Newspapers used to be a big deal.  The Cincinnati Times-Star Building at 800 Broadway in Cincinnati, a registered historic building, tells you that.  It was completed in 1933 – designed by the firm of Samuel Hannaford and Sons in full-on Art Deco.

It's sixteen stories and the façade plays homage to the printing and publishing businesses. Two hundred feet above the street stand four pillars at each of the tower's corners – patriotism, truth, speed and progress, personified.

The newspaper plant occupied the first six stories – the floors above were offices.  The Cincinnati Times-Star was an outgrowth of several newspapers and owned by the Taft family, with Charles Phelps Taft as editor.
Those days are gone. The building was purchased by Hamilton County in the late eighties and is now used for county offices.

But from Hamilton County's complete history of the building:

Constructed of three-dimensional interwoven Bedford limestone blocks, the building was designed by Architects Samuel Hannaford and Sons to house the newspapers management offices including the printing, publishing and distribution operations. "The building itself rests on concrete-filled piling driven as much as 60 feet to reach solid rock" (Times-Star March 11, 1952).  Immense, two story printing presses occupied the second and third floors on the eastern side of the building. "The concrete slab on which the presses are set is insulated from the remainder of the building by cork, thus eliminating vibration" (Times-Star March 11, 1952). Intricate futuristic grillwork covers the windows.

Upon entering through the gilded gold arched entrance, you’re drawn into an expansive marbled lobby, splashed with decadence, sporting underlying geometric floors. Art deco decorum is evident in the carved symbols depicting the printing trade, entangled with various depictions of American eagles, encompassing patriotism. Norman-style recessed ceiling panels draw your eye upward to the carefully appointed chandelier draped by a grand balcony. On the first floor and balcony, the elevators’ doors are designed with images of strong mythological women.

The entire statuary program by Ernest Haswell and Jules Byrs was created to symbolize journalism and learning. The front exterior of the building manifests tremendous statues of Franklin and Gutenberg, aptly representing the printing trade. Adjacent to these figures you’ll find Caxton and Elzevier, other saintly icons of profession.

Four large carvings anchored on the crown of the tower are purported to signify Truth, Patriotism, Progress, and Speed, honorable values of the newspaper business during the era. The southeast corner statue is presumed to be Dante, an educated philosopher and versatile writer. Another of the four is a bewigged jurist, representing Truth, a common aspiration of the newspaper business and court system alike.

Now we have cable news.