![carew tower observation deck carew tower observation deck](https://fastly.4sqi.net/img/general/600x600/AM3NPMKO43SFFUQ502EKNTWZZSSQZJJZST3OOH1PGVGCPZXM.jpg)
The Carew still manages to tower over the city though and unlike Chicago, the nearby terrain is is varied and hilly. While no longer the city's tallest building, the newer Great American Tower doesn't feature any kind of observation deck, although the view there is quite incredible. The small gift shop atop The Carew is like a remote outpost atop the urban landscape. There's no suicide fence like on the Empire State Building in New York or restaurant, gimmicks and glass lobbies like the buildings in Chicago. You pay two dollars in cash to the attendant and then can walk straight out into the open air deck. Even if you opt for the second elevator, you still need to climb one flight of stairs to reach the peak.Īt the top of the stairs is a tiny gift shop selling postcards and other knick knacks. The last four floors you have an option: stairs or another elevator, except this elevator is incredibly tiny. While the Chicago towers will take you straight to the observation deck, Carew's elevator only gets you most of the way there.
![carew tower observation deck carew tower observation deck](https://fastly.4sqi.net/img/general/600x600/144632353_FUWHWeO1HkKbH6WWJcEX6aRJIaV15fc1cWBLVkh35Uc.jpg)
You simply walk into the building and ring for an elevator.
![carew tower observation deck carew tower observation deck](https://fastly.4sqi.net/img/general/600x600/2249220_rVF2AoLmQqah2XhNo4xQ7swpw3o-4Pxa_qP82DUC42A.jpg)
Unlike its Chicago brethren, there's no downstairs waiting area or queue line. In Cincinnati, only one skyscraper features an observation deck that is open to the public: The Carew Tower. "The Ledge" atop Chicago's Sears Tower. Once the world's tallest building, it too offers its own observation deck and tourist attractions like glass ledges that you can stand out upon and look straight down. 2011.Īcross town there's the Sears Tower. One floor below, there's the "Signature Room" - affording the same views with fancy dining and tourists clamoring for a table. The flat landscape of Chicago makes the sunset even more impressive than the mid-day view. You can look out onto Lake Michigan, stare back into Chicago's skyline and downtown, look North at the neighborhoods or look west towards the industry and setting sun. Surrounding that tourist trap though are tall panes of glass that let you gaze out across the vast landscape of one of America's most impressive cityscapes. When you depart the elevator, you walk right into a gift shop with all the tourist traps - overpriced souvenirs, a snack bar, gimmick photo booth etc. At the top is one of the best views of Chicago. From below, the straight-forward and practical 1960's era architecture protrudes straight up in a mix of dark black lines. My favorite building in Chicago is the John Hancock Tower. 2010 photograph from the John Hancock Observation Deck in Chicago, Illinois. It served as the location for the five newest frames made in support of 224 Views of Cincinnati. The observation deck of the Carew Tower, the only one open to the public in Cincinnati, is vastly different than that of most major city tourist attractions. Pay your $4 fee and step out to a spectacular view, one that lets you look over the river to Kentucky and way west into Indiana.- Carew Tower observation deck in Cincinnati, OH. Once off that elevator, its a short walk around a corner to a much smaller (and older) elevator which takes you to the 48th floor and then a few steps up to the 49th. Enter the hotel from the parking lot on the second floor and take the elevator, an express zoom up to the 45th floor. That said, the highlight was the view from the top. We didn’t have the opportunity to look inside the Hilton Netherland Plaza Hotel, but probably should have as there are a number of massive murals inside the building as well as some immaculately ornate rooms. Carew, who founded the Mabley & Carew Department Store Chain. Historically, the Carew Tower was built in 1929/1930 in an Art Deco style with the idea to have a hotel, a shopping area, etc.