These before and after views from Franklinton show a snapshot in time of just how unattractive and people-unfriendly the riverfront once was.
Before: 1923 This view looks east from the Franklinton side of the Scioto River. At the time, Central High School was under construction, which is why the area looks like such a mess of materials. Central High School would be completed in 1924 and open on September 4th of that year. The school would remain open for 60 years before being shut down in the mid-1980s. The building sat empty for more than a decade before being renovated into the new COSI. Beyond the river, a much shorter Downtown skyline can be seen. The image predates LeVeque Tower and most of the government buildings that now line the Scioto’s shores.
After: 2020 The riverfront looks much different today. With the Scioto Greenways and park space added in more recent years, the view is much more pleasant, the bathroom not included.
Before: 1926 In an image taken just 3 years after the one above, the Franklinton side of the riverfront looks much better. Additionally, LeVeque Tower is now well under construction. After: 2021 In the modern view, the parking and cars have been replaced with parklands and public space, while LeVeque has become the city’s most iconic skyline addition.
If you enjoy this series, the Historic Building Database page offers thousands of before and after photos of historic buildings and places in and around Columbus.
This Before and After Goodale Expressway addition shows a bit of the Columbus highway system’s earliest construction projects.
Before: Around 1960 The image above is taken from the then under construction 3rd Street Viaduct overlooking construction of the Goodale Expressway. It is facing west towards High Street, with Italian Village on the right. Although this section did not require significant demolitions due to preexisting railroad tracks, one of the big casualties a bit further west was Flytown, an area along and north of Goodale Avenue west and south of Victorian Village. The Goodale Expressway was one of the first sections of the Columbus highway system constructed, which is somewhat ironic given it would take more than 40 years to fully construct and be the last major highway completed. After decades of controversy, studies and false starts, the final stretch from 71 to the Rt. 62 interchange at 270 was completed in 2003. After: 2021 While an unfortunate fence blocks the view, you can still see how drastically the landscaped has changed after more than 60 years.
Next month, AllColumbusData.com will have its 10-year anniversary. Hard to believe! Here are some stats on just some of what the site now contains: -338 published posts. 10 additional are already complete and scheduled over the next few months. -105 specific content pages. -Well over 2,000 individual and before and after series historic photos. -143+ years of weather data for both Columbus and its suburbs. -200+ years of demographic and population data for Columbus and its suburbs. -Information and photos for hundreds of current and past development projects. -100+ videos.
What has been the most visited page, the most popular post over the years? Unfortunately, visitor data was lost prior to 2015 for various reasons. However, here have been the top 10 most popular posts and pages since 2015.
Top 10 Posts and the Year Published 1. Before and After How Columbus Changed in 10 Years 2021 This 2-part series was extremely popular last year, and easily became the most visited in the past 7 years. 2. Questions Answered- Columbus Zip Codes 2014 This post was very popular into 2018, but is now defunct. The information on this post ended up becoming bits and parts of other posts and pages. 3. Columbus Retail History- Shopping Centers 2013 One of the oldest posts on the site, it still gets consistent traffic almost a decade later. 4. Columbus Historic Church Demolition 2021 This one detailed plans to demolish an old church on the South Side. 5. Columbus Area Murders by Zip Code 2008-2015 2016 Pretty explanatory. This post provided crude maps of murders by zip code. 6. Columbus’ Greatest Snowstorm 2021 This post gave an account of the March 7-8, 2008 blizzard. 7. Columbus Area Zip Codes and Their Economies 2013 Still a consistent hit after a decade, this post gave details on economic information by local zip code. 8. Winter 2020-2021 Review 2021 Review the 2020-2021 winter with stats and rankings, something that has been done for all winters since 2014. 9. Franklin County Gentrification Trends 1990-2015 2017 This post looked at how income and race changes were driving neighborhood gentrification around Columbus. 10. How We Should Develop Around Intel 2022 The most recent on this list, this post deals with how the area around the Intel project should have a development plan, and detailed a hypothetical map of what that development could look like.
Top 10 Pages 1. Columbus Tornado History The most popular by far, this page covers historic tornadic events throughout the entire Columbus Metro Area. 2. Olde Towne East Historic Buildings This has been the most popular of all the Historic Building Database pages to date. 3. Proposed Development This regularly-updated development page highlights the region’s many proposed projects. 4. Other Residential Historic Buildings This page was one of the very first to be included in what would eventually become the Historic Building Database. It is defunct now, as its photos were eventually divided into a much greater expansion of featured neighborhoods. 5. Development Under Construction All the projects currently under construction at any given time. 6. Census Tract Maps Demographics, population and other data at the census tract level are provided in interactive maps going back to 1930. 7. Winter Storms This page chronicles significant winter weather events from the past. 8. Columbus Flood History As above, but dealing with flooding events. 9. Columbus Crime Statistics Violent and property crime data, maps and demographic data related to Columbus crime are provided going back about 40 years. 10. Completed Development Buildings and projects that were completed at some point in the past are highlighted on this page going back to the 19th Century.
Any surprises in what has been the most popular? Any posts or pages you’d like to see more of? Let me know here or on the Facebook page if you are enjoying the content or would like to see something different!
This link is a great repository of historic photographs of the Ohio State Campus area, including High Street and neighboring Weinland Park. There is also a lot of historical information on events, restaurants, buildings and a lot more.
Halloween is my absolute most favorite holiday. The crisp, fall weather, the pumpkins, the candy, the costumes, the scare movie marathons… what’s not to like? Here are some great spooky links for Halloween to help you have the best holiday possible.
Columbus Halloween Climatology Curious to know what the historic weather was like on past Halloweens back to 1878? This is your link.
Ohio’s Haunted Attractions Looking for some spooky fun? This is yours. This is a great list to find all the haunted houses, hayrides and corn mazes near you.
2022 Trick or Treat Schedule NBC4 provides a list of Trick or Treat times across Central Ohio, so you have no excuse to miss out!
And don’t forget about Columbus’ largest costume party! HighBall Halloween
