Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting the architect of the Terrace Plaza Hotel. Natalie De Blois attended Miami's Western Program and then Columbia University to study architecture during WWII. She was able to do this because most men were drafted into the war at that time. There were only 18 students in her class at Columbia. After the war, she began working for Skidmore Owings and Merrill (SOM). She was quite young when she designed the Terrace Plaza for Thomas Emery. It was the first modernist building in Cincinnati, and it got a lot of good press at the time. The first 7 floors of the building were two department stores, Bonds (menswear) and JC Penny. The lobby for the hotel was on the 8th floor, along with a restaurant and outdoor plaza (with skating rink). The hotel rooms were in the upper half of the building, and on the top floor was the round Gourmet Room. See Queen City Survey for some photos and old postcards.
Readers know I am not a fan of modernism, so I found Ms De Blois more fascinating than her building. She was a rare woman in a male dominated field and rose to partner status in one of the most influential architectural firms of the 20th century. She met with and collaborated with many of the great names in architecture and the fine arts. She also worked with many UC graduates over the years and found them to be great apprentices. She later taught at the University of Texas, Austin, and was a much beloved professor. At 87 she is still a powerful presence and still swims daily in Lake Michigan, weather permitting I suppose.
Today before returning to Chicago, she is taking a tour of the recently vacated Terrace Plaza. The tour will be filmed. My understanding is that this effort is a collaboration between the Cincinnati 3F (modernism fans) and the Cincinnati Preservation Association. There is debate among preservationists about which modernist buildings are worth fighting to save. Buildings must be 50 years old to be nominated to the National Register of Historic Places, and a lot of modernist work is beginning to be eligible.
Older, Wiser (Maybe), I'm Back
3 months ago
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6 comments:
I'm jealous. To me she is a huge reason why that building is interesting to me.
Did you see the full page picture of the restaurant circa 1948 in the NYTimes style magazine?
I absolutely hate this building. As you mentioned, there are no windows for the first 7 floors. It looks terrible, but at least it is engaging at street-level. So while I despise the building, it isn't the worst on my list.
Well one thing I learned at the CPA meeting was that the first two floors were originally all glass. Also, the modern interiors were traditionalized long ago and the modern artworks removed. If the street level is re-opened and re-activated, I think it could be a cool modernist block with Hadid, Stanzak and De Blois all facing each other.
However, even if the first two floors are re-opened, the next 5 floors above this are still solid curtain-wall stacked brick. This was OK for a department store, but for most new uses, windows would be needed, and introducing windows in that mass would change the design drastically.
Is it at all possible that the Terrace could become the city's first Hotel of the Moment? You would think the W people would be all over it.
I've always loved this building, yet unfortunately the 70s and 80s and most probably the 90s were rather harsh on the style, especially on the inside.
We used to sneak into the restaurant space at night and hang out on the rooftop all the time when I was in college. That space is so amazing, yet with the heavy bronze chandaliers and other bastardized furnishings, the place has been ruined. Give me that space and a hefty budget and it could be turned into the coolest space in the city, hands down. The glass, the outdoor veranda, and wonderful views make this space a keeper - please return this baby to its original intention! (and maybe bring back a miro-inspired artwork to grace it)...
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