GPS City GuideCincinnatiGreat American Tower at Queen City Square

Stop 29 of 32 · Cincinnati audio walking tour

Great American Tower at Queen City Square

Cincinnati · 2011 · Cincinnati's tallest skyscraper

What you'll hear here: about a minute on Great American Tower at Queen City Square — how it came to be, who it mattered to, and what to look for while you're standing in front of it.

Rising 667 feet in front of you, the 41-story Great American Tower at Queen City Square opened in January 2011. Feel the deliberate ambition here: Western & Southern Financial Group built this tower after promoting the idea for 20 years, reviving the project in 2002 and beginning construction in July 2008. The project cost $322 million, including $65 million in taxpayer-funded subsidies.

Half the building houses the headquarters of the American Financial Group subsidiary, Great American Insurance Company, so you’re looking at both corporate presence and civic investment. When it opened in 2011 it was described at about 660 feet (200 m), ending the Carew Tower’s 81-year reign as Cincinnati’s tallest structure; the Great American Tower stands 91 feet taller than Carew, though Carew’s roof sits 79 feet higher than the Great American Tower’s roof. By 2015 it was ranked the third-tallest building in Ohio and the tallest outside Cleveland.

Notice the scale of office space planned here, over 800,000 square feet, and the skyline this building now defines.

Where it is

Coordinates
39.09983, -84.50719
Area
Cincinnati
Era
2011 · Cincinnati's tallest skyscraper
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Three stops free. No account needed. The audio plays itself as you walk.