Although one does not think of Cincinnati as a hotbed of progressive Modernism in the mid-20th-century, there are, in fact, quantities of fine Modernist buildings in the region, designed by both talented local architects and by famous outsiders such as Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Richard Neutra, Frank Lloyd Wright (and some of his pupils).  Sadly, this progressive Cincinnati Modernist legacy is little known, under-appreciated, and greatly threatened.  

Some of our major Modernist buildings are "hiding in plain sight," such as SOM's 1946-48 Terrace Plaza Hotel downtown, one of the nation's great Modernist buildings and the most advanced hotel of its day in the world.  It is now sitting shuttered and empty, its future uncertain.  

Cincinnati also has great Modernist houses, some very early, such as architect John Becker's Rauh House in Woodlawn, of the 1930s, which is derelict and slated for demolition, if not already down.  Cincinnati has a varied topography and many Modernist houses are hidden from view over the edges of hills and ravines (such as the 1961 Keirle House, by Strauss and Roush, in Clifton), sites that more traditional houses avoided but which the asymmetrical planning and structural innovations of Modernism responded to brilliantly .  These "marginal" locations give Cincinnati Modernism a unique character but also mean that most people are unaware of its existence--yet another, indirect, threat.

Unfortunately, quantities of our finest Modernist buildings are already lost, such as numerous examples by local architect Woodie Garber (such as his Frisch's Mainliner Restaurant, with its innovative parabolic roof structure; the College Hill Thriftway supermarket, and the Moore and Mitchell Houses in Indian Hill, all demolished for more intensive site development).  Garber was our most progressive local Modernist and a majority of his surviving buildings are threatened with demolition or unsympathetic remodeling.  He could well be our "poster boy" for endangered Modernism in Cincinnati.
 
While historic preservation has traditionally dealt with earlier architecture and has had, in the past, a somewhat antagonistic relationship to Modernism, preservation-minded people must become informed and involved, or this entire period of architecture will be lost, and with it one of Cincinnati's rare, avant garde legacies.

The Cincinnati Preservation Association is becoming involved through an oral history project (interviewing still-living clients, contractors and architects) and through survey work, documentation, and advocacy, but the entire effort is under funded and understaffed.  Please support this desperate cause and help us to send the best, surviving examples of Cincinnati Modernism on into the future.  Our region will be the richer for it and following generations will appreciate our efforts. 

[Future articles will focus on more specific Modernist buildings, architects and issues]

Posted:  December 2, 2009