The Transit Station That Never Was

This rendering of a proposed transit center under Fountain Square is probably associated with the Beeler report done in 1927. The Beeler organization was an engineering consulting company contracted to update a grand transit plan proposed in 1914 that included a subway and street car system looping the city and running through downtown. Work on the system took place between 1920 and 1924 when the original bond money ($6 million dollars) ran out, leaving the proposed system only 28% completed. The mayor and the Cincinnati Street Railway Company commissioned the Beeler group to update the original plan, resulting in a number of changes including routes and this proposed transit station under Fountain Square between Vine and Walnut Streets. Notice the rendering includes the massive art deco Carew Tower in the background which was not started until 1927 leading to the conclusion the rendering above was likely associated with the Beeler group’s updated plan. The estimated $10.6 million dollars to complete the system, proved too much and the proposal died in the planning stage, though talk of resurrecting the plan took place several times in the 1930’s.