Great American Tower at Queen City Square
The Great American Tower at Queen City Square is a 41-story, 667-foot-tall (203 m)[1][2] skyscraper in Cincinnati, Ohio, which opened in January 2011. The tower was built by Western & Southern Financial Group at a cost of $322 million including $65 million of taxpayer-funded subsidies.[5] Construction on the tower had begun in July 2008. Half of the building is occupied as the headquarters of the American Financial Group subsidiary, Great American Insurance Company. As of 2015, it is the third-tallest building in the state of Ohio, the tallest outside of Cleveland, and the tallest building in Cincinnati.[6]
| Great American Tower at Queen City Square | |
|---|---|
 Great American Tower in Downtown Cincinnati | |
 | |
| Alternative names | Queen City Square Phase II Western Southern Life Tower |
| Record height | |
| Tallest in Cincinnati since 2011[I] | |
| Preceded by | Carew Tower |
| General information | |
| Status | Completed |
| Type | Commercial offices |
| Architectural style | Postmodern |
| Location | 301 East Fourth Street Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Coordinates | 39°05′59″N 84°30′26″W / 39.09983°N 84.507185°W |
| Construction started | November 2008 |
| Completed | January 2011 |
| Cost | US$322 million |
| Owner | Eagle Realty Group (Western & Southern subsidiary)[2] |
| Height | |
| Antenna spire | 202.7 m (665 ft)[1][2] |
| Roof | 151 m (495 ft) |
| Top floor | 147 m (482 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 41 (no 13th floor) 3 underground |
| Floor area | 74,322 m2 (800,000 sq ft) |
| Lifts/elevators | 26 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Gyo Obata (Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum) |
| Developer | Western & Southern Financial Group |
| Main contractor | Turner Construction |
| Website | |
| www | |
| References | |
| [1][3][4] | |
Background
editWestern & Southern had promoted the idea of constructing a tower for 20 years following the last construction boom in Downtown Cincinnati. In 2002, the project was revived.[7] Plans called for a tower with over 800,000 sq ft (74,000 m2) of office space. When the tower opened in 2011, it was 660 ft (200 m), ending the Carew Tower's 81-year reign as the tallest building in Cincinnati. While the Great American Tower is 91 ft (28 m) taller than the Carew Tower, the latter building's roof is 79 ft (24 m) taller than the roof of the Great American Tower.[8] The building was reviewed and approved by the Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority which determined whether its parameters conformed to the outline in the Cincinnati 2000 plan for downtown including a final approval by Cincinnati City Council on May 30, 2014.[5][9]
Tenants include American Financial Group,[10] law firms Frost Brown Todd and Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease, along with the property's owner-developer Western & Southern Financial Group.[11] The majority of Western & Southern's space is located in the 303 Broadway portion of the complex.[citation needed]
Design
editThe building's architect, Gyo Obata, designed the building to include a top inspired by Diana, Princess of Wales's tiara. Gyo was flipping through books when he came upon a picture of Diana wearing a crown. "That's perfect. Here we have the crown of the building, and the nickname for the city is Queen City," said Joe Robertson of Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum remarking to Gyo when he first saw the picture.[8] The building is constructed of glass and aluminum.[8] The ground floor lobby interiors were designed by FRCH Design Worldwide. It has met with approval from Sue Ann Painter, author of Architecture in Cincinnati (Ohio University Press, 2006), who believes the skyscraper's headdress recalls the iconic Chrysler Building. She says that the building is somewhat conservative, but pays homage to the other skyscrapers in Cincinnati.[8] Jay Chatterjee, a former dean of the University of Cincinnati College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning says that the design is similar to buildings constructed in the United States during the 1980s, that it does not break any new ground at all.[8][12]
References
edit
- ^ a b c "Great American Tower at Queen City Square". CTBUH Skyscraper Center.
- ^ a b c "Great American Tower Fact Sheet". Queen City Square. Eagle Realty Group. 2012. Retrieved March 28, 2014.
- ^ "Emporis building ID 137088". Emporis. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Great American Tower at Queen City Square". SkyscraperPage.
- ^ a b Jane Prendergast (June 12, 2008). "City's tallest building OK'd". Cincinnati Enquirer. Archived from the original on 22 January 2013. Retrieved June 17, 2008.
- ^ Brett Coleman (2015-09-28). "What's with Great American Tower's tiara?". WCPO. Retrieved 2023-10-10.
- ^ Keith T. Reed (December 19, 2007). "City's tallest tower to be built". Cincinnati Enquirer. Archived from the original on 13 July 2012. Retrieved December 26, 2007.
- ^ a b c d e Janelle Gelfand (December 26, 2007). "Diana's tiara inspires tower". Cincinnati Enquirer. Archived from the original on 23 January 2013. Retrieved December 26, 2007.
- ^ "Eagle, Port Authority, city to partner on Great American Building". The Business Courier of Cincinnati. May 28, 2008. Archived from the original on May 26, 2011. Retrieved June 17, 2008.
- ^ Tom McKee (December 21, 2007). "Great American Anchor Tenant At Queen City Square". WCPO. Archived from the original on January 1, 2008. Retrieved December 26, 2007.
- ^ "Great American Tower Recognized as a Top Skyscraper in the World". Western & Southern Financial Group. December 8, 2012. Archived from the original on August 15, 2013. Retrieved October 16, 2014.
- ^ Painter, Sue Ann (2006). Architecture in Cincinnati. Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press. ISBN 9780821417003.
External links
edit- Queen City Square
- Queen City Square at Building Cincinnati
- Queen City Square at UrbanUp