre-World War II building (in this case Carew Tower) which still reigned as its own city's tallest.
• The romanesque Carew Building and the Hotel Emery & Arcade were demolished to make way for this tower.
• Follow this Bartlett Building to begin a timeline of Cincinnati's tallest buildings since 1901.