Columbus, Ohio

The city of Columbus was named after 15th-century Italian explorer Christopher Columbus at the city's founding in 1812.^[12] It is the largest city in the world named for the explorer, who sailed to and settled parts of the Americas on behalf of Isabella I of Castile and Spain.^[13] Although no reliable history exists as to why Columbus, who had no connection to the city or state of Ohio before the city's founding, was chosen as the name for the city, the book Columbus: The Story of a City indicates a state lawmaker and local resident admired the explorer enough to persuade other lawmakers to name the settlement Columbus.^[12][14]

Since the late 20th century, historians have criticized Columbus for initiating the European conquest of America and for abuse, enslavement, and subjugation of natives.^[15][16] Efforts to remove symbols related to the explorer in the city date to the 1990s.^[14] Amid the George Floyd protests in 2020, several petitions pushed for the city to be renamed.^[17]

Nicknames for the city have included "the Discovery City,"^[18] "Arch City,"^[19][20][21] "Cap City,"^[22][23] "Cowtown," "The Biggest Small Town in America"^[24][25][26] and "Cbus."^[27]

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Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean sponsored by the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, opening the way for the widespread European exploration and European colonization of the Americas. His expeditions were the first known European contact with the Caribbean and Central and South America.

Isabella I of Castile

Isabella I of Castile

Isabella I, also called Isabella the Catholic, was Queen of Castile from 1474 until her death in 1504, as well as Queen consort of Aragon from 1479 until 1504 by virtue of her marriage to King Ferdinand II of Aragon. Reigning together over a dynastically unified Spain, Isabella and Ferdinand are known as the Catholic Monarchs.

European colonization of the Americas

European colonization of the Americas

During the Age of Discovery, a large scale European colonization of the Americas took place between about 1492 and 1800. Although the Norse had explored and colonized areas of the North Atlantic, colonizing Greenland and creating a short term settlement near the northern tip of Newfoundland circa 1000 CE, the later and more well-known wave by the European powers is what formally constitutes as beginning of colonization, involving the continents of North America and South America.

George Floyd protests in Columbus, Ohio

George Floyd protests in Columbus, Ohio

The George Floyd protests were a series of protests and civil disturbances that initially started in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area of Minnesota, United States, before spreading nationwide. In Columbus, Ohio, unrest began on May 28, 2020, two days after incidents began in Minneapolis. The events were a reaction to the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) officer Derek Chauvin, who knelt on Floyd's neck for over nine minutes, asphyxiating him.

Columbus streetcar arches

Columbus streetcar arches

Columbus, Ohio has a legacy of using wooden and metal arches on its urban streets. Initially installed in 1888 for lighting during a national Grand Army of the Republic convention, the arches or more permanent replacements were placed on city streets until around 1914, used as overhead lines for electric streetcar wires, until more conventional poles became more favorable. Modern-day arches were installed in the city's Short North neighborhood in 2002, in an effort to unify the district, draw visitors, and increase business sales.

Ancient and early history

Shrum Mound, the feature of Campbell Memorial Park

Between 1000 B.C. and 1700 A.D., the Columbus metropolitan area was a center to indigenous cultures known as the Mound Builders, including the Adena, Hopewell and Fort Ancient peoples. Remaining physical evidence of the cultures are their burial mounds and what they contained. Most of Central Ohio's remaining mounds are located outside of Columbus city boundaries, though the Shrum Mound is maintained, now as part of a public park and historic site. The city's Mound Street derives its name from a mound that existed by the intersection of Mound and High Streets. The mound's clay was used in bricks for most of the city's initial brick buildings; many were subsequently used in the Ohio Statehouse. The city's Ohio History Center maintains a collection of artifacts from these cultures.^[28]

18th century: Ohio Country

Map of the Ohio Country between 1775 and 1794, depicting locations of battles and massacres surrounding the area that would eventually become Ohio

The area including modern-day Columbus once comprised the Ohio Country,^[29] under the nominal control of the French colonial empire through the Viceroyalty of New France from 1663 until 1763. In the 18th century, European traders flocked to the area, attracted by the fur trade.^[30] The area was often caught between warring factions, including American Indian and European interests. In the 1740s, Pennsylvania traders overran the territory until the French forcibly evicted them.^[31] Fighting for control of the territory in the French and Indian War (1754-1763) became part of the international Seven Years' War (1756-1763). During this period, the region routinely suffered turmoil, massacres and battles. The 1763 Treaty of Paris ceded the Ohio Country to the British Empire.

Until just before the American Revolution, Central Ohio had continuously been the home of numerous indigenous villages. A Mingo village was located at the forks of the Scioto and Olentangy rivers, with Shawnee villages to the south and Wyandot and Delaware villages to the north. Colonial militiamen burned down the Mingo village in 1774 during a raid.^[32]

Virginia Military District

After the American Revolution, the Virginia Military District became part of the Ohio Country as a territory of Virginia. Colonists from the East Coast moved in, but rather than finding an empty frontier, they encountered people of the Miami, Delaware, Wyandot, Shawnee and Mingo nations, as well as European traders. The tribes resisted expansion by the fledgling United States, leading to years of bitter conflict. The decisive Battle of Fallen Timbers resulted in the Treaty of Greenville in 1795, which finally opened the way for new settlements. By 1797, a young surveyor from Virginia named Lucas Sullivant had founded a permanent settlement on the west bank of the forks of the Scioto and Olentangy rivers. An admirer of Benjamin Franklin, Sullivant chose to name his frontier village "Franklinton."^[33] The location was desirable for its proximity to the navigable rivers – but Sullivant was initially foiled when, in 1798, a large flood wiped out the new settlement.^[34] He persevered, and the village was rebuilt, though somewhat more inland.

After the Revolution, land comprising parts of Franklin and adjacent counties was set aside by the United States Congress for settlement by Canadians and Nova Scotians who were sympathetic to the colonial cause and had their land and possessions seized by the British government. The Refugee Tract, consisting of 103,000 acres (42,000 ha), was 42 miles (68 km) long and 3–4.5 miles (4.8–7.2 km) wide, and was claimed by 67 eligible men. The Ohio Statehouse sits on land once contained in the Refugee Tract.^[35]

19th century: state capital, city establishment, and development

After Ohio achieved statehood in 1803, political infighting among prominent Ohio leaders led to the state capital moving from Chillicothe to Zanesville and back again. Desiring to settle on a location, the state legislature considered Franklinton, Dublin, Worthington and Delaware before compromising on a plan to build a new city in the state's center, near major transportation routes, primarily rivers. As well, Franklinton landowners had donated two 10-acre (4.0 ha) plots in an effort to convince the state to move its capital there.^[36] The two spaces were set to become Capitol Square (for the Ohio Statehouse) and the Ohio Penitentiary. Named in honor of Christopher Columbus, the city was founded on February 14, 1812, on the "High Banks opposite Franklinton at the Forks of the Scioto most known as Wolf's Ridge."^[37] At the time, this area was a dense forestland, used only as a hunting ground.^[38]

The city was incorporated as a borough on February 10, 1816.^[1] Nine people were elected to fill the municipality's various positions of mayor, treasurer and several others. Between 1816 and 1817, Jarvis W. Pike served as the first appointed mayor. Although the recent War of 1812 had brought prosperity to the area, the subsequent recession and conflicting claims to the land threatened the new town's success. Early conditions were abysmal, with frequent bouts of fevers – attributed to malaria from the flooding rivers – and an outbreak of cholera in 1833. It led Columbus to create the Board of Health, now part of the Columbus Public Health department. The outbreak, which remained in the city from July to September 1833, killed 100 people.^[39]

Columbus was without direct river or trail connections to other Ohio cities, leading to slow initial growth. The National Road reached Columbus from Baltimore in 1831, which complemented the city's new link to the Ohio and Erie Canal, both of which facilitated a population boom.^[40][39] A wave of European immigrants led to the creation of two ethnic enclaves on the city's outskirts. A large Irish population settled in the north along Naghten Street (presently Nationwide Boulevard), while the Germans took advantage of the cheap land to the south, creating a community that came to be known as the Das Alte Südende (The Old South End). Columbus's German population constructed numerous breweries, Trinity Lutheran Seminary and Capital University.^[41]

With a population of 3,500, Columbus was officially chartered as a city on March 3, 1834. On that day, the legislature carried out a special act, which granted legislative authority to the city council and judicial authority to the mayor. Elections were held in April of that year, with voters choosing John Brooks as the first popularly elected mayor.^[42] Columbus annexed the then-separate city of Franklinton in 1837.^[43]

View of the city from Capital University in 1854

In 1850, the Columbus and Xenia Railroad became the first railroad into the city, followed by the Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati Railroad in 1851. The two railroads built a joint Union Station on the east side of High Street just north of Naghten (then called North Public Lane). Rail traffic into Columbus increased: by 1875, eight railroads served Columbus, and the rail companies built a new, more elaborate station.^[44] Another cholera outbreak hit Columbus in 1849, prompting the opening of the city's Green Lawn Cemetery.^[45]

On January 7, 1857, the Ohio Statehouse finally opened after 18 years of construction.^[46] Site construction continued until 1861.

Before the abolition of slavery in the Southern United States in 1863, the Underground Railroad was active in Columbus and was led, in part, by James Preston Poindexter.^[47] Poindexter arrived in Columbus in the 1830s and became a Baptist preacher and leader in the city's African-American community until the turn of the century.^[48]

During the Civil War, Columbus was a major base for the volunteer Union Army. It housed 26,000 troops and held up to 9,000 Confederate prisoners of war at Camp Chase, at what is now the Hilltop neighborhood of west Columbus. Over 2,000 Confederate soldiers remain buried at the site, making it one of the North's largest Confederate cemeteries.^[49] North of Columbus, along the Delaware Road, the Regular Army established Camp Thomas, where the 18th U.S. Infantry organized and trained.

By virtue of the Morrill Act of 1862, the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College – which eventually became the Ohio State University – was founded in 1870 on the former estate of William and Hannah Neil.^[50]

Bird's eye view map of Columbus in 1872

By the end of the 19th century, Columbus was home to several major manufacturing businesses. The city became known as the "Buggy Capital of the World," thanks to the two dozen buggy factories – notably the Columbus Buggy Company, founded in 1875 by C.D. Firestone.^[51] The Columbus Consolidated Brewing Company also rose to prominence during this time and might have achieved even greater success were it not for the Anti-Saloon League in neighboring Westerville.^[52]

In the steel industry, a forward-thinking man named Samuel P. Bush presided over the Buckeye Steel Castings Company. Columbus was also a popular location for labor organizations. In 1886, Samuel Gompers founded the American Federation of Labor in Druid's Hall on South Fourth Street, and in 1890, the United Mine Workers of America was founded at the old City Hall.^[53] In 1894, James Thurber, who would go on to an illustrious literary career in Paris and New York City, was born in the city. Today, Ohio State's theater department has a performance center named in his honor, and his childhood home, the Thurber House, is located in the Discovery District and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

20th century

The city c. 1924

Columbus in 1936

Columbus earned one of its nicknames, "The Arch City," because of the dozens of wooden arches that spanned High Street at the turn of the 20th century. The arches illuminated the thoroughfare and eventually became the means by which electric power was provided to the new streetcars. The city tore down the arches and replaced them with cluster lights in 1914 but reconstructed them from metal in the Short North neighborhood in 2002 for their unique historical interest.^[54]

On March 25, 1913, the Great Flood of 1913 devastated the neighborhood of Franklinton, leaving over 90 people dead and thousands of West Side residents homeless. To prevent flooding, the Army Corps of Engineers recommended widening the Scioto River through downtown, constructing new bridges and building a retaining wall along its banks. With the strength of the post-World War I economy, a construction boom occurred in the 1920s, resulting in a new civic center, the Ohio Theatre, the American Insurance Union Citadel and to the north, a massive new Ohio Stadium.^[55] Although the American Professional Football Association was founded in Canton in 1920, its head offices moved to Columbus in 1921 to the New Hayden Building and remained in the city until 1941. In 1922, the association's name was changed to the National Football League.^[56] Nearly a decade later, in 1931, at a convention in the city, the Jehovah's Witnesses took that name by which they are known today.

The effects of the Great Depression were less severe in Columbus, as the city's diversified economy helped it fare better than its Rust Belt neighbors. World War II brought many new jobs and another population surge. This time, most new arrivals were migrants from the "extraordinarily depressed rural areas" of Appalachia, who would soon account for more than a third of Columbus's growing population.^[57] In 1948, the Town and Country Shopping Center opened in suburban Whitehall, and it is now regarded as one of the first modern shopping centers in the United States.^[58]

The construction of the Interstate Highway System signaled the arrival of rapid suburb development in central Ohio. To protect the city's tax base from this suburbanization, Columbus adopted a policy of linking sewer and water hookups to annexation to the city.^[59] By the early 1990s, Columbus had grown to become Ohio's largest city in land area and in population.

Efforts to revitalize downtown Columbus have had some success in recent decades,^[60] though like most major American cities, some architectural heritage was lost in the process. In the 1970s, landmarks such as Union Station and the Neil House hotel were razed to construct high-rise offices and big retail space. The PNC Bank building was constructed in 1977, as well as the Nationwide Plaza buildings and other towers that sprouted during this period. The construction of the Greater Columbus Convention Center has brought major conventions and trade shows to the city.

21st century

Street arches returned to the Short North in late 2002.

The Scioto Mile began development along the riverfront, an area that already had the Miranova Corporate Center and The Condominiums at North Bank Park.

The 2010 United States foreclosure crisis forced the city to purchase numerous foreclosed, vacant properties to renovate or demolish them – at a cost of tens of millions of dollars. In February 2011, Columbus had 6,117 vacant properties, according to city officials.^[61]

Since 2010, Columbus has been growing in population and economy; from 2010 to 2017, the city added 164,000 jobs, which ranked second in the United States. The city is focused on downtown revitalization, with recent projects being the Columbus Commons park, parks along the Scioto Mile developed along with a reshaped riverfront, and developments in the Arena District and Franklinton.^[62] In February and March 2020, Columbus reported its first official cases of COVID-19 and declared a state of emergency, with all nonessential businesses closed statewide. There were 69,244 cases of the disease across the city, as of March 11, 2021^[update].^[63] Later in 2020, protests over the murder of George Floyd took place in the city from May 28 into August.^[64]

Panorama of downtown Columbus from the Main Street Bridge

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History of Columbus, Ohio

History of Columbus, Ohio

Columbus, the capital city of Ohio, was founded on the east bank of the Scioto River in 1812. The city was founded as its capitol, beside the town of Franklinton, since incorporated into Columbus. The city's early history was gradual, as residents dealt with flooding and cholera epidemics, and the city had few direct connections to other cities. This led creation of a feeder canal, and later, freight and passenger railroads. The city became known for its industry and commercial businesses into the 20th century, though it experienced a lull in development in the late 20th century. In the 21st century, Columbus has been increasingly revitalized, led by parks projects, new developments, and efforts to beautify individual neighborhoods.

Mound Builders

Mound Builders

A number of pre-Columbian cultures in North America were collectively termed "Mound Builders", but the term has no formal meaning. It does not refer to a specific people or archaeological culture, but refers to the characteristic mound earthworks which indigenous peoples erected for an extended period of more than 5,000 years. The "Mound Builder" cultures span the period of roughly 3500 BCE to the 16th century CE, including the Archaic period, Woodland period, and Mississippian period. Geographically, the cultures were present in the region of the Great Lakes, the Ohio River Valley, and the Mississippi River valley and its tributary waters.

Adena culture

Adena culture

The Adena culture was a Pre-Columbian Native American culture that existed from 500 BCE to 100 CE, in a time known as the Early Woodland period. The Adena culture refers to what were probably a number of related Native American societies sharing a burial complex and ceremonial system. The Adena culture was centered on the location of the modern state of Ohio, but also extended into contiguous areas of northern Kentucky, eastern Indiana, West Virginia, and parts of extreme western Pennsylvania.

Hopewell tradition

Hopewell tradition

The Hopewell tradition, also called the Hopewell culture and Hopewellian exchange, describes a network of precontact Native American cultures that flourished in settlements along rivers in the northeastern and midwestern Eastern Woodlands from 100 BCE to 500 CE, in the Middle Woodland period. The Hopewell tradition was not a single culture or society but a widely dispersed set of populations connected by a common network of trade routes.

Fort Ancient

Fort Ancient

Fort Ancient is a name for a Native American culture that flourished from Ca. 1000-1750 CE and predominantly inhabited land near the Ohio River valley in the areas of modern-day southern Ohio, northern Kentucky, southeastern Indiana and western West Virginia. Although a contemporary of the Mississippian culture, they are often considered a "sister culture" and distinguished from the Mississippian culture. Although far from agreed upon, there is evidence to suggest that the Fort Ancient Culture were not the direct descendants of the Hopewellian Culture. It is suspected that the Fort Ancient Culture introduced maize agriculture to Ohio. The Fort Ancient Culture were most likely the builders of the Great Serpent Mound. Recent archeological study and carbon dating suggests that Alligator Mound in Granville also dates to the Fort Ancient era, rather than the assumed Hopewell era. It is believed that neither the Serpent or Alligator Mounds are burial locations, but rather served as ceremonial effigy sites.

High Street (Columbus, Ohio)

High Street (Columbus, Ohio)

High Street is a major thoroughfare in Central Ohio, predominantly in Franklin County and Columbus. It stretches from the northern border of Columbus in Delaware County south to the southern boundary of Franklin County just past Columbus's municipal boundaries. The street is considered one of Columbus's two main roads, along with Broad Street.

French colonial empire

French colonial empire

The French colonial empire comprised the overseas colonies, protectorates and mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "First French Colonial Empire", that existed until 1814, by which time most of it had been lost or sold, and the "Second French Colonial Empire", which began with the conquest of Algiers in 1830. At its apex between the two world wars, the second French colonial empire was the second-largest colonial empire in the world behind the British Empire.

New France

New France

New France was the territory colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spain in 1763 under the Treaty of Paris.

North American fur trade

North American fur trade

The North American fur trade is the commercial trade in furs in North America. Various Indigenous peoples of the Americas traded furs with other tribes during the pre-Columbian era. Europeans started their participation in the North American fur trade from the initial period of their colonization of the Americas onward, extending the trade's reach to Europe. European merchants from France, England and the Dutch Republic established trading posts and forts in various regions of North America to conduct the trade with local Indigenous communities. The trade reached the peak of its economic importance in the 19th century, by which time it relied upon elaborately developed trade networks.

French and Indian War

French and Indian War

The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the start of the war, the French colonies had a population of roughly 60,000 settlers, compared with 2 million in the British colonies. The outnumbered French particularly depended on their native allies.

British Empire

British Empire

The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts established by England between the late 16th and early 18th centuries. At its height it was the largest empire in history and, for over a century, was the foremost global power. By 1913, the British Empire held sway over 412 million people, 23 per cent of the world population at the time, and by 1920, it covered 35.5 million km2 (13.7 million sq mi), 24 per cent of the Earth's total land area. As a result, its constitutional, legal, linguistic, and cultural legacy is widespread. At the peak of its power, it was described as "the empire on which the sun never sets", as the Sun was always shining on at least one of its territories.

American Revolution

American Revolution

The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), gaining independence from the British Crown and establishing the United States as the first country founded on Enlightenment principles of liberal democracy.

Downtown, 2015

Satellite image of Columbus

The confluence of the Scioto and Olentangy rivers is just northwest of Downtown Columbus. Several smaller tributaries course through the Columbus metropolitan area, including Alum Creek, Big Walnut Creek and Darby Creek. Columbus is considered to have relatively flat topography thanks to a large glacier that covered most of Ohio during the Wisconsin Ice Age. However, there are sizable differences in elevation through the area, with the high point of Franklin County being 1,132 ft (345 m) above sea level near New Albany, and the low point being 670 ft (200 m) where the Scioto River leaves the county near Lockbourne.^[65] Numerous ravines near the rivers and creeks also add variety to the landscape. Tributaries to Alum Creek and the Olentangy River cut through shale, while tributaries to the Scioto River cut through limestone. The numerous rivers and streams beside low-lying areas in Central Ohio contribute to a history of flooding in the region; the most significant was the Great Flood of 1913 in Columbus, Ohio.^[66]

The city has a total area of 223.11 square miles (577.85 km²), of which 217.17 square miles (562.47 km²) is land and 5.94 square miles (15.38 km²) is water.^[67] Columbus currently has the largest land area of any Ohio city; this is due to Jim Rhodes's tactic to annex suburbs while serving as mayor. As surrounding communities grew or were constructed, they came to require access to waterlines, which was under the sole control of the municipal water system. Rhodes told these communities that if they wanted water, they would have to submit to assimilation into Columbus.^[68]

Neighborhoods

Columbus has a wide diversity of neighborhoods with different characters,^[69] and is thus sometimes known as a "city of neighborhoods."^[70][71] Some of the most prominent neighborhoods include the Arena District, the Brewery District, Clintonville, Franklinton, German Village, The Short North and Victorian Village.^[69]

Climate

The city's climate is humid continental (Köppen climate classification Dfa) transitional with the humid subtropical climate to the south characterized by warm, muggy summers and cold, dry winters. Columbus is within USDA hardiness zone 6a,^[72] now 6b bordering on 7a in the 1991 to 2020 normals chart. Winter snowfall is relatively light, since the city is not in the typical path of strong winter lows, such as the Nor'easters that strike cities farther east. It is also too far south and west for lake-effect snow from Lake Erie to have much effect, although the lakes to the north contribute to long stretches of cloudy spells in winter.

The highest temperature recorded in Columbus is 106 °F (41 °C), which occurred twice during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s: once on July 21, 1934, and again on July 14, 1936.^[73] The lowest recorded temperature was −22 °F (−30 °C), occurring on January 19, 1994.^[73]

Columbus is subject to severe weather typical to the Midwestern United States. Severe thunderstorms can bring lightning, large hail and on rare occasions tornadoes, especially during the spring and sometimes through fall. A tornado that occurred on October 11, 2006, caused F2 damage.^[74] Floods, blizzards and ice storms can also occur from time to time.

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Geography of Columbus, Ohio

Geography of Columbus, Ohio

The city of Columbus is located in central Ohio at the confluence of the Scioto and Olentangy rivers. The region is dominated by a humid continental climate, characterized by hot, muggy summers and cold, dry winters.

Downtown Columbus, Ohio

Downtown Columbus, Ohio

Downtown Columbus is the central business district of Columbus, Ohio. Downtown is centered on the intersection of Broad and High Streets, and encompasses all of the area inside the Inner Belt. Downtown is home to most of the tallest buildings in Columbus.

Columbus metropolitan area, Ohio

Columbus metropolitan area, Ohio

The Columbus, Ohio metropolitan area is a metropolitan area in Central Ohio surrounding the state capital of Columbus. As defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, it includes the counties of Delaware, Fairfield, Franklin, Hocking, Licking, Madison, Morrow, Perry, Pickaway, and Union. At the 2020 census, the MSA had a population of 2,138,926, making it 32nd-most populous in the United States and the second largest in Ohio, behind the Cincinnati metropolitan area. The metro area, also known as Central Ohio or Greater Columbus, is one of the largest and fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the Midwestern United States.

Alum Creek (Ohio)

Alum Creek (Ohio)

Alum Creek is 58-mile (93 km) long creek that runs north to south in central Ohio. The creek originates in Morrow County and then flows through Delaware County and finally into Franklin County, where it ends at Big Walnut Creek, which drains into the Scioto River. Alum Creek is a source of drinking water for the city of Westerville, Ohio.

Big Walnut Creek

Big Walnut Creek

Big Walnut Creek starts near Mount Gilead, Ohio in Morrow County. It flows south to eastern Delaware County and parallels Alum Creek. It passes to the east of Sunbury and into Hoover Reservoir, which then crosses into Franklin County. From the dam outflow in Westerville the creek flows through Gahanna and Whitehall. Near Obetz it is joined by its principal tributaries Alum Creek and Blacklick Creek at the Three Creeks Columbus Metro Park. It flows through southern Franklin County and joins the Scioto River near the Franklin-Pickaway Counties line at 39°47′57″N 83°00′34″W.

Big Darby Creek

Big Darby Creek

Big Darby Creek is a scenic river located in northwestern central Ohio, and an important tributary to the Lower Scioto River. The river's major tributary is the Little Darby Creek.

Glacier

Glacier

A glacier is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as crevasses and seracs, as it slowly flows and deforms under stresses induced by its weight. As it moves, it abrades rock and debris from its substrate to create landforms such as cirques, moraines, or fjords. Although a glacier may flow into a body of water, it forms only on land and is distinct from the much thinner sea ice and lake ice that form on the surface of bodies of water.

Height above sea level

Height above sea level

Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric heights.

Great Flood of 1913 in Columbus, Ohio

Great Flood of 1913 in Columbus, Ohio

The Great Flood of 1913 severely affected Columbus, Ohio. The area most affected was Franklinton, also known as the Bottoms, for its low elevation near the Scioto River. Among many infrastructure projects, a 7.2-mile floodwall was built from 1993 to 2004 to protect most of Franklinton from flooding.

Arena District

Arena District

The Arena District is a mixed-use planned development and neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio. The site was developed through a partnership between Nationwide Realty Investors, Ltd., the City of Columbus and private investors. Interpretation of the boundaries of the district are evolving as the neighboring blocks around the original 75-acre (300,000 m2) site have seen additional commercial and residential development. The Arena District is named for Nationwide Arena.

Brewery District

Brewery District

The Brewery District, traditionally known as the Old German Brewing District, is a neighborhood located in Columbus, Ohio. Located just south of the central business district and west of German Village, it is bounded by Interstate 70 on the north, South Pearl Street on the east, Greenlawn Avenue on the south, and the Scioto River on the west.

Clintonville (Columbus, Ohio)

Clintonville (Columbus, Ohio)

Clintonville is a neighborhood in north-central Columbus, Ohio, United States with around 30,000 residents. Its borders, associated with the Clintonville Area Commission, are the Olentangy River on the west, Glen Echo Creek to the south, a set of railroad tracks to the east, and on the north by the Worthington city limits.

Racial distribution in Columbus in 2010: ⬤ White ⬤ Black ⬤ Asian ⬤ Hispanic ⬤ Other

2020 census

In the 2020 United States census, there were 905,748 people and 362,626 households residing in the city.^[87]

The racial makeup of the city was 57.4% White, 29.2% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American or Alaska Native, and 5.9% Asian. Hispanic or Latino of any race made up 6.3% of the population.^[87]

2010 census

In the 2010 United States census, there were 787,033 people, 331,602 households and 176,037 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,624 inhabitants per square mile (1,399.2/km²). There were 370,965 housing units at an average density of 1,708.2 per square mile (659.5/km²).

The racial makeup of the city included 815,985 races tallied, as some residents recognized multiple races. The racial makeup was 61.9% White, 29.1% Black or African American, 1% Native American or Alaska Native, 4.6% Asian, 0.2% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and 3.2% from other races.^[88] Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.9% of the population.^[89]

Of the 331,602 households, 29.1% had children under the age of 18, 32% were married couples living together, 15.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.1% had a male householder with no wife present and 46.9% were non-families. 35.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31, and the average family size was 3.04.

The median age in the city was 31.2 years. The age makeup of the city comprised 23.2% of residents under the age of 18, 14% between the ages of 18 and 24, 32.3% between 25 and 44, 21.8% between 45 and 64, and 8.6% 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.8% male and 51.2% female.

Population makeup

Columbus historically had a significant population of white people. In 1900, whites made up 93.4% of the population.^[86] Although European immigration has declined, the Columbus metropolitan area has recently experienced increases in African, Asian and Latin American immigration, including groups from Mexico, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Somalia and China. While the Asian population is diverse, the city's Hispanic community is mainly made up of Mexican Americans, although there is a notable Puerto Rican population.^[90] Many other countries of origin are represented in lesser numbers, largely due to the international draw of Ohio State University. 2008 estimates indicate that roughly 116,000 of the city's residents are foreign-born, accounting for 82% of the new residents between 2000 and 2006 at a rate of 105 per week.^[91] 40% of the immigrants came from Asia, 23% from Africa, 22% from Latin America and 13% from Europe.^[91] The city had the second-largest Somali and Somali American population in the country, as of 2004, as well as the largest expatriate Bhutanese-Nepali population in the world, as of 2018.^[92][93]

Due to its demographics, which include a mix of races and a wide range of incomes, as well as urban, suburban and nearby rural areas, Columbus is considered a "typical" American city, leading retail and restaurant chains to use it as a test market for new products.^[94]

Columbus has maintained a steady population growth since its establishment. Its slowest growth, from 1850 to 1860, is primarily attributed to the city's cholera epidemic in the 1850s.^[95]

According to the 2017 Japanese Direct Investment Survey by the Consulate-General of Japan, Detroit, 838 Japanese nationals lived in Columbus, making it the municipality with the state's second-largest Japanese national population, after Dublin.^[96]

Columbus is home to a proportional LGBT community, with an estimated 34,952 gay, lesbian or bisexual residents.^[97] The 2018 American Community Survey (ACS) reported an estimated 366,034 households, 32,276 of which were held by unmarried partners. 1,395 of these were female householder and female-partner households, and 1,456 were male householder and male-partner households.^[98] Columbus has been rated as one of the best cities in the country for gays and lesbians to live, and also as the most underrated gay city in the country.^[99] In July 2012, three years prior to legal same-sex marriage in the United States, the Columbus City Council unanimously passed a domestic partnership registry.^[100]

Italian-American community and symbols

The Santa Maria Ship & Museum, a Santa María replica, was docked downtown from 1991 to 2014

Columbus has numerous Italian Americans, with groups including the Columbus Italian Club, Columbus Piave Club and the Abruzzi Club.^[101] Italian Village, a neighborhood near Downtown Columbus, has had a prominent Italian American community since the 1890s.^[102]

The community has helped promote the influence Christopher Columbus had in drawing European attention to the Americas. The Italian explorer, erroneously credited with the lands' discovery, has been posthumously criticized by historians for initiating colonization and for abuse, enslavement and subjugation of natives.^[16][15] In addition to the city being named for the explorer, its seal and flag depict a ship he used for his first voyage to the Americas, the Santa María. A similar-size replica of the ship, the Santa Maria Ship & Museum, was displayed downtown from 1991 to 2014.^[103] The city's Discovery District and Discovery Bridge are named in reference to Columbus's "discovery" of the Americas; the bridge includes artistic bronze medallions featuring symbols of the explorer.^[104][105] Genoa Park, downtown, is named after Genoa, the birthplace of Christopher Columbus and one of Columbus's sister cities.^[106]

The Christopher Columbus Quincentennial Jubilee, celebrating the 500th anniversary of Columbus's first voyage, was held in the city in 1992. Its organizers spent $95 million on it, creating the horticultural exhibition AmeriFlora '92. The organizers also planned to create a replica Native American village, among other attractions. Local and national native leaders protested the event with a day of mourning, followed by protests and fasts at City Hall. The protests prevented the native village from being exhibited, and annual fasts continued until 1997. A protest also took place during the dedication of the Santa Maria replica, an event held in late 1991 on the day before Columbus Day and in time for the jubilee.^[14][12]

The city has three outdoor statues of the explorer; the statue at City Hall was acquired, delivered and dedicated with the assistance of the Italian American community. Protests in 2017 aimed for this statue to be removed,^[107] followed by the city in 2018 ceasing to recognize Columbus Day as a city holiday.^[108] During the 2020 George Floyd protests, petitions were created to remove all three statues and rename the city of Columbus.^[17] Two of the statues – one at City Hall and the other at Columbus State Community College – were removed, while the city is also looking into changing its flag and seal to remove the reference to Christopher Columbus. The future of the third statue, at the Ohio Statehouse, will be discussed in a meeting on July 16.^[101][109]

The city was the first of eight cities to be offered the 360 ft (110 m) Birth of the New World statue, in 1993. The statue, also of Christopher Columbus, was completed in Puerto Rico in 2016, and is the tallest in the United States – 45 ft (14 m) taller than the Statue of Liberty, including its pedestal. At least six U.S. cities rejected it, including Columbus, based on its height and design.^[110]

Religion

St. Joseph Cathedral, seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus

According to the 2019 American Values Atlas, 26% of Columbus metropolitan area residents are unaffiliated with a religious tradition. 17% of area residents identify as White evangelical Protestants, 14% as White mainline Protestants, 11% as Black Protestants, 11% as White Catholics, 5% as Hispanic Catholics, 3% as other nonwhite Catholics, 2% as other nonwhite Protestants and 2% as Mormons. Hindus, Buddhists, Jews and Latino Protestants each made up 1% of the population, while Jehovah's Witnesses, Orthodox Christians, Muslims, Unitarians, and members of New Age or other religions each made up under 0.5% of the population.^[111]

Places of worship include Baptist, Evangelical, Greek Orthodox, Latter-day Saints, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Quaker, Roman Catholic, and Unitarian Universalist churches. Columbus also hosts several Islamic mosques, Jewish synagogues, Buddhist centers, Hindu temples and a branch of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Religious teaching institutions include the Pontifical College Josephinum and several private schools led by Christian organizations.

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White Americans

White Americans

White Americans are Americans who identify as white people. This group constitutes the majority of the people in the United States. According to the 2020 census, 61.6%, or 204,277,273 people, were white alone. This represented a national white demographic decline from a 72.4% share of the U.S.'s population in 2010.

African Americans

African Americans

African Americans are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from any of the black racial groups of Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of enslaved Africans who are from the United States.

Hispanic and Latino Americans

Hispanic and Latino Americans

Hispanic and Latino Americans are Americans of Spanish and/or Latin American ancestry. More broadly, these demographics include all Americans who identify as Hispanic or Latino regardless of ancestry. As of 2020, the Census Bureau estimated that there were almost 65.3 million Hispanics and Latinos living in the United States and its territories.

Asian Americans

Asian Americans

Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry. Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous peoples of the continent of Asia, the usage of the term "Asian" by the United States Census Bureau only includes people with origins or ancestry from the Far East, Southeast Asia, and the Indian subcontinent and excludes people with ethnic origins in certain parts of Asia, including West Asia who are now categorized as Middle Eastern Americans. The "Asian" census category includes people who indicate their race(s) on the census as "Asian" or reported entries such as "Chinese, Indian, Filipino, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Korean, Japanese, Pakistani, Malaysian, and Other Asian". In 2020, Americans who identified as Asian alone (19,886,049) or in combination with other races (4,114,949) made up 7.2% of the U.S. population.

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans, also known as American Indians, First Americans, Indigenous Americans, and other terms, are the Indigenous peoples of the mainland United States. There are 574 federally recognized tribes living within the U.S., about half of which are associated with Indian reservations. As defined by the United States Census, "Native Americans" are Indigenous tribes that are originally from the contiguous United States, along with Alaska Natives. Indigenous peoples of the United States who are not listed as American Indian or Alaska Native include Native Hawaiians, Samoan Americans, and Chamorros. The US Census groups these peoples as "Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islanders".

2010 United States census

2010 United States census

The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators serving to spot-check randomly selected neighborhoods and communities. As part of a drive to increase the count's accuracy, 635,000 temporary enumerators were hired. The population of the United States was counted as 308,745,538, a 9.7% increase from the 2000 census. This was the first census in which all states recorded a population of over half a million people as well as the first in which all 100 largest cities recorded populations of over 200,000.

Pacific Islander Americans

Pacific Islander Americans

Pacific Islander Americans are Americans who are of Pacific Islander ancestry. For its purposes, the United States census also counts Aboriginal Australians as part of this group.

White people

White people

White is a racialized classification of people and a skin color specifier, generally used for people of European ancestry, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, and point of view.

Ethnic groups in Europe

Ethnic groups in Europe

Europeans are the focus of European ethnology, the field of anthropology related to the various ethnic groups that reside in the states of Europe. Groups may be defined by common genetic ancestry, common language, or both. Pan and Pfeil (2004) count 87 distinct "peoples of Europe", of which 33 form the majority population in at least one sovereign state, while the remaining 54 constitute ethnic minorities. The total number of national minority populations in Europe is estimated at 105 million people, or 14% of 770 million Europeans. The Russians are the most populous among Europeans, with a population of roughly 120 million. There are no universally accepted and precise definitions of the terms "ethnic group" and "nationality". In the context of European ethnography in particular, the terms ethnic group, people, nationality and ethno-linguistic group, are used as mostly synonymous, although preference may vary in usage with respect to the situation specific to the individual countries of Europe.

Demographics of Africa

Demographics of Africa

The population of Africa has grown rapidly over the past century and consequently shows a large youth bulge, further reinforced by a low life expectancy of below 50 years in some African countries. Total population as of 2020 is estimated at more than 1.3 billion, with a growth rate of more than 2.5% p.a. The total fertility rate for Sub-Saharan Africa is 4.7 as of 2018, the highest in the world according to the World Bank. The most populous African country is Nigeria with over 206 million inhabitants as of 2020 and a growth rate of 2.6% p.a.

Asian people

Asian people

Asian people are the people of Asia. The term may also refer to their descendants.

The AEP Building, headquarters to American Electric Power

Columbus has a generally strong and diverse economy based on education, insurance, banking, fashion, defense, aviation, food, logistics, steel, energy, medical research, health care, hospitality, retail and technology. In 2010, it was one of the 10 best big cities in the country, according to Relocate America, a real estate research firm.^[112]

According to the Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis, the GDP of Columbus in 2019 was $134 billion.^[113]

During the Great Recession between 2007 and 2009, Columbus's economy was not impacted as much as the rest of the country, due to decades of diversification work by long-time corporate residents, business leaders and political leaders. The administration of former mayor Michael B. Coleman continued this work, although the city faced financial turmoil and had to increase taxes, allegedly due in part to fiscal mismanagement.^[114][115] Because Columbus is the state capital, there is a large government presence in the city. Including city, county, state and federal employers, government jobs provide the largest single source of employment within Columbus.

In 2019, the city had six corporations named to the U.S. Fortune 500 list: Alliance Data, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, American Electric Power, L Brands, Huntington Bancshares and Cardinal Health in suburban Dublin.^[116][117] Other major employers include schools (e.g., the Ohio State University) and hospitals (among others, Wexner Medical Center and Nationwide Children's Hospital, which are among the teaching hospitals of the Ohio State University College of Medicine), high-tech research and development such as the Battelle Memorial Institute, information/library companies such as OCLC and Chemical Abstracts Service, steel processing and pressure cylinder manufacturer Worthington Industries, financial institutions such as JPMorgan Chase and Huntington Bancshares, as well as Owens Corning. Fast-food chains Wendy's and White Castle are also headquartered in the Columbus area. Major foreign corporations operating or with divisions in the city include Germany-based Siemens and Roxane Laboratories, Finland-based Vaisala, Tomasco Mulciber Inc., A Y Manufacturing, as well as Switzerland-based ABB and Mettler Toledo. The city also has a significant fashion and retail presence, home to companies such as Big Lots, L Brands, Abercrombie & Fitch, DSW and Express.

Food and beverage industry

North Market

North Market, a public market and food hall, is located downtown near the Short North. It is the only remaining public market of Columbus's original four marketplaces.

Numerous restaurant chains are based in the Columbus area, including Charleys Philly Steaks, Bibibop Asian Grill, Steak Escape, White Castle, Cameron Mitchell Restaurants, Bob Evans Restaurants, Max & Erma's, Damon's Grill, Donatos Pizza and Wendy's. Wendy's, the world's third-largest hamburger fast-food chain, operated its first store downtown as both a museum and a restaurant until March 2007, when the establishment was closed due to low revenue. The company is presently headquartered outside the city in nearby Dublin. Budweiser has a major brewery located on the north side, just south of I-270 and Worthington. Columbus is also home to many local micro breweries and pubs. Asian frozen food manufacturer Kahiki Foods was located on the east side of Columbus, created during the operation of the Kahiki Supper Club restaurant in Columbus. The food company now operates in the suburb of Gahanna and has been owned by the South Korean-based company CJ CheilJedang since 2018.^[118] Wasserstrom Company, a major supplier of equipment and supplies for restaurants, is located on the north side.

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AEP Building

AEP Building

The AEP Building is a 456 ft-tall (139 m) skyscraper in Downtown Columbus, Ohio. It was completed in 1983 and has 31 floors. Abramovitz, Harris & Kingsland designed the building following a modernist architectural style. The AEP Building is the 8th tallest building in Columbus. It has served as the headquarters of the American Electric Power (AEP) since the company relocated from New York City in 1983.

American Electric Power

American Electric Power

American Electric Power Company, Inc. (AEP), is a major investor-owned electric utility in the United States, delivering electricity to more than five million customers in 11 states.

Economy of Columbus, Ohio

Economy of Columbus, Ohio

Columbus, Ohio has a generally strong and diverse economy based on education, insurance, banking, fashion, defense, aviation, food, logistics, steel, energy, medical research, health care, hospitality, retail, and technology. Overall, it was ranked as one of the top 10 best big cities in the country in 2010, according to Relocate America, a real estate research firm.

Great Recession

Great Recession

The Great Recession was a period of marked general decline observed in national economies globally, i.e. a recession, that occurred from late 2007 to 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country. At the time, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded that it was the most severe economic and financial meltdown since the Great Depression. One result was a serious disruption of normal international relations.

Michael B. Coleman

Michael B. Coleman

Michael B. Coleman is an American politician of the Democratic Party who served as the 52nd mayor of Columbus, Ohio. He was the first African-American to serve as the mayor of Ohio's capital city.

Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company

Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company

Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company and affiliated companies, commonly shortened to Nationwide, is a group of large U.S. insurance and financial services companies based in Columbus, Ohio. The company also operates regional headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona; Des Moines, Iowa and San Antonio, Texas. Nationwide currently has approximately 25,000 employees, and is ranked No. 80 in the 2022 Fortune 500 list. Nationwide is currently ranked No. 21 in Fortune's "100 Best Companies to Work For".

Huntington Bancshares

Huntington Bancshares

Huntington Bancshares Incorporated is an American bank holding company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. The company is ranked 521st on the Fortune 500, and is 26th on the list of largest banks in the United States.

Cardinal Health

Cardinal Health

Cardinal Health, Inc. is an American multinational health care services company, and the 14th highest revenue generating company in the United States. Its headquarters are in Dublin, Ohio and Dublin, Ireland (EMEA). The company specializes in the distribution of pharmaceuticals and medical products, serving more than 100,000 locations. The company also manufactures medical and surgical products, including gloves, surgical apparel, and fluid management products. In addition, it operates one of the largest networks of radiopharmacies in the U.S. Cardinal Health provides medical products to over 75 percent of hospitals in the United States.

Dublin, Ohio

Dublin, Ohio

Dublin is a city in Franklin, Delaware and Union counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 49,328 at the 2020 census. It is a suburb of Columbus. The city of Dublin hosts the yearly Memorial Tournament at the Muirfield Village Golf Club. The Dublin Irish Festival advertises itself as the largest three-day Irish festival in the world.

Nationwide Children's Hospital

Nationwide Children's Hospital

Nationwide Children's Hospital is a nationally ranked pediatric acute care teaching hospital located in the Southern Orchards neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio. The hospital has 673 pediatric beds and is affiliated with the Ohio State University College of Medicine. The hospital provides comprehensive pediatric specialties and subspecialties to infants, children, teens, and young adults aged 0–21 throughout Ohio and surrounding regions. Nationwide Children's Hospital also sometimes treats adults that require pediatric care. Nationwide Children's Hospital also features an ACS designated Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center, 1 of 4 in the state. The hospital has affiliations with the nearby Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. Nationwide Children's Hospital is located on its own campus and has more than 1,379 medical staff members and over 11,909 total employees.

Battelle Memorial Institute

Battelle Memorial Institute

Battelle Memorial Institute is a private nonprofit applied science and technology development company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. Battelle is a charitable trust organized as a nonprofit corporation under the laws of the State of Ohio and is exempt from taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code because it is organized for charitable, scientific and education purposes.

Chemical Abstracts Service

Chemical Abstracts Service

CAS is a division of the American Chemical Society. It is a source of chemical information. CAS is located in Columbus, Ohio, United States.

Landmarks

The LeVeque Tower

Columbus has over 170 notable buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places; it also maintains its own register, the Columbus Register of Historic Properties, with 82 entries.^[119] The city also maintains four historic districts not listed on its register: German Village, Italian Village, Victorian Village, and the Brewery District.^[120]

Construction of the Ohio Statehouse began in 1839 on a 10-acre (4 ha) plot of land donated by four prominent Columbus landowners. This plot formed Capitol Square, which was not part of the city's original layout. Built of Columbus limestone from the Marble Cliff Quarry Co., the Statehouse stands on foundations 18 feet (5.5 m) deep that were laid by prison labor gangs rumored to have been composed largely of masons jailed for minor infractions.^[36] It features a central recessed porch with a colonnade of a forthright and primitive Greek Doric mode. A broad and low central pediment supports the windowed astylar drum under an invisibly low saucer dome that lights the interior rotunda. There are several artworks within and outside the building, including the William McKinley Monument dedicated in 1907. Unlike many U.S. state capitol buildings, the Ohio State Capitol owes little to the architecture of the national Capitol. During the Statehouse's 22-year construction, seven architects were employed. The Statehouse was opened to the legislature and the public in 1857 and completed in 1861, and is located at the intersection of Broad and High streets in downtown Columbus.

Within the Driving Park heritage district lies the original home of Eddie Rickenbacker, a World War I fighter pilot ace. Built in 1895, the house was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976.^[121]

Demolitions and redevelopment

Demolition has been a common trend in Columbus for a long period of time, and continues into the present day. Preservationists and the public have sometimes run into conflict with developers hoping to revitalize an area, and historically with the city and state government, which led programs of urban renewal in the 20th century.^[122]

Museums and public art

Columbus Museum of Art

COSI, a science and children's museum

Columbus has a wide variety of museums and galleries. Its primary art museum is the Columbus Museum of Art, which operates its main location as well as the Pizzuti Collection, featuring contemporary art. The museum, founded in 1878, focuses on European and American art up to early modernism that includes extraordinary examples of Impressionism, German Expressionism and Cubism.^[123] Another prominent art museum in the city is the Wexner Center for the Arts, a contemporary art gallery and research facility operated by the Ohio State University.

The Ohio History Connection is headquartered in Columbus, with its flagship museum, the 250,000-square-foot (23,000 m²) Ohio History Center, 4 mi (6.4 km) north of downtown. Adjacent to the museum is Ohio Village, a replica of a village around the time of the American Civil War. The Columbus Historical Society also features historical exhibits, which focus more closely on life in Columbus.

COSI is a large science and children's museum in downtown Columbus. The present building, the former Central High School, was completed in November 1999, opposite downtown on the west bank of the Scioto River. In 2009, Parents magazine named COSI one of the 10 best science centers for families in the country.^[124] Other science museums include the Orton Geological Museum and the Museum of Biological Diversity, which are both part of the Ohio State University.

The Franklin Park Conservatory is the city's botanical garden, which opened in 1895. It features over 400 species of plants in a large Victorian-style glass greenhouse building that includes rain forest, desert and Himalayan mountain biomes. The conservatory is located just east of Downtown in Franklin Park^[125]

Biographical museums include the Thurber House (documenting the life of cartoonist James Thurber), the Jack Nicklaus Museum (documenting the golfer's career, located on the OSU campus) and the Kelton House Museum and Garden, the latter of which being a historic house museum memorializing three generations of the Kelton family, the house's use as a documented station on the Underground Railroad, and overall Victorian life.

The National Veterans Memorial and Museum, which opened in 2018, focuses on the personal stories of military veterans throughout U.S. history. The museum replaced the Franklin County Veterans Memorial, which opened in 1955.^[126]

Other notable museums in the city include the Central Ohio Fire Museum, Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum and the Ohio Craft Museum.

Performing arts

The Ohio Theatre, a National Historic Landmark

Columbus is the home of many performing arts institutions including the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, Opera Columbus, BalletMet Columbus, the ProMusica Chamber Orchestra, CATCO, Columbus Children's Theatre, Shadowbox Live, and the Columbus Jazz Orchestra. Throughout the summer, the Actors' Theatre of Columbus offers free performances of Shakespearean plays in an open-air amphitheater in Schiller Park in historic German Village.

The Columbus Youth Ballet Academy was founded in the 1980s by ballerina and artistic director Shir Lee Wu, a discovery of Martha Graham. Wu is now the artistic director of the Columbus City Ballet School.^[127]

Columbus has several large concert venues, including the Nationwide Arena, Value City Arena, Express Live!, Mershon Auditorium and the Newport Music Hall.

In May 2009, the Lincoln Theatre, formerly a center for Black culture in Columbus, reopened after an extensive restoration.^[128][129] Not far from the Lincoln Theatre is the King Arts Complex, which hosts a variety of cultural events. The city also has several theaters downtown, including the historic Palace Theatre, the Ohio Theatre and the Southern Theatre. Broadway Across America often presents touring Broadway musicals in these larger venues.^[130] The Vern Riffe Center for Government and the Arts houses the Capitol Theatre and three smaller studio theaters, providing a home for resident performing arts companies.

Film

Movies filmed in the Columbus metropolitan area include Teachers in 1984, Tango & Cash in 1989, Little Man Tate in 1991, Air Force One in 1997, Traffic in 2000, Speak in 2004, Bubble in 2005, Liberal Arts in 2012, Parker in 2013, and I Am Wrath in 2016, Aftermath in 2017, They/Them/Us in 2021, and Bones and All in 2022.^[131][132] The 2018 film Ready Player One is set in Columbus, though not filmed in the city.^[133]

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Culture of Columbus, Ohio

Culture of Columbus, Ohio

The culture of Columbus, Ohio, is particularly known for museums, performing arts, sporting events, seasonal fairs and festivals, and architecture of various styles from Greek Revival to modern architecture.

Architecture of Columbus, Ohio

Architecture of Columbus, Ohio

The architecture of Columbus, Ohio is represented by numerous notable architects' works, individually notable buildings, and a wide range of styles. Yost & Packard, the most prolific architects for much of the city's history, gave the city much of its eclectic and playful designs at a time when architecture tended to be busy and vibrant.

LeVeque Tower

LeVeque Tower

The LeVeque Tower is a 47-story skyscraper in Downtown Columbus, Ohio. At 555 feet 5 inches (169.29 m) it was the tallest building in the city from its completion in 1927 to 1974, and remains the second-tallest today.

Columbus Register of Historic Properties

Columbus Register of Historic Properties

The Columbus Register of Historic Properties is a register for historic buildings and other sites in Columbus, Ohio, United States. The register is maintained by the City of Columbus Historic Resources Commission and Historic Preservation Office, and was established in 1980. Many of these landmarks are also listed on the National Register of Historic Places, providing federal tax support for preservation, and some are further designated National Historic Landmarks, providing additional federal oversight.

German Village

German Village

German Village is a historic neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio, just south of the city's downtown. It was settled in the early-to-mid-19th century by a large number of German immigrants, who at one time comprised as much as a third of the city's entire population. It became a city historic district in 1960 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, becoming the list's largest privately funded preservation district, and in 2007, was made a Preserve America Community by the federal government. In 1980, its boundaries increased, and today it is one of the world's premier historic restorations.

Italian Village

Italian Village

Italian Village is a neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio, that contains an array of residential, commercial, and industrial buildings. It is a designated historic district, known for its historical and cultural preservation. The building types and architecture reflect Italian influence. With its parks and preserved historic homes, Italian Village has the highest home value appreciation in Columbus.

Brewery District

Brewery District

The Brewery District, traditionally known as the Old German Brewing District, is a neighborhood located in Columbus, Ohio. Located just south of the central business district and west of German Village, it is bounded by Interstate 70 on the north, South Pearl Street on the east, Greenlawn Avenue on the south, and the Scioto River on the west.

Capitol Square

Capitol Square

Capitol Square is a public square in Downtown Columbus, Ohio. The square includes the Ohio Statehouse, its 10-acre (4.0 ha) Capitol Grounds, as well as the buildings and features surrounding the square. The Capitol Grounds are surrounded on the north and west by Broad and High Streets, the main thoroughfares of the city since its founding, forming the city's 100 percent corner. The grounds are surrounded by 3rd Street on the east and State Street on the south. The oldest building on Capitol Square, the Ohio Statehouse, is the center of the state government, and in the rough geographic center of Capitol Square, Columbus, and Ohio.

Colonnade

Colonnade

In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or curved. The space enclosed may be covered or open. In St. Peter's Square in Rome, Bernini's great colonnade encloses a vast open elliptical space.

Doric order

Doric order

The Doric order was one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of columns. Originating in the western Doric region of Greece, it is the earliest and, in its essence, the simplest of the orders, though still with complex details in the entablature above.

Astylar

Astylar

Astylar (from Gr. ἀ-, privative, and στῦλος, a column) is an architectural term given to a class of design in which neither columns nor pilasters are used for decorative purposes; thus the Riccardi and Strozzi palaces in Florence are astylar in their design, in contradistinction to Palladio's palaces at Vicenza, which are columnar.

Dome

Dome

A dome is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a matter of controversy and there are a wide variety of forms and specialized terms to describe them.

The Ohio Stadium, on the OSU Campus, is the 7th-largest non-racing stadium in the world.^[134]

Nationwide Arena, home of the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets

Mapfre Stadium, the first soccer-specific stadium in the U.S., and former home to the Columbus Crew

Professional teams

Columbus hosts two major league professional sports teams: the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL), which play at Nationwide Arena, and the Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer (MLS), which play at Lower.com Field. The Crew previously played at Historic Crew Stadium, the first soccer-specific stadium built in the United States for a Major League Soccer team. The Crew were one of the original members of MLS and won their first MLS Cup in 2008, with a second title in 2020. The Columbus Crew moved into Lower.com Field in the summer of 2021, which will also feature a mixed-use development site named Confluence Village.^[135]

The Columbus Clippers, the International League affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians, play in Huntington Park, which opened in 2009.

The city was home to the Panhandles/Tigers football team from 1901 to 1926; they are credited with playing in the first NFL game against another NFL opponent.^[136] In the late 1990s, the Columbus Quest won the only two championships during American Basketball League's two-and-a-half season existence.

The Ohio Aviators were based in Obetz, Ohio, and began play in the only PRO Rugby season before the league folded.^[137]

Ohio State Buckeyes

Columbus is home to one of the nation's most competitive intercollegiate programs, the Ohio State Buckeyes of Ohio State University. The program has placed in the top 10 final standings of the Director's Cup five times since 2000–2001, including No. 3 for the 2002–2003 season and No. 4 for the 2003–2004 season.^[138] The university funds 36 varsity teams, consisting of 17 male, 16 female and three co-educational teams.^[139] In 2007–2008 and 2008–2009, the program generated the second-most revenue for college programs behind the Texas Longhorns of The University of Texas at Austin.^[140][141]

The Ohio State Buckeyes are a member of the NCAA's Big Ten Conference, and their football team plays home games at Ohio Stadium. The Ohio State–Michigan football game (known colloquially as "The Game") is the final game of the regular season and is played in November each year, alternating between Columbus and Ann Arbor, Michigan. In 2000, ESPN ranked the Ohio State–Michigan game as the greatest rivalry in North American sports.^[142] Moreover, "Buckeye fever" permeates Columbus culture year-round and forms a major part of Columbus's cultural identity. Former New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, an Ohio native who received a master's degree from Ohio State and coached in Columbus, was an Ohio State football fan and major donor to the university who contributed to the construction of the band facility at the renovated Ohio Stadium, which bears his family's name.^[143] During the winter months, the Buckeyes basketball and hockey teams are also major sporting attractions.

Other sports

Columbus has a long history in motorsports, hosting the world's first 24-hour car race at the Columbus Driving Park in 1905, which was organized by the Columbus Auto Club.^[144] The Columbus Motor Speedway was built in 1945 and held its first motorcycle race in 1946. In 2010, the Ohio State University student-built Buckeye Bullet 2, a fuel-cell vehicle, set an FIA world speed record for electric vehicles in reaching 303.025 mph, eclipsing the previous record of 302.877 mph.^[145]

The annual All American Quarter Horse Congress, the world's largest single-breed horse show,^[146] attracts approximately 500,000 visitors to the Ohio Expo Center each October.

Columbus hosts the annual Arnold Sports Festival. Hosted by Arnold Schwarzenegger, the event has grown to eight Olympic sports and 22,000 athletes competing in 80 events.^[147] In conjunction with the Arnold Classic, the city hosted three consecutive Ultimate Fighting Championship events between 2007 and 2009, as well as other mixed martial arts events.

Westside Barbell, a world-renowned powerlifting gym, is located in Columbus. Its founder, Louie Simmons, is known for his popularization of the "Conjugate Method," while he is also credited with inventing training machines for reverse hyper-extensions and belt squats. Westside Barbell is known for producing multiple world record holders in powerlifting.^[148]

The Columbus Bullies were two-time champions of the American Football League (1940–1941). The Columbus Thunderbolts were formed in 1991 for the Arena Football League, and then relocated to Cleveland as the Cleveland Thunderbolts; the Columbus Destroyers were the next team of the AFL, playing from 2004 until the league's demise in 2008 and returned for single season in 2019 until the league folded a second time.

Ohio Roller Derby (formerly Ohio Roller Girls) was founded in Columbus in 2005 and still competes internationally in Women's Flat Track Derby Association play. The team is regularly ranked in the top 60 internationally.

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Ohio Stadium

Ohio Stadium

Ohio Stadium is an American football stadium in Columbus, Ohio, on the campus of Ohio State University. It primarily serves as the home venue of the Ohio State Buckeyes football team and is also the site for the university's Spring Commencement ceremonies each May. Common nicknames for the stadium include "the Horseshoe", "the Shoe", and "the House That Harley Built".

Ohio State University

Ohio State University

The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, Ohio State was founded in 1870 as the state's land-grant university and the ninth university in Ohio with the Morrill Act of 1862. Ohio State was originally known as the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College and focused on various agricultural and mechanical disciplines, but it developed into a comprehensive university under the direction of then-Governor and later U.S. president Rutherford B. Hayes, and in 1878, the Ohio General Assembly passed a law changing the name to "the Ohio State University" and broadening the scope of the university. Admission standards tightened and became greatly more selective throughout the 2000s and 2010s.

Nationwide Arena

Nationwide Arena

Nationwide Arena is a multi-purpose arena in the Arena District of Columbus, Ohio. Since completion in 2000, the arena has served as the home of the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL). It is one of two facilities in Columbus, along with Greater Columbus Convention Center, that hosts events during the annual Arnold Classic, a sports and fitness event hosted by actor, bodybuilder, and former Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Columbus Blue Jackets

Columbus Blue Jackets

The Columbus Blue Jackets are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, and began play as an expansion team in 2000.

Columbus Crew

Columbus Crew

The Columbus Crew is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference and began play in 1996 as one of the 10 charter clubs of the league. The team is currently operated by an ownership group led by the Haslam family and former team physician Pete Edwards. The Haslam/Edwards group is the third ownership group in club history.

Ohio State Buckeyes football

Ohio State Buckeyes football

The Ohio State Buckeyes football team competes as part of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, representing Ohio State University in the East Division of the Big Ten Conference. Ohio State has played their home games at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio since 1922. The Buckeyes are recognized by the university and NCAA as having won eight national championships along with 41 conference championships, 10 division championships, 10 undefeated seasons, and six perfect seasons. Seven players have received the Heisman Trophy, with the program holding the distinction of having the only two-time winner of the award.

NCAA Division I

NCAA Division I

NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athletic powers, with large budgets, more elaborate facilities and more athletic scholarships than Divisions II and III as well as many smaller schools committed to the highest level of intercollegiate competition.

Major League Soccer

Major League Soccer

Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada—since the 2023 season. The league is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan.

Lower.com Field

Lower.com Field

Lower.com Field is a soccer-specific stadium in Columbus, Ohio, United States. It serves primarily as the home stadium of the Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer, replacing the club's previous home, Historic Crew Stadium. The new stadium cost $314 million and is located at the center of the mixed-use Astor Park development adjacent to the Arena District and downtown. It seats 20,371 spectators and includes 30 suites and 1,900 club seats.

Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball

Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball

The Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball team represents The Ohio State University in NCAA Division I college basketball competition. The Buckeyes are a member of the Big Ten Conference.

National Hockey League

National Hockey League

The National Hockey League is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ice hockey league in the world, and is one of the four major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada. The Stanley Cup, the oldest professional sports trophy in North America, is awarded annually to the league playoff champion at the end of each season. The NHL is the fifth-wealthiest professional sport league in the world by revenue, after the National Football League (NFL), Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the English Premier League (EPL).

Ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hockey sticks to control, advance, and shoot a closed, vulcanized, rubber disc called a "puck" into the other team's goal. Each goal is worth one point. The team which scores the most goals is declared the winner. In a formal game, each team has six skaters on the ice at a time, barring any penalties, one of whom is the goaltender. Ice hockey is a full contact sport, and is considered to be one of the more physically demanding sports.

The Scioto Mile includes nine parks along both banks of the Scioto River between downtown Columbus and Franklinton.

Audubon nature center at Scioto Audubon Metro Park, the first built close to a major city's downtown

Columbus's Recreation and Parks Department oversees about 370 city parks.^[149] Also in the area are 19 regional parks and the Metro Parks, which are part of the Columbus and Franklin County Metropolitan Park District.

These parks include Clintonville's Whetstone Park and the Columbus Park of Roses, a 13-acre (5.3 ha) rose garden. The Chadwick Arboretum on Ohio State's campus features a large and varied collection of plants, while its Olentangy River Wetland Research Park is an experimental wetland open to the public. Downtown, the painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte is represented in topiary at Columbus's Topiary Park. Also near downtown, the Scioto Audubon Metro Park on the Whittier Peninsula opened in 2009 and includes a large Audubon nature center focused on the birdwatching the area is known for.^[150]

The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium's collections include lowland gorillas, polar bears, manatees, Siberian tigers, cheetahs and kangaroos.^[151] Also in the zoo complex is the Zoombezi Bay water park and amusement park.

Fairs and festivals

The Ohio State Fair is held in late July to early August.

Annual festivities in Columbus include the Ohio State Fair – one of the largest state fairs in the country – as well as the Columbus Arts Festival and the Jazz & Rib Fest, both of which occur on the downtown riverfront.

In mid-May from 2007 to 2018, Columbus was home to Rock on the Range, which was held at Historic Crew Stadium and marketed as America's biggest rock festival. The festival, which took place on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday, has hosted Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Slipknot and other notable bands. In May 2019, it was officially replaced by the Sonic Temple Art & Music Festival.^[152]

During the first weekend in June, the bars of Columbus's North Market District host the Park Street Festival, which attracts thousands of visitors to a massive party in bars and on the street. June's second-to-last weekend sees one of the Midwest's largest gay pride parades, Columbus Pride, reflecting the city's sizable gay population. During the last weekend of June, Goodale Park hosts ComFest (short for "Community Festival"), an immense three-day music festival marketed as the largest non-commercial festival in the U.S., with art vendors, live music on multiple stages, hundreds of local social and political organizations, body painting and beer.

Greek Festival is held in August or September at the Greek Orthodox Church downtown.

The Hot Times Community Arts & Music Festival, a celebration of music, arts, food and diversity, is held annually in the Olde Towne East neighborhood.

The city's largest dining event, Restaurant Week Columbus, is held twice a year in mid-January and mid-July. In 2010, more than 40,000 diners went to 40 participating restaurants, and $5,000 was donated the Mid-Ohio Foodbank on behalf of sponsors and participating restaurants.^[153]

The Juneteenth Ohio Festival is held each year at Franklin Park on Father's Day weekend. Started by Mustafaa Shabazz, Juneteenth Ohio is one of the largest African American festivals in the United States, including three full days of music, food, dance and entertainment by local and national recording artists. The festival holds a Father's Day celebration, honoring local fathers.

Around the Fourth of July, Columbus hosts Red, White & Boom! on the Scioto riverfront downtown, attracting crowds of over 500,000 people and featuring the largest fireworks display in Ohio.^[154] The Doo Dah Parade is also held at this time.

During Memorial Day Weekend, the Asian Festival is held in Franklin Park. Hundreds of restaurants, vendors and companies open up booths, and traditional music is played, martial arts are performed and cultural exhibits are set up.

The Jazz & Rib Fest is a free downtown event held each July, featuring jazz artists like Randy Weston, D. Bohannon Clark and Wayne Shorter, along with rib vendors from around the country.

The Short North is host to the monthly Gallery Hop, which attracts hundreds to the neighborhood's art galleries (which all open their doors to the public until late at night) and street musicians. The Hilltop Bean Dinner is an annual event held on Columbus's West Side that celebrates the city's Civil War heritage near the historic Camp Chase Cemetery. At the end of September, German Village throws an annual Oktoberfest celebration that features German food, beer, music and crafts.

The Short North also hosts HighBall Halloween and Masquerade on High, a fashion show and street parade that closes down High Street. In 2011, in its fourth year, HighBall Halloween gained notoriety as it accepted its first Expy award. HighBall Halloween has much to offer for those interested in fashion and the performing and visual arts, or for those who want to celebrate Halloween with food and drinks from all around the city. Each year, the event is put on with a different theme.

Columbus also hosts many conventions in the Greater Columbus Convention Center, a large convention center on the north edge of downtown. Completed in 1993, the 1.8-million-square-foot (170,000 m²) convention center was designed by architect Peter Eisenman, who also designed the Wexner Center.^[155]

Shopping

Both of the metropolitan area's major shopping centers are located in Columbus: Easton Town Center and Polaris Fashion Place.

Developer Richard E. Jacobs built the area's first three major shopping malls in the 1960s: Westland, Northland and Eastland.^[156] Of these, only Eastland remains in operation. Near Northland Mall was The Continent, an open-air mall in the Northland area, mostly vacant and pending redevelopment. Columbus City Center was built downtown in 1988, alongside the first location of Lazarus; this mall closed in 2009 and was demolished in 2011. Easton Town Center was built in 1999 and Polaris Fashion Place in 2001.

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List of parks in Columbus, Ohio

List of parks in Columbus, Ohio

Columbus, Ohio has numerous municipal parks, several regional parks, and privately-owned parks. The Columbus Recreation and Parks Department operates 370 parks, with a combined 13,500 acres (5,500 ha).

Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks

Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks

The Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks are a group of 20 metropolitan parks in and around Columbus, Ohio. They are officially organized into the Columbus and Franklin County Metropolitan Park District. The Metro Parks system was organized in 1945 under Ohio Revised Code Section 1545 as a separate political division of the state of Ohio. The Metro Parks are overseen by a Board of Park Commissioners consisting of three citizens appointed to three-year terms without compensation by the Judge of the Probate Court of Franklin County, Ohio. The Board in turn appoints an Executive Director responsible for operations and management of the parks.

Downtown Columbus, Ohio

Downtown Columbus, Ohio

Downtown Columbus is the central business district of Columbus, Ohio. Downtown is centered on the intersection of Broad and High Streets, and encompasses all of the area inside the Inner Belt. Downtown is home to most of the tallest buildings in Columbus.

Scioto Audubon Metro Park

Scioto Audubon Metro Park

Scioto Audubon Metro Park is a public park and nature preserve in Columbus, Ohio. The park is managed by the Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks and is part of the Scioto Mile network of parks and trails around Downtown Columbus. The park features numerous trails, wetlands, rock climbing, volleyball and bocce courts, and numerous other amenities. At the western edge is the Grange Insurance Audubon Center, considered the first nature center built in close proximity to a downtown area.

Columbus Recreation and Parks Department

Columbus Recreation and Parks Department

The Columbus Recreation and Parks Department manages parks, recreational facilities, and grounds in Columbus, Ohio. The department oversees 370 parks on about 13,500 acres (5,500 ha). The department also maintains 29 community centers, five athletic complexes, six golf courses, 120 miles (190 km) of trails, five splash pads and interactive fountains, eight pools, an indoor aquatic center, 14 nature preserves, three reservoirs, five dog parks, and a skate park.

Regional park

Regional park

A regional park is an area of land preserved on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, recreational use or other reason, and under the administration of a form of local government.

Columbus Park of Roses

Columbus Park of Roses

The Columbus Park of Roses, also known as the Whetstone Park of Roses, is a public park and rose garden in Columbus, Ohio. The 13-acre (5.3 ha) park is located within the city's larger Whetstone Park in the Clintonville neighborhood. The free public park is operated by the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department.

Chadwick Arboretum

Chadwick Arboretum

Chadwick Arboretum is a 62 acres (25 ha) arboretum on the Agriculture campus of The Ohio State University, in Columbus, Ohio, United States. The main arboretum collection is located just across Lane Avenue from the Schottenstein Center with its other collections nearby. The arboretum is open daily without charge.

Olentangy River Wetland Research Park

Olentangy River Wetland Research Park

The Wilma H. Schiermeier Olentangy River Wetland Research Park is an experimental wetland complex located adjacent to the campus of The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, United States and is part of the School of Environment and Natural Resources at the university. Begun in 1992, the park has developed into a multitude of different habitats and setups which are used by OSU faculty and students for research. Additionally, the general public is welcome to enjoy independent tours of the area during daylight hours. Guided tours are also available upon request.

A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte

A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte

A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte was painted from 1884 to 1886 and is Georges Seurat's most famous work. A leading example of pointillist technique, executed on a large canvas, it is a founding work of the neo-impressionist movement. Seurat's composition includes a number of Parisians at a park on the banks of the River Seine. It is in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Birdwatching

Birdwatching

Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by listening for bird sounds, or by watching public webcams.

Columbus Zoo and Aquarium

Columbus Zoo and Aquarium

The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is a non-profit zoo located near Powell in Liberty Township, Delaware County, Ohio, United States, north of the city of Columbus. The land lies along the eastern banks of the O'Shaughnessy Reservoir on the Scioto River, at the intersection of Riverside Drive and Powell Road. It has a worldwide reputation, largely attributable to the efforts and promotion of director emeritus Jack Hanna. In 2009, it was named by the USA Travel Guide as the number one zoo in the United States. It was also ranked number one best zoo in 2012 by Besties Readers Choice.

The City of Columbus has focused on reducing its environmental impact and carbon footprint. In 2020, a citywide ballot measure was approved, giving Columbus an electricity aggregation plan which will supply it with 100% renewable energy by the start of 2023. Its vendor, AEP Energy, plans to construct new wind and solar farms in Ohio to help supply the electricity.^[157]

The largest sources of pollution in the county, as of 2019, are the Ohio State University's McCracken Power Plant, the landfill operated by the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio (SWACO) and the Anheuser-Busch Columbus Brewery. Anheuser-Busch has a company-wide goal of reducing emissions by 25% by 2025. Ohio State plans to construct a new heat and power plant, also powered by fossil fuels, but set to reduce emissions by about 30%. SWACO manages to capture 75% of its methane emissions to use in producing energy, and is looking to reduce emissions further.^[158]

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Human impact on the environment

Human impact on the environment

Human impact on the environment refers to changes to biophysical environments and to ecosystems, biodiversity, and natural resources caused directly or indirectly by humans. Modifying the environment to fit the needs of society is causing severe effects including global warming, environmental degradation, mass extinction and biodiversity loss, ecological crisis, and ecological collapse. Some human activities that cause damage to the environment on a global scale include population growth, overconsumption, overexploitation, pollution, and deforestation. Some of the problems, including global warming and biodiversity loss, have been proposed as representing catastrophic risks to the survival of the human species.

Carbon footprint

Carbon footprint

A carbon footprint (or greenhouse gas footprint) is a "certain amount of gaseous emissions that are relevant to climate change and associated with human production or consumption activities". In some cases, the carbon footprint is expressed as the carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) which is meant to sum up the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by an individual, event, organization, service, place or product. In other cases, only the carbon dioxide emissions are taken into account but not those of other greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases, including the carbon-containing gases carbon dioxide and methane, can be emitted through the burning of fossil fuels, land clearance, and the production and consumption of food, manufactured goods, materials, wood, roads, buildings, transportation and other services. As well as calculating carbon footprints for whole countries, it is also possible to calculate the footprint of regions, cities, and neighbourhoods.

100% renewable energy

100% renewable energy

100% renewable energy means getting all energy from renewable resources. The endeavor to use 100% renewable energy for electricity, heating, cooling and transport is motivated by climate change, pollution and other environmental issues, as well as economic and energy security concerns. Shifting the total global primary energy supply to renewable sources requires a transition of the energy system, since most of today's energy is derived from non-renewable fossil fuels.

Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio

Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio

The Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio (SWACO) was established by the Ohio General Assembly in 1989 as part of Ohio House Bill 592, which created Ohio’s current solid waste management planning and regulatory programs. SWACO is a government-run entity responsible for the safe and sanitary management of all solid waste within its district. In this role, it operates the Franklin County Sanitary Landfill,, as well as two transfer facilities, all for the benefit of Franklin County, Ohio, and parts of surrounding counties in central Ohio.

Anheuser-Busch

Anheuser-Busch

Anheuser-Busch Companies, LLC, often shortened to simply Busch after its flagship brand is an American brewing company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Since 2008, it has been wholly owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, now the world's largest brewing company, which owns multiple global brands, notably Budweiser, Michelob, Stella Artois, and Beck's.

Methane emissions

Methane emissions

Increasing methane emissions are a major contributor to the rising concentration of greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere, and are responsible for up to one-third of near-term global heating. During 2019, about 60% of methane released globally was from human activities, while natural sources contributed about 40%. Reducing methane emissions by capturing and utilizing the gas can produce simultaneous environmental and economic benefits.

Mayor and city council

Columbus City Hall

Municipal offices

The city is administered by a mayor and a seven-member unicameral council elected in two classes every two years to four-year terms at large. Columbus is the largest city in the United States that elects its city council at large as opposed to districts. The mayor appoints the director of safety and the director of public service. The people elect the auditor, municipal court clerk, municipal court judges and city attorney. A charter commission, elected in 1913, submitted a new charter in May 1914, offering a modified federal form, with a number of progressive features, such as nonpartisan ballot, preferential voting, recall of elected officials, the referendum and a small council elected at large. The charter was adopted, effective January 1, 1916. Andrew Ginther has been the mayor of Columbus since 2016.^[159]

Government offices

The Ohio Statehouse

The Ohio Judicial Center overlooks the Scioto River and Scioto Mile Promenade

As Ohio's capital and the county seat, Columbus hosts numerous federal, state, county and city government offices and courts.

Federal offices include the Joseph P. Kinneary U.S. Courthouse,^[160] one of several courts for the District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, after moving from 121 E. State St. in 1934. Another federal office, the John W. Bricker Federal Building, has offices for U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, as well as for the Internal Revenue Service, the Social Security Administration and the Departments of Housing & Urban Development and Agriculture.^[161]

The State of Ohio's capitol building, the Ohio Statehouse, is located in the center of downtown on Capitol Square. It houses the Ohio House of Representatives and Ohio Senate.^[162] It also contains the ceremonial offices of the governor,^[162] lieutenant governor, state treasurer^[163] and state auditor.^[164] The Supreme Court, Court of Claims and Judicial Conference are located in the Thomas J. Moyer Ohio Judicial Center downtown by the Scioto River. The building, built in 1933 to house 10 state agencies along with the State Library of Ohio, became the Supreme Court after extensive renovations from 2001 to 2004.^[165]

Franklin County operates the Franklin County Government Center, a complex at the southern end of downtown Columbus. The center includes the county's municipal court, common pleas court, correctional center, juvenile detention center and sheriff's office.

Near City Hall, the Michael B. Coleman Government Center holds offices for the departments of building and zoning services, public service, development and public utilities. Also nearby is 77 North Front Street, which holds Columbus's city attorney office, income-tax division, public safety, human resources, civil service and purchasing departments. The structure, built in 1929, was the police headquarters until 1991, and was then dormant until it was given a $34 million renovation from 2011 to 2013.^[166]

Emergency services and homeland security

Columbus Division of Police Headquarters, in the city's downtown Civic Center

Municipal police duties are performed by the Columbus Division of Police,^[167] while emergency medical services (EMS) and fire protection are through the Columbus Division of Fire.

Ohio Homeland Security operates the Strategic Analysis and Information Center (SAIC) fusion center in Columbus's Hilltop neighborhood. The facility is the state's primary public intelligence hub and one of the few in the country that uses state, local, federal and private resources.^[168][169]

Social services and homelessness

Columbus has a history of governmental and nonprofit support for low-income residents and the homeless. Nevertheless, the homelessness rate has steadily risen since at least 2007.^[170] Poverty and differences in quality of life have grown, as well; Columbus was noted as the second-most economically segregated large metropolitan area in 2015, in a study by the University of Toronto.^[171][172] It also ranked 45th of the 50 largest metropolitan areas in terms of social mobility, according to a 2015 Harvard University study.^[173]

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Government of Columbus, Ohio

Government of Columbus, Ohio

The government of Columbus, Ohio, headquartered at Columbus City Hall in Downtown Columbus, is organized into a mayor-council system. The mayor is responsible for the administration of city government. The Columbus City Council is a unicameral body consisting of seven members elected or appointed at-large. The city has numerous government agencies, responsible for public education, health, and safety; emergency services; recreational facilities; sanitation; water supply; and welfare services.

Columbus City Hall (Ohio)

Columbus City Hall (Ohio)

Columbus City Hall is the city hall of Columbus, Ohio, in the city's downtown Civic Center. It contains the offices of the city's mayor, auditor, and treasurer, and the offices and chambers of Columbus City Council.

Auditor

Auditor

An auditor is a person or a firm appointed by a company to execute an audit. To act as an auditor, a person should be certified by the regulatory authority of accounting and auditing or possess certain specified qualifications. Generally, to act as an external auditor of the company, a person should have a certificate of practice from the regulatory authority.

Court clerk

Court clerk

A court clerk is an officer of the court whose responsibilities include maintaining records of a court, administer oaths to witnesses, jurors, and grand jurors as well as performing some quasi-secretarial duties.

Judge

Judge

A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility and arguments of the parties, and then issues a ruling in the case based on their interpretation of the law and their own personal judgment. A judge is expected to conduct the trial impartially and, typically, in an open court.

City attorney

City attorney

A city attorney is a position in city and municipal government in the United States. The city attorney is the attorney representing the municipality.

Ranked voting

Ranked voting

The term ranked voting, also known as preferential voting or ranked choice voting refers to any voting system in which voters rank their candidates or options—in a sequence of first, second, third, and so on—on their respective ballots. Ranked voting systems differ on the basis of how the ballots are marked, how the preferences are tabulated and counted, how many seats are filled, and whether voters are allowed to rank candidates equally. An electoral system that uses ranked voting uses one of the many available counting methods to select the winning candidate or candidates. There is also variation among ranked voting electoral systems in that in some ranked voting systems, officials require voters to rank a set number of candidates, sometimes all of them; in others, citizens may rank as many candidates as they see fit.

Official

Official

An official is someone who holds an office in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority. An elected official is a person who is an official by virtue of an election. Officials may also be appointed ex officio. Some official positions may be inherited. A person who currently holds an office is referred to as an incumbent. Something "official" refers to something endowed with governmental or other authoritative recognition or mandate, as in official language, official gazette, or official scorer.

Andrew Ginther

Andrew Ginther

Andrew James Ginther is an American Democratic politician, the 53rd mayor of Columbus, Ohio, and the 48th person to serve in that office. He served as President of Columbus City Council from 2011 until 2015.

Ohio Statehouse

Ohio Statehouse

The Ohio Statehouse is the state capitol building and seat of government for the U.S. state of Ohio. The Greek Revival building is located on Capitol Square in Downtown Columbus. The capitol houses the Ohio General Assembly, consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate. It also contains the ceremonial offices of the governor, lieutenant governor, state treasurer, and state auditor. Built between 1839 and 1861, it is one of the oldest working statehouses in the United States. The statehouse grounds include two other buildings, the Judiciary Annex or Senate Building, and the Atrium; the three are collectively referred to as the Ohio Statehouse into the present day.

Ohio Judicial Center

Ohio Judicial Center

The Thomas J. Moyer Ohio Judicial Center is a state courthouse, office building, and library in Columbus, Ohio, in the city's downtown Civic Center. The building is the headquarters of the Supreme Court of Ohio, the state's highest court, as well as the Ohio Court of Claims and Ohio Judicial Conference. The judicial center is named after the court's former chief justice Thomas J. Moyer.

Internal Revenue Service

Internal Revenue Service

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory tax law. It is an agency of the Department of the Treasury and led by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, who is appointed to a five-year term by the President of the United States. The duties of the IRS include providing tax assistance to taxpayers; pursuing and resolving instances of erroneous or fraudulent tax filings; and overseeing various benefits programs, including the Affordable Care Act.

University Hall at the Ohio State University

Colleges and universities

Columbus is the home of two public colleges: the Ohio State University, one of the largest college campuses in the United States, and Columbus State Community College. In 2009, Ohio State University was ranked No. 19 in the country by U.S. News & World Report on its list of best public universities, and No. 56 overall, scoring in the first tier of schools nationally.^[174] Some of Ohio State's graduate school programs placed in the top 5, including No. 5 for both best veterinary programs and best pharmacy programs. The specialty graduate programs of social psychology was ranked No. 2, dispute resolution was No. 5, vocational education was No. 2, and elementary education, secondary teacher education, administration/supervision was No. 5.^[175]

Private institutions in Columbus include Capital University Law School, the Columbus College of Art and Design, Fortis College, DeVry University, Ohio Business College, Miami-Jacobs Career College, Ohio Institute of Health Careers, Bradford School and Franklin University, as well as the religious schools Bexley Hall Episcopal Seminary, Mount Carmel College of Nursing, Ohio Dominican University, Pontifical College Josephinum and Trinity Lutheran Seminary. Three major suburban schools also have an influence on Columbus's educational landscape: Bexley's Capital University, Westerville's Otterbein University and Delaware's Ohio Wesleyan University.

Primary and secondary schools

Indianola Junior High School was the first middle school in the U.S.

Columbus City Schools (CCS) is the largest district in Ohio, with 55,000 pupils.^[176] CCS operates 142 elementary, middle and high schools, including a number of magnet schools (which are referred to as alternative schools within the school system).

The suburbs operate their own districts, typically serving students in one or more townships, with districts sometimes crossing municipal boundaries. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus also operates several parochial elementary and high schools. The area's second-largest school district is South-Western City Schools, which encompasses southwestern Franklin County, including a slice of Columbus itself. Other portions of Columbus are zoned to the Dublin, New Albany-Plain, Westerville and Worthington school districts.

There are also several private schools in the area, such as St. Paul's Lutheran School, a K-8 Christian school of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod in Columbus.^[177]

Some sources determine that the first kindergarten in the United States was established here by Louisa Frankenberg, a former student of Friedrich Fröbel.^[41] Frankenberg immigrated to the city in 1838 and opened her kindergarten in the German Village neighborhood in that year. The school did not work out, so she returned to Germany in 1840. In 1858, Frankenberg returned to Columbus and established another early kindergarten in the city. Frankenberg is often overlooked, with Margarethe Schurz instead given credit for her "First Kindergarten" she operated for two years.^[178]

In addition, Indianola Junior High School (now the Graham Elementary and Middle School) became the nation's first junior high school in 1909, helping to bridge the difficult transition from elementary to high school at a time when only 48% of students continued their education after the ninth grade.^[179]

Libraries

Main Library of the Columbus Metropolitan Library system

The Columbus Metropolitan Library (CML) has served central Ohio residents since 1873. The system has 23 locations throughout Central Ohio, with a total collection of 3 million items. This library is one of the country's most-used library systems and is consistently among the top-ranked large city libraries according to Hennen's American Public Library Ratings. CML was rated the No. 1 library system in the nation in 1999, 2005 and 2008. It has been in the top four every year since 1999, when the rankings were first published in the American Libraries magazine, often challenging upstate neighbor Cuyahoga County Public Library for the top spot.^[180][181]

Weekend education

The classes of the Columbus Japanese Language School, a weekend Japanese school, are held in a facility from the school district in Marysville, while the school office is in Worthington.^[182] Previously it held classes at facilities in the city of Columbus.^[183]

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List of United States public university campuses by enrollment

List of United States public university campuses by enrollment

This list of largest United States public university campuses by enrollment includes only individual four-year campuses, not four-year universities. Universities can have multiple campuses with a single administration.

Columbus State Community College

Columbus State Community College

Columbus State Community College (CSCC) is a public community college in Columbus, Ohio. Founded as Columbus Area Technician's School in 1963, it was renamed Columbus Technical Institute in 1965 and was renamed again to its current name in 1987. The college has grown from an initial enrollment of 67 students in 1963, to its current enrollment of over 27,000 students over two campuses, nine regional learning centers, and online courses.

Capital University Law School

Capital University Law School

Capital University Law School is an ABA-accredited private law school located in downtown Columbus, Ohio. The law school is affiliated with Capital University, the oldest university in Central Ohio and one of the oldest and largest Lutheran-affiliated universities in North America.

Columbus College of Art and Design

Columbus College of Art and Design

Columbus College of Art & Design (CCAD) is a private art school in Columbus, Ohio. It was founded in 1879 as the Columbus Art School and is one of the oldest private art and design colleges in the United States. Located in downtown Columbus, CCAD's campus consists of 14 buildings on 9 acres (36,000 m2) and is adjacent to the Columbus Museum of Art. Approximately 1,090 full-time students are enrolled.

Fortis College

Fortis College

Fortis College is a Private for-profit college with multiple campuses throughout the United States. It was established in 2008 and is operated by Education Affiliates and owned by JLL Partners.

DeVry University

DeVry University

DeVry University is a private for-profit university with its headquarters in Naperville, Illinois. It was founded in 1931 by Herman A. DeVry and is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. DeVry is predominantly an online educator but does have campuses in the United States.

Ohio Business College

Ohio Business College

Ohio Business College is a private for-profit junior college with multiple locations in Ohio. It is owned by Tri-State Educational Systems, Inc. with corporate headquarters located in Middletown, Ohio. Currently, Ohio Business College operates three campuses in Ohio with career education focused around information technology, business administration, allied health, and CDL training.

Bradford School (Columbus)

Bradford School (Columbus)

Bradford School was a small, private, for-profit career college in Columbus, Ohio. It originally was founded in 1911 and moved to its current suburban campus location in 2003. It had on-campus housing for students but more than half of students lived in the Columbus area and commute.

Franklin University

Franklin University

Franklin University is a private university with its main campus in Columbus, Ohio. It was founded in 1902 to serve the needs of adult students. On-site courses are offered at the university's campus in Columbus' Discovery District. However, most students take courses online. The university has over 25 location centers in the Midwestern United States and a majority online population.

Bexley Hall

Bexley Hall

Bexley Hall was an Episcopal seminary from 1824 until April 27, 2013, when it federated with Seabury-Western Theological Seminary as Bexley Hall Seabury-Western Theological Seminary Federation, also known as Bexley Seabury. For three years, Bexley Seabury seminary operated from two locations—in Bexley, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus, and in Chicago, Illinois —until July 2016 when it consolidated at a single campus location at Chicago Theological Seminary in Chicago's Hyde Park/Woodlawn district. Bexley Seabury is one of 10 official seminaries of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. Bexley Seabury's mission includes, "creating new networks of Christian formation, entrepreneurial leadership and bold inquiry in the service of the Gospel".

Ohio Dominican University

Ohio Dominican University

Ohio Dominican University is a private Dominican liberal arts university in Columbus, Ohio. The university has approximately 1,700 students and offers undergraduate degrees in 40 majors as well as nine graduate degree programs.

Capital University

Capital University

Capital University is a private university in Bexley, Ohio. Capital was founded as the Theological Seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Ohio in 1830, and later was associated with that synod's successor, the American Lutheran Church. The university has undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as a law school. Capital University is the oldest university in Central Ohio and is one of the oldest and largest Lutheran-affiliated universities in North America.

The Columbus Dispatch Building, 90-year home to the newspaper

Several weekly and daily newspapers serve Columbus and Central Ohio. The major daily newspaper in Columbus is The Columbus Dispatch. There are also neighborhood- or suburb-specific papers, such as the Dispatch Printing Company's ThisWeek Community News, the Columbus Messenger, the Clintonville Spotlight and the Short North Gazette. The Lantern and 1870 serve the Ohio State University community. Alternative arts, culture or politics-oriented papers include ALIVE (formerly the independent Columbus Alive and now owned by the Columbus Dispatch), Columbus Free Press and Columbus Underground (digital-only). The Columbus Magazine, CityScene, 614 Magazine and Columbus Monthly are the city's magazines.

Columbus is the base for 12 television stations and is the 32nd-largest television market as of September 24, 2016.^[184] Columbus is also home to the 36th-largest radio market.^[185]

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Mass media in Columbus, Ohio

Mass media in Columbus, Ohio

Columbus, Ohio is served by several newspapers, magazines, and television and radio stations.

Columbus Dispatch Building

Columbus Dispatch Building

The Columbus Dispatch Building is a historic building on Capitol Square in Downtown Columbus, Ohio. The building was home to the Columbus Dispatch newspaper offices until January 2016, when it moved to 62 E. Broad St. on Capitol Square. A renovation restored the building closer to its original exterior appearance, while adding modern features. The building is now headquarters to the Ohio Chamber of Commerce. The building is owned by Capitol Square Ltd., a real estate and development branch of the Wolfe family’s Dispatch Printing Co., the former owners of the Dispatch. The site formerly housed the city's downtown YMCA, a Yost & Packard building; the Y moved to the Downtown YMCA building in 1923.

The Columbus Dispatch

The Columbus Dispatch

The Columbus Dispatch is a daily newspaper based in Columbus, Ohio. Its first issue was published on July 1, 1871, and it has been the only mainstream daily newspaper in the city since The Columbus Citizen-Journal ceased publication in 1985.

Columbus Messenger

Columbus Messenger

Columbus Messenger Newspapers is a bi-weekly newspaper organization started in 1974. It publishes six free or by subscription, independently owned newspapers: the Westside Messenger, the Canal Winchester Messenger, the Groveport Messenger, the Grove City Messenger, the South Messenger and the Madison Messenger, covering communities around Columbus, Ohio and Madison County.

The Lantern

The Lantern

The Lantern is an independent daily newspaper in Columbus, Ohio, by students at Ohio State University. It is one of the largest campus newspapers in the United States, reaching a circulation of 15,000.

1870 (magazine)

1870 (magazine)

1870 Magazine is a monthly magazine based in Columbus, Ohio that primarily serves the central portion of Columbus and the Ohio State University community. Its first issue was published on September 21, 2005. The paper's writing staff is largely students from Ohio State, which are also its main audience; it is considered a student magazine in this regard, though it has no official affiliation with the university. Wayne T. Lewis is the publisher and founder. Madi Task is the Editor-In-Chief.

Ohio State University

Ohio State University

The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, Ohio State was founded in 1870 as the state's land-grant university and the ninth university in Ohio with the Morrill Act of 1862. Ohio State was originally known as the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College and focused on various agricultural and mechanical disciplines, but it developed into a comprehensive university under the direction of then-Governor and later U.S. president Rutherford B. Hayes, and in 1878, the Ohio General Assembly passed a law changing the name to "the Ohio State University" and broadening the scope of the university. Admission standards tightened and became greatly more selective throughout the 2000s and 2010s.

Columbus Alive

Columbus Alive

Columbus Alive, is a free online news site serving Columbus, Ohio. The site focuses on local music, art, dining, film and culture. Formerly distributed in print form each week on Thursdays, the final print version of the alternative-weekly newspaper was published on July 3, 2019. The publication was acquired by The Columbus Dispatch in the first half of 2006 and the circulation at that time was approximately 55,000. In 2015, the Dispatch was acquired by New Media Investment Group, which later became Gannett. Circulation had fallen to 32,000 copies by 2019, which according to editor Andy Downing made the newspaper "no longer sustainable" in print form.

Columbus Free Press

Columbus Free Press

The Columbus Free Press is an American alternative journal published in Columbus, Ohio since 1970. Founded as an underground newspaper centered on anti-war and student activist issues, after the winding down of the Vietnam War it successfully made the transition to the alternative weekly format focusing on lifestyles, alternative culture, and investigative journalism, while continuing to espouse progressive politics. Although published monthly, it has also had quarterly, bi-weekly and weekly schedules at various times in its history, with plans calling for a return to a weekly format by the end of 2014.

Columbus Monthly

Columbus Monthly

Columbus Monthly is a magazine that has been an important and influential voice in Central Ohio. The magazine which was created in June 1975 has a well-earned reputation for tweaking the local establishment, challenging the monopoly daily on breaking news and providing a much-needed perspective and alternative voice on political and civic issues. It is also known for its heavily researched service pieces, such as Best of Columbus, and extensive restaurant coverage. It is a member of the City and Regional Magazine Association (CRMA).

Healthcare

Numerous medical systems operate in Columbus and Central Ohio. These include OhioHealth, which has three hospitals in the city proper: Grant Medical Center, Riverside Methodist Hospital, and Doctors Hospital; Mount Carmel Health System, which has one hospital among other facilities; the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, which has a primary hospital complex and an east campus in Columbus;^[186] and Nationwide Children's Hospital, which is an independently operated hospital for pediatric health care. Hospitals in Central Ohio are ranked favorably by the U.S. News & World Report, where numerous hospitals are ranked as among the best in particular fields in the United States. Nationwide Children's is regarded as among the top 10 children's hospitals in the country, according to the report.^[187][188]

Utilities

Numerous utility companies operate in Central Ohio. Within Columbus, power is sourced from Columbus Southern Power, an American Electric Power subsidiary. Natural gas is provided by Columbia Gas of Ohio, while water is sourced from the City of Columbus Division of Water.^[189]

Transportation

Local roads, grid and address system

Locations of numbered streets and avenues

The city's two main corridors since its founding are Broad and High Streets. They both traverse beyond the extent of the city; High Street is the longest in Columbus, running 13.5 mi (21.7 km) (23.4 across the county), while Broad Street is longer across the county, at 25.1 mi (40.4 km).^[190]

The city's street plan originates downtown and extends into the old-growth neighborhoods, following a grid pattern with the intersection of High Street (running north–south) and Broad Street (running east–west) at its center. North–south streets run 12 degrees west of due north, parallel to High Street; the avenues (vis. Fifth Avenue, Sixth Avenue, Seventh Avenue, and so on) run 12 degrees off from east–west.^[191][192]

The address system begins its numbering at the intersection of Broad and High, with numbers increasing in magnitude with distance from Broad or High, as well as cardinal directions used alongside street names.^[193] Numbered avenues begin with First Avenue, about 1+1⁄4 mi (2.0 km) north of Broad Street, and increase in number as one progresses northward. Numbered streets begin with Second Street, which is two blocks west of High Street, and Third Street, which is a block east of High Street, then progress eastward from there. Even-numbered addresses are on the north and east sides of streets, putting odd addresses on the south and west sides of streets. A difference of 700 house numbers means a distance of about 1 mi (1.6 km) (along the same street).^[65] For example, 351 W. Fifth Ave. is approximately 1⁄2 mi (800 m) west of High Street on the south side of Fifth Avenue. Buildings along north–south streets are numbered in a similar manner: the building number indicates the approximate distance from Broad Street, the prefixes "N" and "S" indicate whether that distance is to be measured to the north or south of Broad Street and the street number itself indicates how far the street is from the center of the city at the intersection of Broad and High.

This street numbering system does not hold true over a large area. The area served by numbered avenues runs from about Marble Cliff to South Linden to the Airport, and the area served by numbered streets covers Downtown and nearby neighborhoods to the east and south, with only a few exceptions. There are quite few intersections between numbered streets and avenues. Furthermore, named streets and avenues can have any orientation. For example, while all of the numbered avenues run east–west, perpendicular to High Street, many named, non-numbered avenues run north–south, parallel to High. The same is true of many named streets: while the numbered streets in the city run north–south, perpendicular to Broad Street, many named, non-numbered streets run east–west, perpendicular to High Street.

The addressing system, however, covers nearly all of Franklin County, with only a few older suburbs retaining self-centered address systems. The address scale of 700 per mile results in addresses approaching, but not usually reaching, 10,000 at the county's borders.

Other major, local roads in Columbus include Main Street, Morse Road, Dublin-Granville Road (SR-161), Cleveland Avenue/Westerville Road (SR-3), Olentangy River Road, Riverside Drive, Sunbury Road, Fifth Avenue and Livingston Avenue.

Highways

I-71, part of the innerbelt around downtown, bridged by numerous overpasses

Columbus is bisected by two major Interstate Highways: Interstate 70 running east–west and Interstate 71 running north to roughly southwest. They combine downtown for about 1.5 mi (2.4 km) in an area locally known as "The Split," which is a major traffic congestion point, especially during rush hour. U.S. Route 40, originally known as the National Road, runs east–west through Columbus, comprising Main Street to the east of downtown and Broad Street to the west. U.S. Route 23 runs roughly north–south, while U.S. Route 33 runs northwest-to-southeast. The Interstate 270 Outerbelt encircles most of the city, while the newly redesigned Innerbelt consists of the Interstate 670 spur on the north side (which continues to the east past the Airport and to the west where it merges with I-70), State Route 315 on the west side, the I-70/71 split on the south side and I-71 on the east. Due to its central location within Ohio and abundance of outbound roadways, nearly all of the state's destinations are within a two- or three-hour drive of Columbus.

Bridges

The Discovery Bridge

The Columbus riverfront hosts several bridges. The Discovery Bridge connects downtown to Franklinton across Broad Street. The bridge opened in 1992, replacing a 1921 concrete arch bridge; the first bridge at the site was built in 1816.^[194] The 700 ft (210 m) Main Street Bridge opened on July 30, 2010.^[195] The bridge has three lanes for vehicular traffic (one westbound and two eastbound) and another separated lane for pedestrians and bikes. The Rich Street Bridge opened in July 2012 adjacent to the Main Street Bridge, connecting Rich Street on the east side of the river with Town Street on the west.^[196][197] The Lane Avenue Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge that opened on November 14, 2003, in the University District. The bridge spans the Olentangy River with three lanes of traffic each way.

Airports

John Glenn Columbus International Airport departure level

The city's primary airport, John Glenn Columbus International Airport, is on the city's east side. Formerly known as Port Columbus, John Glenn provides service to Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and Cancun, Mexico (on a seasonal basis), as well as to most domestic destinations, including all the major hubs along with San Francisco, Salt Lake City and Seattle. The airport was a hub for discount carrier Skybus Airlines and continues to be home to NetJets, the world's largest fractional ownership air carrier. According to a 2005 market survey, John Glenn Columbus International Airport attracts about 50% of its passengers from outside of its 60-mile (97 km) radius primary service region.^[198] It is the 52nd-busiest airport in the United States by total passenger boardings.^[199]

Rickenbacker International Airport, in southern Franklin County, is a major cargo facility that is used by the Ohio Air National Guard. Allegiant Air offers nonstop service from Rickenbacker to Florida destinations. Ohio State University Don Scott Airport and Bolton Field are other large general-aviation facilities in the Columbus area.

Aviation history

Port Columbus Airport tower and terminal from 1929 to 1958

In 1907, 14-year-old Cromwell Dixon built the SkyCycle, a pedal-powered blimp, which he flew at Driving Park.^[200] Three years later, one of the Wright brothers' exhibition pilots, Phillip Parmalee, conducted the world's first commercial cargo flight when he flew two packages containing 88 kilograms of silk 70 miles (110 km) from Dayton to Columbus in a Wright Model B.^[201]

Military aviators from Columbus distinguished themselves during World War I. Six Columbus pilots, led by top ace Eddie Rickenbacker, achieved 42 "kills" – a full 10% of all US aerial victories in the war, and more than the aviators of any other American city.^[202]

After the war, Port Columbus Airport (now known as John Glenn Columbus International Airport) became the axis of a coordinated rail-to-air transcontinental system that moved passengers from the East Coast to the West. TAT, which later became TWA, provided commercial service, following Charles Lindbergh's promotion of Columbus to the nation for such a hub. Following the failure of a bond levy in 1927 to build the airport, Lindbergh campaigned in the city in 1928, and the next bond levy passed that year.^[200] On July 8, 1929, the airport opened for business with the inaugural TAT westbound flight from Columbus to Waynoka, Oklahoma. Among the 19 passengers on that flight was Amelia Earhart,^[200] with Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone attending the opening ceremonies.^[200]

In 1964, Ohio native Geraldine Fredritz Mock became the first woman to fly solo around the world, leaving from Columbus and piloting the Spirit of Columbus. Her flight lasted nearly a month and set a record for speed for planes under 3,858 pounds (1,750 kg).^[203]

Public transit

COTA's Spring Street Terminal, one of its five transit centers

Arcade of the third Union Station, the city's rail station from 1897 to 1977

Columbus maintains a widespread municipal bus service called the Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA). The service operates 41 routes with a fleet of 440 buses, serving approximately 19 million passengers per year. COTA operates 23 regular fixed-service routes, 14 express services, a bus rapid transit route, a free downtown circulator, night service, an airport connector and other services.^[204] LinkUS, an initiative between COTA, the city, and the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission, is planning to add more rapid transit to Columbus, with three proposed corridors operating by 2030, and potentially a total of five by 2050.

Intercity bus service is provided at the Columbus Bus Station by Greyhound, Barons Bus Lines, Miller Transportation, GoBus and other carriers.^[205]

Columbus does not have passenger rail service. The city's major train station, Union Station, was a stop along Amtrak's National Limited train service until 1977 and was razed in 1979,^[206] and the Greater Columbus Convention Center now stands in its place. Until Amtrak's founding in 1971, the Penn Central ran the Cincinnati Limited to Cincinnati to the southwest (in prior years the train continued to New York City to the east); the Ohio State Limited between Cincinnati and Cleveland, with Union Station serving as a major intermediate stop (the train going unnamed between 1967 and 1971); and the Spirit of St. Louis, which ran between St. Louis and New York City until 1971. The station was also a stop along the Pennsylvania Railroad, the New York Central Railroad, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, the Norfolk and Western Railway, the Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati Railroad, and the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad. As the city lacks local, commuter or intercity trains, Columbus is now the largest city and metropolitan area in the U.S. without any passenger rail service.^[207][208] Numerous proposals to return rail service have been introduced; currently Amtrak plans to restore service to Columbus by 2035.

Cycling network

CoGo bikeshare station in the Arena District

Cycling as transportation is steadily increasing in Columbus with its relatively flat terrain, intact urban neighborhoods, large student population and off-road bike paths. The city has put forth the 2012 Bicentennial Bikeways Plan, as well as a move toward a Complete Streets policy.^[209][210] Grassroots efforts such as Bike to Work Week, Consider Biking, Yay Bikes,^[211] Third Hand Bicycle Co-op,^[212] Franklinton Cycleworks and Cranksters, a local radio program focused on urban cycling,^[213] have contributed to cycling as transportation.

Columbus also hosts urban cycling "off-shots" with messenger-style "alleycat" races, as well as unorganized group rides, a monthly Critical Mass ride,^[214] bicycle polo, art showings, movie nights and a variety of bicycle-friendly businesses and events throughout the year. All this activity occurs despite Columbus's frequently inclement weather.

The Main Street Bridge, opened in 2010, features a dedicated bike and pedestrian lane separated from traffic.

The city has its own public bicycle system. CoGo Bike Share has a network of about 600 bicycles and 80 docking stations. PBSC Urban Solutions, a company based in Canada, supplies technology and equipment.^[215][216] Bird electric scooters have also been introduced.^[217]

Modal share

The city of Columbus has a higher-than-average percentage of households without a car. In 2015, 9.8% of Columbus households lacked a car, a number that fell slightly to 9.4% in 2016. The national average was 8.7% in 2016. Columbus averaged 1.55 cars per household in 2016, compared to a national average of 1.8.^[218]

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OhioHealth

OhioHealth

OhioHealth is a not-for-profit system of hospitals and healthcare providers based in Columbus and the Central Ohio area. The system consists of 12 hospitals, 200+ ambulatory sites, hospice, home health, medical equipment and other health services spanning 47 Ohio counties. As of May 2020, the organization has 35,000 physicians, associates, and volunteers, with more than $4.3 billion in net revenue.

Mount Carmel Health System

Mount Carmel Health System

Mount Carmel Health System is the second-largest health care system in central Ohio. They employ over 8,000 employees and 1,500 doctors in their numerous outpatient facilities and their four hospitals: Mount Carmel East near Reynoldsburg, Mount Carmel Grove City in Grove City, Mount Carmel St. Ann's in Westerville, and Mount Carmel New Albany Surgical Hospital in New Albany. Mount Carmel also operates the Medicare Advantage plan MediGold. It is the second largest member of Trinity Health.

Ohio State East Hospital

Ohio State East Hospital

The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center East Hospital is a university hospital in King-Lincoln Bronzeville, Columbus, Ohio. The hospital has a Level III trauma center, an emergency department, and provides numerous inpatient and outpatient services. It is part of the Wexner Medical Center, administered by the Ohio State University.

Nationwide Children's Hospital

Nationwide Children's Hospital

Nationwide Children's Hospital is a nationally ranked pediatric acute care teaching hospital located in the Southern Orchards neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio. The hospital has 673 pediatric beds and is affiliated with the Ohio State University College of Medicine. The hospital provides comprehensive pediatric specialties and subspecialties to infants, children, teens, and young adults aged 0–21 throughout Ohio and surrounding regions. Nationwide Children's Hospital also sometimes treats adults that require pediatric care. Nationwide Children's Hospital also features an ACS designated Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center, 1 of 4 in the state. The hospital has affiliations with the nearby Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. Nationwide Children's Hospital is located on its own campus and has more than 1,379 medical staff members and over 11,909 total employees.

American Electric Power

American Electric Power

American Electric Power Company, Inc. (AEP), is a major investor-owned electric utility in the United States, delivering electricity to more than five million customers in 11 states.

NiSource

NiSource

NiSource Inc. is one of the largest fully regulated utility companies in the United States, serving approximately 3.5 million natural gas customers and 500,000 electric customers across six states through its local Columbia Gas and NIPSCO brands. The company, based in Merrillville, Indiana, has more than 8,000 employees. As of 2018, NiSource is the sole Indiana-based utility company.

Broad Street (Columbus, Ohio)

Broad Street (Columbus, Ohio)

Broad Street is a major thoroughfare in Central Ohio, predominantly in Franklin County and Columbus. It stretches east from West Jefferson at Little Darby Creek to Pataskala. The street is considered one of Columbus's two main roads, along with High Street.

High Street (Columbus, Ohio)

High Street (Columbus, Ohio)

High Street is a major thoroughfare in Central Ohio, predominantly in Franklin County and Columbus. It stretches from the northern border of Columbus in Delaware County south to the southern boundary of Franklin County just past Columbus's municipal boundaries. The street is considered one of Columbus's two main roads, along with Broad Street.

Grid plan

Grid plan

In urban planning, the grid plan, grid street plan, or gridiron plan is a type of city plan in which streets run at right angles to each other, forming a grid.

Interstate Highway System

Interstate Highway System

The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. The system extends throughout the contiguous United States and has routes in Hawaii, Alaska, and Puerto Rico.

Interstate 70 in Ohio

Interstate 70 in Ohio

Interstate 70 (I-70) in the US state of Ohio provides access between Indiana and West Virginia. I-70 is a major highway for traffic within, to, from, and through Ohio. The highway is a core roadway of the Columbus metropolitan area and is of additional importance in the Dayton metropolitan area.

Interstate 71

Interstate 71

Interstate 71 (I-71) is a north–south Interstate Highway in the Midwestern and Southeastern regions of the United States. Its southern terminus is at an interchange with I-64 and I-65 in Louisville, Kentucky, and its northern terminus at an interchange with I-90 in Cleveland, Ohio. I-71 runs concurrently with I-75 from a point about 20 miles (32 km) south of Cincinnati, Ohio, into Downtown Cincinnati. While most odd numbered Interstates run north–south, I-71 takes more of a northeast-southeast course, with some east–west sections, and is mainly a regional route serving Kentucky and Ohio. It links I-80 and I-90 to I-70, and ultimately links to I-40. Major metropolitan areas served by I-71 include Louisville, Cincinnati, Columbus, and Cleveland.

Columbus has 10 sister cities as designated by Sister Cities International.^[219] Columbus established its first sister city relationship in 1955 with Genoa, Italy. To commemorate this relationship, Columbus received as a gift from the people of Genoa, a bronze statue of Christopher Columbus. The statue overlooked Broad Street in front of Columbus City Hall from 1955 to 2020;^[220] it was removed during the George Floyd protests.^[221]

List of sister cities:^[219]

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Genoa

Genoa

Genoa is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of Genoa, which in 2015 became the Metropolitan City of Genoa, had 855,834 resident persons. Over 1.5 million people live in the wider metropolitan area stretching along the Italian Riviera.

Bronze sculpture

Bronze sculpture

Bronze is the most popular metal for cast metal sculptures; a cast bronze sculpture is often called simply "a bronze". It can be used for statues, singly or in groups, reliefs, and small statuettes and figurines, as well as bronze elements to be fitted to other objects such as furniture. It is often gilded to give gilt-bronze or ormolu.

Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean sponsored by the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, opening the way for the widespread European exploration and European colonization of the Americas. His expeditions were the first known European contact with the Caribbean and Central and South America.

George Floyd protests

George Floyd protests

The George Floyd protests were a series of both peaceful protests and riots against police brutality and racism that began in Minneapolis on May 26, 2020, and largely took place during 2020. The civil unrest and protests began as part of international reactions to the murder of George Floyd, a 46-year-old African American man who was murdered during an arrest after Derek Chauvin, a Minneapolis Police Department officer, knelt on Floyd's neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds as three other officers looked on and prevented passers-by from intervening. Chauvin and the other three officers involved were later arrested. In April 2021, Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter. Chauvin was sentenced to 22.5 years in prison with possibility of supervised release after 15 years for second-degree murder in June 2021.

Hefei

Hefei

Hefei is the capital and largest city of Anhui Province, People's Republic of China. A prefecture-level city, it is the political, economic, and cultural center of Anhui. Its population was 9,369,881 as of the 2020 census and its built-up area made up of four urban districts plus Feidong, Feixi and Changfeng counties being urbanized, was home to 7,754,481 inhabitants. Located in the central portion of the province, it borders Huainan to the north, Chuzhou to the northeast, Wuhu to the southeast, Tongling to the south, Anqing to the southwest and Lu'an to the west. A natural hub of communications, Hefei is situated to the north of Chao Lake and stands on a low saddle crossing the northeastern extension of the Dabie Mountains, which forms the divide between the Huai and Yangtze rivers.

Odense

Odense

Odense is the third largest city in Denmark and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2022, the city proper had a population of 180,863 while Odense Municipality had a population of 205,978, making it the fourth largest municipality in Denmark. Eurostat and OECD have used a definition for the Metropolitan area of Odense, which includes all municipalities in the Province of Funen, with a total population of 504,066 as of 1 July 2022

Seville

Seville

Seville is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula.

Dresden

Dresden

Dresden is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth largest by area, and the third most populous city in the area of former East Germany, after Berlin and Leipzig. Dresden's urban area comprises the towns of Freital, Pirna, Radebeul, Meissen, Coswig, Radeberg and Heidenau and has around 790,000 inhabitants. The Dresden metropolitan area has approximately 1.34 million inhabitants.

Herzliya

Herzliya

Herzliya is an affluent city in the central coast of Israel, at the northern part of the Tel Aviv District, known for its robust start-up and entrepreneurial culture. In 2019 it had a population of 97,470. Named after Theodor Herzl, the founder of modern Zionism, Herzliya covers an area of 21.6 square kilometres (8.3 sq mi). Its western, beachfront area is called Herzliya Pituah and is one of Israel's most affluent neighborhoods and home to numerous embassies, ambassadors' residences, companies headquarters and houses of prominent Israeli business people.

Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 makes it the fifth-most populous city in India, and the encompassing urban agglomeration population estimated at 6,357,693 is the seventh-most populous in India. Ahmedabad is located near the banks of the Sabarmati River, 25 km (16 mi) from the capital of Gujarat, Gandhinagar, also known as its twin city.

Curitiba

Curitiba

Curitiba is the capital and largest city in the state of Paraná in Brazil. The city's population was 1,963,726 as of 2021, making it the eighth most populous city in Brazil and the largest in Brazil's South Region. The Curitiba Metropolitan area comprises 29 municipalities with a total population of over 3,731,769, making it the ninth most populous metropolitan area in the country.

Accra

Accra

Accra is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, 20.4 km2 (7.9 sq mi), had a population of 284,124 inhabitants, and the larger Greater Accra Region, 3,245 km2 (1,253 sq mi), had a population of 5,455,692 inhabitants. In common usage, the name "Accra" often refers to the territory of the Accra Metropolitan District as it existed before 2008, when it covered 199.4 km2 (77.0 sq mi). This territory has since been split into 13 local government districts: 12 independent municipal districts and the reduced Accra Metropolitan District (20.4 km2), which is the only district within the capital to be granted city status. This territory of 199.4 km2 contained 1,782,150 inhabitants at the 2021 census, and serves as the capital of Ghana, while the district under the jurisdiction of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly proper (20.4 km2) is distinguished from the rest of the capital as the "City of Accra".