Editing Terminal Tower (section)

==Architecture==
Built for $179 million by the [[Van Sweringen brothers]], the tower was to serve as an office building atop the city's new [[train station|rail station]], the [[Cleveland Union Terminal]].  Originally planned to be 14 stories, the structure was expanded to 52 floors with a height of {{convert|708|ft|m}}. It rests on {{convert|280|ft|m|adj=on}} caissons.  Designed by the firm of [[Graham, Anderson, Probst & White]], the tower was modeled after the [[Beaux-Arts architecture|Beaux-Arts]] [[New York Municipal Building]] by [[McKim, Mead, and White]]. The Terminal Tower was completed in 1927 and opened for tenants in 1928, though the Union Terminal complex was not dedicated until 1930.

It remained the tallest building in the world outside of [[New York City]] until the completion of the [[main building of Moscow State University]] in [[Moscow]] in 1953; it was the tallest building in [[North America]] outside of New York until the [[Prudential Tower|Prudential Center]] in [[Boston]] was completed in 1964.

In the late 1960s through 1980s, radio station [[WKLV-FM|WCLV]] maintained studios on the 15th floor.  The transmitter was on the 43rd floor with transmission line running up the outside of the building to the antenna assembly attached to the flagpole atop the building.  In the tiny cupola, which is technically the 52nd floor, there was equipment for the antenna heaters and a small telephone.
[[File:Cleveland Public Square.jpg|alt=Black and white image of the Terminal Tower in Public Square at night|thumb|Cleveland's Terminal Tower in Public Square at night]]
At one time, many two-way radio and microwave radio systems were also located on the floors above the observation deck. 

In the 1980s, developers sought approval to make their proposed [[BP Building]] taller than the Terminal Tower, but city officials forced them to scale it down. The Terminal Tower remained the tallest building in Ohio until the 1991 completion of Society Center, now [[Key Tower]].

===Observation deck===
On a clear day, visitors on the observation deck can see {{convert|30|mi|km}} from downtown Cleveland.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-2541288-cleveland_tours-i |title=Cleveland Recommended Tours |access-date=June 15, 2008 |publisher=Yahoo! Travel |archive-date=September 10, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070910195944/http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-2541288-cleveland_tours-i |url-status=dead }}</ref>

After a 1976 incident involving a man with a gun,<ref name=TurningPoint>{{cite book |last=Hunt |first=Andrew E. |author-link=Andrew Hunt (historian) |title=The Turning: A History of Vietnam Veterans Against the War |date=May 1, 2001 |publisher=[[New York University|New York University Press]] |isbn=978-0-8147-3581-7 |oclc=40848421 |pages=182–183 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3AhGjLUf8SYC&q=%22Ashby+Leach%22&pg=PA183 |access-date=September 28, 2010 |archive-date=November 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231107195724/https://books.google.com/books?id=3AhGjLUf8SYC&q=%22Ashby+Leach%22&pg=PA183 |url-status=live }}</ref> direct access to the floor was removed. The observation deck reopened after Chessie left the building.{{Citation needed|date=June 2023}}

After the [[September 11, 2001 attacks]], the observation deck was again closed to the public. In 2007, a proposal was brought to Forest City to reopen the deck. The proposal included a renovation of the deck and the addition of an express elevator to take visitors to it. This was to be done after the upper floors were renovated and the scaffolding removed. In 2010, Forest City Enterprises finished renovating the complex's elevators, upper floors, and spire. The observation deck reopened on July 10, 2010<ref>{{cite news |first=John |last=Petkovic |title=Terminal Tower observation deck reopens to the public |url=http://www.cleveland.com/goingout/index.ssf/2010/07/terminal_tower_observation_dec.html |work=[[The Plain Dealer]] |date=July 9, 2010 |access-date=July 11, 2010 |archive-date=October 16, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016065239/http://www.cleveland.com/goingout/index.ssf/2010/07/terminal_tower_observation_dec.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Lynn |last=Ischay |title=Gallery: Terminal Tower observation deck reopens |url=http://photos.cleveland.com/4501/gallery/terminal_tower_observation_deck_reopens/index.html |work=[[The Plain Dealer]] |date=July 11, 2010 |access-date=July 13, 2010 |archive-date=March 3, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303202447/http://photos.cleveland.com/4501/gallery/terminal_tower_observation_deck_reopens/index.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> for a limited period, with plans to expand public access.<ref>{{cite news |first=Robert L. |last=Smith |title=Hundreds savor the view and the memories from Terminal Tower's observation deck |url=http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/08/hundreds_savor_the_view_and_th.html |work=[[The Plain Dealer]] |date=August 1, 2010 |access-date=August 21, 2010 |archive-date=August 3, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100803151520/http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/08/hundreds_savor_the_view_and_th.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://downtowncleveland.org/blog/index.php/2010/06/terminal-tower-observation-deck-to-open-this-summer/ |title=Terminal Tower Observation Deck to open this Summer |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100724022601/http://downtowncleveland.org/blog/index.php/2010/06/terminal-tower-observation-deck-to-open-this-summer |archive-date=July 24, 2010  |work=Downtown Cleveland Alliance |date=June 28, 2010 }}</ref>

To reach the observation deck, visitors take the elevator to the 32nd floor and then transfer to another elevator to reach the 42nd floor. Before its original closure, the deck was open only on weekends to prevent disruption to the law firm that has offices on the 32nd floor.

In 2018, the Observation Deck was open on weekends from noon to 4 pm, with reservations. It had been renovated to its look in the 1930s.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2018/04/hello_cleveland_terminal_tower.html |title=Hello, Cleveland: Terminal Tower observation deck open to public (photos) |work=The Plain Dealer |first=John |last=Petkovic |date=April 6, 2018 |access-date=October 8, 2024 |quote=The 52-floor Terminal Tower once stood as the tallest building in North America outside of New York City. It was the pinnacle of Cleveland's heyday, part of a building boom when the city was the fifth largest in America. }}</ref> in 2024, the Observation Deck is open on weekends in the afternoon, closed in winter except for the holidays, and tickets are reserved online.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://clevelandtraveler.com/visiting-terminal-tower-observation-deck/ |title=A Guide to Visiting the Terminal Tower Observation Deck |author=Amanda |work=Cleveland Traveler |date=May 14, 2024 |access-date=October 8, 2024 |quote=The Observation Deck at Terminal Tower is usually open on Saturday and Sunday afternoons in the spring and summer. Opening dates tend to change every year, with the deck also being open during the holiday season. }}</ref>