Carew Tower
| Carew Tower | |
|---|---|
Carew Tower (left) and Netherland Plaza (right) as seen from Fountain Square, with The Genius of Water in the foreground | |
| Record height | |
| Tallest in Cincinnati from 1931 to 2011[I] | |
| Preceded by | Fourth and Vine Tower |
| Surpassed by | Great American Tower at Queen City Square |
| General information | |
| Status | Completed |
| Type | Commercial offices |
| Architectural style | Art Deco |
| Location | 441 Vine Street Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Coordinates | 39°06′03″N 84°30′48″W / 39.1007°N 84.5132°W |
| Construction started | 1929 |
| Completed | 1931 |
| Cost | $33 million ($621 million in 2024) |
| Owner | Victrix Investments, LLC |
| Height | |
| Antenna spire | 190 m (623 ft) |
| Roof | 175 m (574 ft) |
| Top floor | 171.3 m (562 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 49 |
| Floor area | 128,000 m2 (1,377,780.5 sq ft) |
| Lifts/elevators | 14 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Walter W. Ahlschlager Delano & Aldrich |
| Developer | John J. Emery |
| Main contractor | William A. Starrett (Starrett Brothers, Inc.) |
Carew Tower-Netherland Plaza Hotel | |
| Area | 10 acres (4.0 ha) |
| NRHP reference No. | 82003578 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | August 5, 1982 |
| Designated NHL | April 19, 1994 |
| References | |
Carew Tower is a 49-story, 574-foot (175 m) Art Deco skyscraper completed in 1931 in the heart of downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. The second-tallest building in the city, it was Cincinnati's tallest from 1930 until 2011, when it was surpassed by Great American Tower at Queen City Square. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1994. The tower is named after Joseph T. Carew, proprietor of the Mabley & Carew department store chain, which had previously operated in a building on the site.
Described by the National Park Service as "one of the finest examples of skyscraper modernism in America" and "the most complete statement of the 1920s' Jazz Age", the Carew Tower was developed by John J. Emery, who sought to create a mixed-use "city within a city". From 1930 until 2022, the tower hosted commercial tenants on the majority of floors, with the lower levels occupied by a retail arcade. In its later years as a commercial property, the tower was beset by high vacancy rates and financial difficulties. The tower was sold in 2022 to developer Victrix Investments LLC, who announced plans to convert the tower into a primarily residential building. Work on the conversion is planned to conclude by late 2029.
The tower was built alongside an adjoining hotel, the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza (formerly Omni Netherland Plaza). A member of the Historic Hotels of America, it shares the same Art Deco architecture as the tower, with elaborate ornamentation inspired by the Palace of Versailles. The 2022 sale resulted in ownership of the hotel being separated from that of the tower.