Mike and Mary have been attending the Cincinnati Museum Center (CMC) 1940s Day event for a few
years. It keeps getting better and better each year, so we decided to create this separate web page for the event.
This event normally takes place on a Saturday in early September (check out the CMC web site for the exact date….). The event takes place at the CMC Union Terminal,1301 Western Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45203, a beautiful and historic art deco designed facility. Construction began on the facility in August 1929 and was completed on March 31, 1933. If you’ve never been to the CMC Union Terminal, the event is worth a visit for that 
alone! The CMC web site has more info on the history of Union Terminal, to include the many repairs and restorations.
For the 1940’s day event, there are a number of exhibits, to include Cincinnati area community exhibits, special
presentations, historical presentations, and some musical entertainment. There is also a vintage clothing/costume contest. And for the vintage clothing enthusiast, Casablanca Vintage has vintage clothing and items for sale (a small selection of items compared to what you would find at their store location).
Mary and I always enjoy the exhibits, which for most years include the Cincinnati Warbirds; WMKV radio; Cincinnati Railroad Club; Butler County Warbirds Military History; to name just a few. There is a vintage car display featuring vehicles from the 1920s, 30s and 40s; and sometimes a flyover of vintage aircraft provided by the Cincinnati Warbirds, the group that sponsors the Coney Island USO Swing Dance.
I always enjoy visiting the 
display for King Records. King Records,
founded by Syd Nathan, was active from 1943 to 1968, and produced and distributed the recordings for many great artists, to include Wynonie Harris and Bullmoose Jackson (see the picture of Mike with a photo of Bullmoose Jackson; and the photo of Syd Nathan and several King Records artists). Check out this link for more info on the unique and significant impact King Records had on music, and on the city of Cincinnati.
Another activity for this event is the 
vintage clothing/costume contest. Mike & Mary normally enter the contest either as a couple or as individuals, and we’ve won the contest in both categories in previous years. But we really enter for the fun of sharing our passion and hobby with the audience members, and the other contestants.
So wrappin’ it up, the CMC 1940’s Day is a fun event to attend! We certainly recommend you attend, and note vintage clothing is not required – but if you got ’em you should wear your best 1930’s/40’s vintage or vintage inspired clothing!
A couple of last notes.
(1) We get our picture taken a lot at this event by event attendees (which is kinda cool!), plus we take a lot of pictures. So for this year’s event (Sep. 6, 2025), see below for just a few photos.
(2) Mike & Mary don’t attend this event for the dancing – this is really not a dance event. At past events, any music provided for dancing was not very good, and the room allocated for that dancing usually had a carpeted floor surface.
Below are some photos from the Sep. 6th, 2025 Cincinnati Museum 1940’s day event.
