"Cincy's more than merely natty" is a lyric from Babes in Toyland, the 1968 cult TV movie.
At last we reached downtown Cincinnati and checked into the Netherland Plaza Hotel, now a Hilton. The historic hotel was planned along with the Carew Tower to be a "city within a city," a new concept, but Cincinnati was willing to gamble that the combination of shops, department stores, offices and hotel would work. The project was financed by the Emery family, which had made its fortune in processing the by-products of Cincinnati’s stockyards. John Emery sold all of his stocks and securities to raise the money, since banks would not approve a loan for such a newfangled idea. As it turned out, all the plans and financing were in place when the stock market crashed in 1929. This was a boon for the city as the project provided jobs during a time when the country was in such trouble.
The hotel (1929-1931) was designed and built by Walter W Ahlschlager and Colonel William Starrett in French Art Deco style.
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| Northwest corner of the Netherland Plaza Hotel |
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| Lamps over the Fifth Street entrance |
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| Our room does not show any Art Deco details! |
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| Our room's bathroom |
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| The elevator doors of etched Benedict metal |
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| Light sconce (KSS) |
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| The Arcade, now with Santa and the Christmas tree |
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| Floral mosaic of Rookwood Pottery tiles |
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| View of the Arcade from the upper level |
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| Polar bear scene in hotel reception |
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| Unique mirror in the hotel reception area filled with rare Brazilian rosewood panels and Italian marble |
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| Shell-shaped sofa in the Palm Court Bar |
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| Entry stairway with a lamp that looks like a Karl Blossfeldt photo of a plant stem |
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| Chandelier above the entry stairs, with ceiling murals by Louis Grell |
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| Unique doorway, to the coat check |
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| Gingerbread house (actually graham crackers) display of the Carew Tower and Netherland Plaza Hotel |
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| Lamp sconce and ornate trim work |
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| Looking down on the bar in Palm Court (KSS) |
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| Upper level view of the chandelier over the entry stairs |
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| Ceiling painting of the Hunt of Diana by Grell (KSS) |
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| Lamp |
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| The Hall of Mirrors |
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| Lamp sconce and ornate trim work (KSS) |
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| Lamp |
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| Modern murals as if viewing the city below (KSS) |
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| Modern murals (1984, by Tom Bacher) on the opposite side, from above |
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| Entrance to the Pavillion (sic) Caprice |
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| View from the elevator lobby on the 23rd floor, of the Skystar Wheel, and the Roebling Bridge |
For dinner we walked a couple blocks over to the Plum Street Café, which was a bar and not a café!
Next: "Played in Cincinnati."
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| The sandwiches came with Grippo's Chips, from a local company |
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