- City:
- Cincinnati, OH
- Site Type:
- Murals, Art Works
- New Deal Agencies:
- Federal Arts Project (FAP), Arts Programs
- Started:
- 1936
- Completed:
- 1937
- Artist:
- William Harry Gothard
- Quality of Information:
- Very Good
- Marked:
- Yes
- Site Survival:
- Extant
Description
Lunken Airport houses murals that were painted by William Harry Gothard and commissioned by the WPA’s Federal Art Project (FAP). The murals were moved to be completed at Union Terminal in 1937 when a flood covered the airfield and terminal but were returned later. These murals are still on display at Lunken Airport.
In the early 20s, Edmund P. Lunken purchased an airport built by ex-army pilots, and on September 5, 1928, he leased the property to the City of Cincinnati. The city purchased additional land, creating the Lunken Airport on 2,000 acres. In 1937, William Harry Gothard painted the murals at the Lunken terminal. One mural represents man being up-lifted by the power of flight, while the other represents man being held down by the gravity. Gothard won a Federal Art Project competition for the paintings. Both paintings are marked with the brass Federal Art Project tag on the bottom frame.
Starting with July 2022, the airport terminal will be closed and remodeled into an event center.
Source notes
https://www.wpamurals.org/cincinna.htm
https://www.newdealartregistry.org/
https://www.cincinnativiews.net/Airplanes.htm
Site originally submitted by Benjamin Hurst on June 14, 2017.
Additional contributions by Brianna Jones, June 2018; Doug Logan 2022.
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Nelson Calisch
Lunken is no longer open to the public. We were told by current personnel that they have to vacate by 5/1/22 and that the building has been sold to a developer who plans to build a hotel. They graciously allowed us to see the murals when we told them how far we had traveled to see them. Very nice people connected to the museum formerly housed there, shared the history with us.