Councilman Dwight Tillery announced the plans at a press conference Monday at the Arts Consortium in the West End. He was joined by council members Charles Winburn and Minette Cooper and consortium officials. Mr. Tillery said Councilwoman Jeanette Cissell also supports the proposal. He has not talked to other members of council. A majority of five members is required for approval.
Mr. Tillery will introduce a motion at city council on Wednesday asking that the money be put into the city budget. His motion would include the entire amount needed to build the 20,000-square-foot building at an undetermined site.
"We will accept funds from the federal government, the state and private contributions," Mr. Tillery said. "But I want the city to put up the money."
Mr. Winburn said he will ask the state for money under the Capital Improvement Program. "I am for the project, but I would hope the state would help us."
Mr. Tillery said a wing of the new building would be designated to commemorate jazz, rock 'n' roll and gospel music. He specifically said the emphasis should be put on recognizing soul singer James Brown, who was one of the recording artists at the old King Records in Evanston.
"I think this is an era in rock 'n' roll that we have ignored. Cincinnati was one of the birthplaces of rock 'n' roll, but we haven't done anything to commemorate that form of art. Our arts and what we do for them is a measure of how civilized we are."
He placed the same emphasis on gospel music, pointing out that Cincinnati has a rich background in that form of music, some of which was also recorded at King Records.
King was the most successful music company run in Cincinnati, producing dozens of hit records from 1943 until its closing shortly after the 1968 death of company founder Syd Nathan. Many of King's biggest hits came from Mr. Brown, who recorded there in the '50s and '60s.
Diagrams of a new building presented by Wilson & Associates Inc., an architectural firm in Bond Hill, included a main theater in the center of the building, surrounded by workshop areas, classrooms, photo labs and dressing rooms.
Galleries would separate the main sections. Two wings made of glass walls would be used as historical museums to commemorate the music.
Mr. Tillery said he thinks the city should take the lead in financing the project because of what council has done for downtown development. "We put $30 million into Lazarus, but we don't put that much into community projects," Mr. Tillery said in reference to the new Lazarus store at Fountain Place.
The city has been generous in supporting other arts. For example, it shelled out $30 million for the Aronoff Center for the Arts and another $5 million for the Contemporary Arts Center.
No site has been selected for the new building. Mr. Tillery said officials are looking at locations in the West End, Mount Auburn, Mount Adams, Avondale and Evanston.
Yvonne Gray, president of the Arts Consortium board of directors, said the new building would allow the consortium to move to the next level in art.
"It is time for us to move from a community-based facility to a regional-based art center," she said.
The Arts Consortium also has space at the Art Museum in Union Terminal, where it displayed exhibits on African-American history circa 1800 to 1950.
Attendance at the consortium, plus the museum in Union Terminal, averages about 50,000 a year, said Jerry Denges, associate director. The Arts Consortium operates on a $440,000 budget -- with half of it coming from the city, matched by private donations and fees collected for classes.
