{"nrhp_refnum":"08000802","name":"Union Trust Building","other_names":["Bartlett Building","Fifth Third Union Trust Building"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"36 E. 4th St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Cincinnati","county":"Hamilton County","state":"OH","lat":39.10027861400005,"lon":-84.51155589399997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2008-08-29","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 17-story steel-frame office and bank building at 36 E. Fourth Street, at the northwest corner of Fourth and Walnut Streets in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. It was built in 1901 and expanded in 1914 and 1931.","why_significant":"The nomination argues local significance under Criterion C as a notable work of D. H. Burnham & Company and its successor firms. It was Burnham's first work in Cincinnati and the city's first skyscraper, the first \"modern\" steel-framed tripartite building there. Its success led to a series of high-rise commercial buildings that reshaped Fourth Street and the financial district.","narrative":"Rising 17 stories at the corner of Fourth and Walnut Streets in downtown Cincinnati, this steel-frame building opened on January 1, 1901, as a bank headquarters with speculative offices above. D. H. Burnham & Company designed it for banker Jacob G. Schmidlapp. It was the firm's first work in the city and Cincinnati's first skyscraper, nearly twice the height of the largest building then standing. Burnham's successor firms enlarged it westward in 1914 and 1931, matching the original classical design so closely that only slight changes in brick, stone, terra cotta and marble color reveal the additions. The 1931 work also added deco-inspired granite entrance surrounds with stylized eagles and a barrel-vaulted second-floor banking hall. The building is recognized locally for its architecture and as the first of several high-rise commercial buildings that transformed Fourth Street and the financial district within about five years. Marble-lined lobbies and corridors remain.","period_of_significance":"1901-1931","architect_builder":"D.H. Burnham & Company - Architect (1901); Graham, Anderson, Probst & White - Architect (1914; 1931)","architectural_style":"Late 19th and 20th Century American Movements - Commercial Style","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Currently used as an office building; the nomination reports a high degree of integrity, with the exterior largely as built and windows replaced in the 1980s.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:07.12109-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/08000802.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/08000802/3e106b4932-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/08000802/3e106b4932-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Union_Trust_Building_in_Cincinnati.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Union_Trust_Building_in_Cincinnati.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71988865","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance_Cincinnati_Downtown_Hotel","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4865391"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/hamilton-county/union-trust-building-08000802/"}