Ode to Crosley is a book and bespoke type family preserving the history of Crosley Tower and honoring its community.
Crosley Tower is an equally loved and hated piece of Brutalist architecture and local lore. In 1967, it was infamously built in a single pour of concrete over the course of 18 straight days for the University of Cincinnati’s chemistry department.
Today, at less than 60 years old, its 17 stories of solid concrete are in the process of slow motion demolition. Crosley’s uniqueness both as a piece of architecture and engineering has created a fan (and hate) following as singular as its own appearance.
“Ode to Crosley” is a book of communally contributed history, photos, interviews, personal projects, and more, all typeset in two custom-made companion typefaces: Crosley Display and Crosley Text.
With contributions from over 130 individuals, the project serves as a monument to the monumental legacy of Crosley Tower. By highlighting these community stories and the building’s history, the project reveals that Brutalism is not just cold austere concrete, but is actually full of humanity.
With a total of 372 pages, the book is divided into three main chapters:
The first covers Crosley Tower’s history from construction to demolition including archival photos, drawings, and other images.
The second is a set of four interviews (conducted by me) and one personal essay with five people who have various relationships to Crosley.
The final chapter is a collection of 135 odes to Crosley from 135 different people in the form of goodbye letters, poetry, artwork, and more.
The book is hardcover bound to look like solid concrete with the title debossed into the front.
A finite number of copies will be printed for sale at $70 per book for local pickup in Cincinnati or possibly New York City via pre-order.
If you are not local to Cincinnati or New York and are interested in a copy, let me know in the link below and I’ll see if it’s possible to get one to you!
Payment will be collected upfront via Venmo, PayPal, or Zelle. Indicate your interest in the form linked below and I will follow up with payment details.
2026 © Juju Stojanovic