by Tom RusinowThis year's trip to Cincinnati included a guided tour of the amazing Netherland Plaza.
Before dinner in the hotel's elegant restaurant, we were treated to a look at all the main conference rooms, including the piece de resistance of the Plaza, the Hall of Mirrors. With its flights of ceremonial staircases bordered by banisters of bronzed ribbon swags and German silver filigree, it is currently being restored to its earlier splendor. A swan medallion guards the massive doors and a pair of pilasters carved to resemble the drapes of a drawn stage curtain marks the balcony. The room holds an ocean of amber colored light, bouncing from the peach blossom marble to the gold plated mirrors to the frieze's of lavender, rose and metallic garlands. The balustrade's grillworks are one of the most beautiful examples of German silver art deco in the world.
After the tour, our group dined together in the Palm Court, once the main lobby for the hotel. We were surrounded by Baroque-style murals—Apollo in a chariot at the end and a series of romantic landscapes along the sides, each accented by an abstract profile of the hotel among its rocks. Also in the Palm Court is a ziggurat-shaped fountain, guarded by two large Rookwood Pottery seahorses with lotus crowns.
After a luxurious night in the hotel, we went to the Cincinnati Modernism show in the historic Train Station. The show boasted a doubling in size, with some of our local dealers showing their deco wares.
Photography by Tom Rusinow
