Low-spin states in the neutron-rich, N = 90 nuclide 146 Ba were populated following β-decay of 146 Cs, with the goal of clarifying the development of deformation in Ba isotopes through delineation of their non-yrast structures. Fission fragments of 146 Cs were extracted from a 1.7-Ci 252 Cf source and mass-selected using the CARIBU facility. Low-energy ions were deposited at the center of a box of thin β detectors, surrounded by a high-efficiency HPGe array. The new 146 Ba decay scheme now contains 31 excited levels extending up to ∼2.5 MeV excitation energy, double what was previously known. These data are compared to predictions from the Interacting Boson Approximation (IBA) model. It appears that the abrupt shape change found at N = 90 in Sm and Gd is much more gradual in Ba and Ce, due to an enhanced role of the γ degree of freedom.