Times-Star Building - Cincinnati, Ohio
Posted by: 
BruceS
N 39° 06.343 W 084° 30.440
16S E 715536 N 4331466
Former newspaper headquarters now used as a court building in Cincinnati.
Waymark Code: WM433D
Location: Ohio, United States
Date Posted: 06/30/2008
Views: 36
Since 1933 the Cincinnati Times-Star has been published in the TIMES-STAR
BUILDING, 800 Broadway. This modern 16-story limestone structure
was designed by Samuel Hannaford & Sons. Statues at the top corners of the
central tower, reliefs of Franklin and Gutenberg, and various emblems symbolize
the progress of learning and printing. Decorative metal panels rise
vertically between windows, and an airplane beacon n the shape of an urn
surmounts the tower. The newspaper plant occupies the first six stories;
offices fill the remaining floors.
The Times-Star is an outgrowth of several weekly and daily papers, the
first of which was the Spirit of the Times, established in 1840. An
aggressive paper call the Star, begun in 1872, was purchased by David Sinton and
Charles Phelps Taft in 1880 and merged with the Times to form the Times-Star.
In 1884 it became the first local paper to serve its readers with New York and
national news by means of a private telegraph wire. The Times-Star is
staunchly Republican in editorial policy. - Cincinnati: A Guide to the Queen City and Its Neighbors,
Tour 7, pg. 198.
On Sunday August 3, 1958, each of the 649 employees of the Cincinnati
Times-Star received the following in a telegram delivered to their homes:
"THE NEWSPAPER ASSETS OF THE TIMES-STAR WERE SOLD YESTERDAY TO SCRIPPS-HOWARD
NEWSPAPERS, OWNERS OF THE POST, AND HAS DISCONTINUED PUBLICATION. SINCE
THERE IS NO MORE WORK AVAILABLE, WE NO LONGER REQUIRE YOUR SERVICES. PERSONAL
BELONGINGS MAY BE REMOVED FROM THE TIMES-STAR ON MONDAY AND TUESDAY. WE REGRET
THE BREVITY OF THIS NOTICE.."
Thus was the end of the Times-Star. The Post operated from the
Times-Star building until 1979 when it merged its operations with the Cincinnati
Enquirer. (The Post was last published December 31, 2007, when the
Enquirer chose not to renew the joint operating agreement with the Post).
The building was occupied the building during the early 1980's by Burke
Marketing Services. In the the early 1980's Hamilton County purchased the
building. In 1991, renovation began to house the Hamilton County Court of
Domestic Relations along with other county offices. The Court took
occupancy in 1994 and continues to operate from the building.