Standing out to the west of Cincinnati’s downtown skyline, the Union Central Tower is our next notable skyscraper built in an American city in the second decade of the Twentieth Century.

In this case, the architect is Cass Gilbert, in his one skyscraper design outside of New York. Of course, Gilbert designed the Art Museum and Central Library in St. Louis, and is generally famous for his Beaux-Arts compositions., even if he was capable of designing in other styles. It was constructed in 1911-13. The firm of Garber & Woodward also were architects of record.

Of course, this skyscraper is not Art-Deco, but more of a Classical Revival iteration, keeping with what Gilbert was famous for creating.

As is perhaps typical, the first few floors feature lightly rusticated masonry, and then the shaft of the skyscraper is smooth ashlar with corner quoining.

The dramatic tower, surely influenced by the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, most likely had a beacon that shone at the top of the pyramid.

A bridge, probably inspired by the Bridge of Sighs in Venice connects to a squat building next door in the same style as the taller tower.

Beyond a doubt, we are looking at the stump of what was surely going to be a much taller building that was never built. It makes no sense for this building to end so abruptly compositionally with such a small cornice.