There have been a lot of updates and additions to the site in the last month.
The Historic Building Database pages now contain more than 1,200 buildings.
A new Local Sports History page has been added under the History tab. It contains information on Columbus’ college, minor and major league sports teams going back to the 19th Century.
The May Weather page has been updated with 2020 data, and records can be viewed back to 1879.
The numerous severe weather pages have all been updated to some degree over the past month or so with more links, events and even videos.
The Demographics and Population pages have been updated with 2019 population data, as well as various information related to income, GDP, housing and more!
Finally, a new Columbus Crime Statistics page has been added under the Demographics and Population tab. You can view total crimes, crime rates and maps going back to 1985.
Back in 1962 on Columbus’ 150th anniversary, local politicians, educators and industry leaders were interviewed by the Columbus Dispatch on what they thought the future might look like. The predictions were made for the year 2000, but even 20 years past that date, many of the predictions have proven wildly inaccurate… and a few that have surprisingly come true. Let’s look back on the 1962 predictions to see just which ones proved prescient and which ones flopped.
How Columbus was supposed to look in 1992.
Growth, Population and Demographics Prediction: The city would have a population of 1.5 million in 2000 with 2.2 million in Franklin County. Result: In 2000, the city had less than half the prediction, with just 711.5K and roughly 900K today. The county had 1.069 million in 2000 and 1.318 million today. Both are a far cry from the 1962 predictions, despite relatively strong growth since then, especially by Ohio standards. Prediction: Columbus and Franklin County would be merged and operated under a single government. Result: While there have been proposals for this going back to the 1930s, it has never happened and isn’t seriously under consideration today.
Infrastructure Predictions Prediction: Downtown would have “grass-bordered pedestrian parks with auto traffic running underground”. Result: While several new parks have been created over the years in and around Downtown, the only significant tunnels built under the city have been for sewage and water.
Prediction: Downtown’s streets would be multi-level, with elevated decks for pedestrians, and cars travelling on lower decks. Result: There are currently no elevated or multi-level roadways. If anything, an increasing number of such structures are being torn down nationally.
Prediction: Renovation of the Scioto River levees in 1962 would allow for new recreation and parks along the river. Result: Any infrastructure improvements along the river at the time made little impact on the overall use of the Scioto. It took another 50 years with the development of the Scioto Mile and the Scioto Greenways to significantly alter how Columbus residents interacted with the riverfront- ironically redevelopment that included the removal of a dam.
Prediction: Instead of walking, electronic sidewalks would move people around. Result: Technically, these already existed at the time in the form of escalators, and while they haven’t proliferated around cities, people-moving sidewalks of a sort are now common at airports in long corridors, though not in Columbus’ single-terminal airport.
Prediction: Cars would be under the control of cables buried under streets instead of drivers. Result: While no cable system exists, autonomous vehicles are now a thing and Columbus has at least one autonomous shuttle currently operating in Linden.
Prediction: The Ohio Penitentiary would be replaced by an office complex. Result: The Pen closed in the 1980s and was demolished in the late 1990s for the development of the Arena District. While there is some office space, the AD is a far greater development than envisioned in 1962.
Prediction: Union Station would be used as a transit hub for a monorail, bus and helicopter transit system. Result: Union Station was torn down in 1976 to build the convention center after much controversy. There is currently no multi-modal transit hub in the city, despite numerous attempts to build one over the years. The city still only has a bus system.
Prediction: High-rise apartment buildings would go up along the edges of Downtown. Result: Only a handful of legitimate high-rise apartment buildings have gone up since 1962 Downtown, including Miranova, North Bank Condos and Waterford Tower. A few more are in the works, though none are really planed for the “edges” of Downtown.
Prediction: Products and people would be shipped across the country by rocket ships. Result: Rocket ships didn’t happen, but there are proposals for a super-fast system of transit. The closest example would be the Hyperloop, which is currently under testing and with which Columbus could one day be a beneficiary.
Prediction: Big Darby Creek would be dammed by at least 2 structures to provide water for the city and as flood control, with a new water purification plant built along its banks. Result: Thankfully, this didn’t happen, as the Big Darby watershed is one of the most pristine in Ohio. Instead, it has been expanding as one of Columbus’ largest MetroParks- Battelle-Darby Metro Park- currently encompassing more than 7,000 acres.
Health and Safety Prediction: Organ transplants would be possible and common, with many made of plastic. Result: While organ transplants are indeed common now, they are largely just the flesh and blood type.
Prediction: “Irradiated” food would allow the “housewife’s chores” to be “revolutionized, preparing meals weeks in advance. Result: This one, of course, didn’t happen and is an obvious example of the 1960s limited imagination of a what a woman’s role in society could be or would end up becoming.
Culture and Entertainment Prediction: Instead of washing machines, people would use “sound waves” to clean clothing as it hung in home closets. Result: Unfortunately, doing laundry the old-fashioned way is still in our present and future.
Prediction: Clothing would be made out of paper and be thrown away after single-use. Result: I’m not even sure how this would be possible or practical.
Prediction: The use of “magnetically inscribed cards…read by electronic cash registers” would be used for purchases. Result: Credit and debit cards are now just as popular, if not moreso, than paper money.
Prediction: Schools would operate year-round. Result: While a year-round school year has been toyed with over the last 50 years, there are very few districts that have switched to it.
Prediction: Movies could be rented for personal use, and televsions could provide commercial free programs to individual households. Result: Movie rentals did happen with the invention of the VCR and DVD player. The second part of the prediction is basically describing a streaming service like Netflix, which has killed the rental market.
Another imagined view of Columbus by 2000. Notice that only LeVeque Tower and the Statehouse remain recognizeable, showing obvious atttudes towards historic preservation at the time.
Out-There Predictions Prediction: Columbus would have its first resident visit the moon. Result: Ohio has seen several astronauts, a few of which did end up making it to the moon, but no Columbus residents to date have been there.
Prediction: People would be able to read minds with “electronic gadgets”. Result: While no actual mind reading exists today, the study and understanding of human behavior, and therefore predictions of it, have come a long way.
Prediction: Interplanetary travel would be in its early years and “colonists” would be travelling regularly to Mars and Venus. Result: There is some truth to this as there are plans to venture to Mars, as well as experimental technology in development that could allow us to travel to other stars and planetary systems someday. Unmanned probes have been getting closeup looks at other planets for decades. However, no one is going to Venus, which we now know is an incredibly hostile place where no human could ever visit, let alone live.
Planners had many grand ideas in 1962, but they were definitely a product of the times. The city they imagined was full of the bright and shiny hope of the Space Age, with everything old and natural swept away for a Jetsons future. Technology has advanced in ways that they saw coming decades before it happened, but in many ways they never could have imagined. They didn’t imagine, however, the consequences of all that technology and highways and consumption and how we’d still be cleaning up the mess from those mistakes. Not to mention making new ones along the way.
The future we face today perhaps doesn’t have the same irrational, aspirational hope of the 1960s, but there is still hope. We face some of the gravest threats of our existance, with many of them of our own making. We have the capacity and ability to solve them, however, and to have a future every bit as bright as the one imagined almost 60 years ago. This is true perhaps in ways that we too could never have imagined.
As mentioned in the previous post, the Columbus Landmarks Foundation has been creating a Most Endangered List for historic buildings under threat of demolition since 2014. What has happened to those buildings? This post seeks to find out. While I did not research every building on the lists, I managed to get most of those that were inside I-270 and were built prior to 1950. Here are those Columbus Landmarks endangered list buildings.
Original Port Columbus Terminal Tower Address: 4920 E. 5th Avenue Built: 1920 List Appearances: 2014, 2015, 2016 Status: Renovated and Saved
Original Port Columbus Terminal.
This terminal building predates Port Columbus by a full 9 years, and is a very rare example of early air architecture. In 2015, Heartland Bank planned to build its HQ inside, but after performing some of the work, abandoned the project due to renovation complications. This caused concern that the building would be unable to find a new buyer. Eventually, though, new owers scraped together some funding to turn it into an aviation museum.
Clinton Avenue School Address: 10 Clinton Heights Avenue Built: 1895 List Appearances: 2014 Status: Renovated and Saved
The school building in 2009.
The school after renovation.
This old school sat in a prime location along North High Street, and after sitting disused for several years, there was concern that Columbus City Schools would demolish it or sell the site to developers. Luckily, that didn’t happen. In 2015, the district renovated and expanded the school into Clinton Elementary.
Elam Drake Farm Address: 2738 Ole Country Lane Built: Around 1850 List Appearances: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 Status: Existing, but Deteriorating Elam Drake was one of Columbus’ earliest masons and many of his buildings are still on the National Register of Historic Places. The farm is owned by the Columbus Regional Airport Authority. While it is unlikely to be demolished by the airport due to being on the opposite side of I-670, it is close enough to the highway (you can see it very easily on the right heading west) to be under constant threat of highway expansion. Because it is abandoned, the structure also continues to deteriorate and may just be demolished eventually due to poor condition.
Indianola Junior High School Address: 420 E. 19th Avenue Built: 1929 List Appearances: 2014, 2015, 2016 Status: Existing, but Deteriorating
Indianola in 2015.
Indianola has the honor of being the very first middle school in the United States, and many districts eventually copied the model. The building was abandoned in 2010, and over the next several years, vandalism and neglect slowly damaged the building. Columbus City Schools tried to sell the building, but wasn’t successful until 2018, when Ohio State purchased it. As of the end of 2019, there have been no formal plans announced for the future of the building, and it continues to fall into disrepair. Since the university has never been big on saving old buildings, the future could be grim.
Griggs Reservoir Dam Tender House Address: 2933 Riverside Drive Built: 1816 List Appearances: 2014 Status: Renovated, Saved
The dam tender house in 2003.
After renovation.
Originally the home of the Richards family on land deeded by John Adams, it became the home of the dam tender for Griggs in 1908. The dam tender manually controlled valves to allow water through the dam. After automation eliminated that job, the home stood abandoned for many years. Eventually, though, the building was renovated in 2015 to be event space for Griggs Reservoir Park.
Engine House #14 Address: 1716 Parsons Avenue Built: Before 1900 List Appearances: 2014, 2015 Status: Existing, Stable
The firehouse in 2017.
Not much seems to be known about this building other than that it’s an interesting example of an old Columbus firehouse. The building has been empty for many years and has been for sale off and on recently. Currently, the building remains idle with no serious buyers lined up. As the area sees more revitalization, particularly along Parsons, the firehouse could come under threat by redevelopment pressures.
Bellows Avenue Elementary Address: 725 Bellows Avenue Built: 1905 List Appearances: 2014, 2015 Status: Existing, Stable This old elementary school operated until the 1970s and has been abandoned since. It narrowly escaped construction of 315, but a planned rework of the highway intersection threatens its eventual demolition. Despite that, a plan to renovate the school and build apartments or condos on the grounds popped up a few years back, but aside from some stabilization efforts to the school to prevent further building decline, nothing else has occurred.
Columbus Railway Power and Light Company Building Address: 838 Cleveland Avenue Built: 1915 List Appearances: 2014, 2015, 2016 Status: Existing, but Deteriorating
The building in 2017.
This building was part of the Columbus Central Street Railway Car Depot and Power House once located at this intersection. It has been abandoned for a long time with no plans to do anything with the building.
Near East Trolley Barn Complex Address: 1600 Oak Street Built: 1880-1900 List Appearances: 2014 Status: Existing, Deteriorating but with Redevelopment Plans
The main trolley barn and grounds in 2019.
This complex was used by trolley car lines for decades to store and repair trolley cars, but has been in disuse for more than half a century. The good news is that a long-awaited revitalization plan is now in the works to turn the complex into a mixed-use development complete with a market, retail space and apartments.
O’Shaughnessy Funeral Home Address: 405 E. Town Street Built: 1853 List Appearances: 2014 Status: Existing and Stable
The home in 2019.
One of the oldest remaining homes Downtown, this building has been used as a funeral home, offices and other functions over the years, but has been abandoned for decades. The home apparently needs significant interior renovations, so it remains a tough sell.
Kessler’s Corner Grocery Address: 553-555 W. Town Street Built: 1884 List Appearances: 2015 Status: Existing, but Deteriorating
Kessler’s in 2019.
One of just 4 masonry buildings that survived the Great Flood of 1913 in this part of Franklinton, the building has been abandoned for a few decades at least. East Franklinton, in which this building sits, is fast becoming one of the hottest neighborhoods in the city, with a large number of new construction projects coming up. This could serve to save the building through renovation, or put pressure towards its eventual demolition. Without stabilization efforts, renovation may come too late, anyway.
Holy Rosary Roman Catholic High School Address: 498 Berkeley Road Built: 1928 List Appearances: 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 Status: Existing, but Deteriorating The school was used through the 1960s as part of the Holy Rosary Church complex. There are no current plans for the building.
Trott & Bean Architects, Inc. Building Address: 77 E. Nationwide Boulevard Built: 1910 List Appearances: 2015 Status: Demolished This former plating and silvering plant was later renovated by Trott & Bean as offices. It was demolished to build the Canopy Inn Hotel in 2017. The hotel built a similar looking facade to the original building on lower floors, but no part of the building was used.
One of the original homes in the Grandview Heights area, the Salzgaber family sold produce at North Market for many years. It came under threat in 2014 and early 2015 from a condo proposal. That proposal was later rejected and a new buyer preserved the house.
East Pilgrim Elementary School Address: 440 Taylor Avenue Built: 1921 List Appearances: 2015, Status: Existing and Stable
East Pilgrim Elementary in 2019.
Built as an overflow for the growing East Side student population, this school was abandoned in 2004. Columbus City Schools sold the build to Partners Achieving Community Transformation, or PACT, around 2010. PACT had originally proposed to renovate the building for adult educational purposes, but later determined that renovation would cost more than tearing it down. However, community leaders were divided on the demolition plan, with many being opposed. So far, it seems no firm redevelopment plans have appeared, and the building continues to sit empty.
The Main Bar Address: 16 W. Main Street Built: 1880s List Appearances: 2015 Status: Existing and Stable
The Main Bar building in 2016.
One of only 2 remaining 19th Century buildings on Main Street between 3rd Street and Front Street Downtown, this building has been used as a saloon, offices, bar and residences over the years. The RiverSouth area has been steadily redeveloped in recent years, and though no specific project is planned for the site yet, it’s only a matter of time.
Pavey Block Address: Between West Northwood and and West Oakland Avenues along North High Street Built: Between 1900-1905 List Appearances: 2016 Status: Renovated and (Mostly) Saved
The Pavey Block in 2015.
The Pavey Block is named after Charles Pavey, a horse breeder, who built his home here at 2259 N. High Street. The block was one of the last intact original residential blocks on High Street south of Clintonville. In late 2015, a developer proposed a mixed-use development on the whole block called Pavey Square, which would have required the demolition of all 6 High Street homes, along with 2 additional homes on Oakland and Northwood and an old commercial building. After local residents and area commission members rejected the demolition, the developer eventually modified the project to incorporate all 6 main homes in their entirety to preserve the High Street streetscape.
Ohio National Bank Address: 167-169 S. High Street Built: Early 1900s List Appearances: 2016 Status: Existing and Stable
The bank building in 2019.
This bank building has been abandoned since the 1990s. Though no plans have emerged for it, the surrounding part of Downtown has been booming with new development, which could eventually threaten the property.
Macon Hotel Building Address: 366 N. 20th Street Built: 1888 List Appearances: 2016, 2018 Status: Existing, but Deteriorating
The Macon in 2019.
Built as a hotel, the site was a popular hotel for jazz musicians visiting the city before WWII, and the building later became a club and lounge. In 2017, there was a proposal to renovate the building into residential units, but so far, nothing has come of that proposal beyond some gut work on lower floors.
124 South Washington House Address: 124 S. Washington Street Built: 1869 List Appearances: 2016 Status: Existing and Stable This old home, one of the few remaining Downtown on Washington Street, is threatened by plans by Motorists Mutual to develop the site and nearby areas with mixed-use projects around Topiary Park. Planning maps have shown the house being demolished in the future.
Grant-Oak Apartments Address: Intersection of Oak and Grant Built: 1942 List Appearances: 2016 Status: Partially Saved, Partially Demolished
The apartments in 2016.
These WWII-era apartments were some of the last historic apartment blocks Downtown. Columbus Metropolitan Library bought the apartments in 1992, and in 2017 in partnership with Pizzuti, proposed demolishing all 7 of the buildings to construct a new, mixed-use development on the site. In 2019, after some pushback by community leaders, it was decided that 4 of the 7 buildings would be saved and renovated, while 3 of the remaining would be demolished for the mixed-use project. Those 3 were demolished over the summer of 2019.
Hayden Mausoleum Address: 1000 Green Lawn Cemetery Built: 1920 List Appearances: 2019 Status: Existing, but Deteriorating A recent entrant on these lists, Hayden Mausoleum was design by Frank Packard as the largest single-family mausoleum in Central Ohio. It is threatened due to the poor condition of its roof and increasing water damage, that without renovation, could cause it to collapse.
Kroger Bakery Building Address: 457 Cleveland Avenue Built: 1914 List Appearances: 2019 Status: Existing and Stable Another recent entry on to the endangered, this original Ford Motor Company assembly plant was long used as part of the Kroger Bakery. Kroger closed the factory earlier in 2019 and the building is now for sale. Given that the whole area is steadily improving, the site could either be bought and renovated into other uses, or demolished altogether for new development.
Greater Columbus Antiques Mall Address: 1049 S. High Street Year Built: 1889 List Appearances: 2018 Status: Existing and Saved The George Stanton house came under threat early in 2018 when Schiff Properties wanted to tear it down and put in a fast food outlet. The longtime owner and antiques seller wanted out of the business, and the home existed outside of historic area protections. Fortunately, there was enough public backlash to cause Schiff to pull the proposal. As to what might happen to this property remains to be seen. Some proposals have called for it to be moved to a new location, so it still could end up threatened again.
Overall, the vast majority of these buildings have fared well. While plenty are in dire condition and need desperate renovations to save them, that opportunity remains for most. Still many others did, indeed, receive the attention they needed and were saved from the wrecking ball. Of course, Columbus Landmarks Foundation only highlights perhaps a dozen or so buildings each year, and there are dozens more that never make the list at all and end up lost. It’s an important reminder that the best way to save these historic structures is by drawing as much attention to them as possible.
Columbus, like many cities, has a decidedly mixed history with historic preservation. It has lost so much, and it continues to lose more with every passing year. The Columbus Landmarks Foundation puts out of list every year of Columbus’ most endangered historic buildings in imminent danger of demolition. Here is 2019’s list. Not all of the threatened old buildings in Columbus get attention. Here are a few more that are likely to meet the wrecking ball relatively soon.
Highland and 11th Block 1619 Highland Street Built: 1905 Ohio State recently purchased this building after reportedly trying to buy it for decades. The university now owns the entire block that this building sits on, and the plans are for eventual redevelopment within a few years. What might replace it is not yet known.
1619 Highland in 2019.
141 W. 11th Avenue Built: 1890s If OSU decides to redevelop the entire block, and that seems to be the plan, another historic building near 1619 Highland could also be lost. The German House is the last remaining original home this far west on 11th Avenue in what was once a historic neighborhood. OSU has systematically demolished almost all of the other homes along 11th Avenue, beginning in the 1950s. While there are no announced plans for its demolition, news of the block’s redevelopment seem to predict this old home’s doom.
The German House in 2015.
King and High Block 1343-1347 N. High Street Built: Around 1920
1343-1347 North High in 2017.
1355-1359 N. High Street Built: Around 1890
1355-1359 N. High Street in 2015.
Both of these High Street properties, directly across the street from the Weinland Park Kroger, are under threat from a proposed redevelopment plan. Originally, the developer had proposed an 11-story, mixed-use building for this block with the intention of incorporating both of the old buildings into the plan. However, it seems that they became frustrated with the approvals process, and so, in seemingly a total spite move, greatly reduced the size of the project as well as any intention of saving the old buildings. The out-of-state developer’s new design doesn’t require any variances, and so it seems like the final product is out of the hands of the local neighborhood commission and city, unfortunately. What could’ve been a great project is now essentially a middle finger from the developer and arguably one of the worst-designed proposals in recent years.
Here’s a great video of High Street with a Short North drone flyove from 2018. It gives a fantastic view of all the new development built in the last decade along High Street between the Short North and Campus.
To see historic photos of how the Short North used to look, visit the Short North Historic Buildings page to see all sorts of before and after historic photos of the neighborhood.
And for more videos around Columbus through history, the Columbus Videos Through Time contains more than 50 different Columbus-specific videos on a wide-rage of topics.
