I had the opportunity to take the train from Cincinnati to Chicago. When I arrived at the station, I was in awe of it! Built in 1931 with Art Deco Architecture, the station functioned as passenger station until 1972 when Amtrak built a smaller station nearby. The building was mostly empty from 1972 to 1980 when a shopping mall called “The Land of Oz” opened. The mall closed in 1985. Some time after that, two museums merged and opened the Cincinnati Museum Center in 1990. In 1991, Amtrak returned to the station. In 2018, the station was completely restored to its original Art Deco glory. The historic train station is not only a working Amtrak station, but also houses Duke Energy Children’s Museum, an Omnimax Theatre, the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center, the Cincinnati History Library and Archives, a Museum of Natural History & Science, and several food services.
If you are in the area, I recommend a visit to this beautiful, historic building. The interior is open most of the day for viewing, but the museums and other places are only open certain hours. To see more photos of this Art Deco masterpiece, visit my gallery. Also to hear about the actual train trip and my time in Chicago, visit Tourist in Your Town Podcast.
