Cincinnati Skywalk, Pedestrian skyway system in Downtown Cincinnati, United States
Cincinnati Skywalk is a network of elevated indoor walkways that connect multiple downtown buildings above street level. The passages allow people to move between different blocks while staying protected from weather and street traffic.
Construction began in 1971 using federal urban renewal funding and progressed through the 1990s. The system started being dismantled after 2002 as planning priorities shifted toward revitalizing street-level downtown areas.
The system reflects 1970s thinking about how cities should work, following ideas about keeping shoppers and workers separate from street-level activity through indoor connections.
Several sections remain open and provide weather-protected routes between connected buildings in the downtown area. Access is typically available during business hours of the buildings that house or border the walkway entrances.
This was one of the first major skywalk projects in America and inspired similar systems in other cities before urban planning philosophy reversed course. Today it stands as a symbol of an approach that ultimately fell out of favor.
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