It’s hard to imagine Columbus without its flagship university. While today Ohio State is one of the nation’s largest universities and a powerful influence in and out of Columbus in many ways, it got its start as just a humble agricultural college in 1870. Let’s go back to a time and look at these Ohio State campus aerials from 1919, and compare them to the same views today.

Before

Photo taken in 1919.

This 1919 photo of the Oval and the surrounding neighborhood shows just how small the campus was back then. Residential areas began just to the north of of the Oval. Over the years, almost every single building in this photo would be demolished in OSU’s never-ending quest to expand and modernize.
After

Photo taken in 2019.

The residential neighborhood is long gone, replaced with new student residences, offices and educational buildings. Almost nothing remains the same- even the street grid itself has been dramatically altered.
Before

Photo taken in 1919.

This photo of Campus further east show the famous castle-looking Armory, along with an athletic field and part of High Street.
After

Some buildings remain recognizable, but not many. The athletic field disappeared by the 1930s, and the Armory burned down in disastrous fire in the early 1950s. It iconic castle towers were recreated somewhat in the Wexner Center for the Arts, which occupies the former Armory location.

Clearly, Ohio State’s campus has changed drastically over the last century. No doubt a century from now, it will be equally as unrecognizable to us as the current iteration would be to students from long ago.