Tag Archives: Columbus Ohio photos

How Columbus Changed in 10 Years Part 2

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how Columbus changed in 10 years part 2 Columbus, Ohio

An overcast day in 2011.

I received a massive positive response for the first version of this series, which was just a simple mashup of before and after photos of different parts of Columbus urban neighborhoods over the course of a decade. Because of that response, I have decided to do this How Columbus has changed in 10 years part 2 series. This time, besides adding more photos from core neighborhoods, I will expand the series out to other parts of the city and some suburbs, though still remaining within the 270 Outerbelt. In some ways, these before and after photos are even more drastic than the first set.

Downtown

Front Street, looking north from Main Street.
Before: 2011

After: 2021

Gay Street, looking west from Front Street.
Before: 2011

After: 2020

Gay Street, looking northeast from Normandy Avenue.
Before: 2011

After: 2021

High Street, looking north at the Convention Center.
Before: 2011

After: 2021

Nationwide Boulevard, looking north just east of Front Street.
Before: 2011

After: 2021

Nationwide Boulevard, looking east from the Olentangy River.
Before: 2011

After: 2021

Spring Street, looking northeast from Neil Avenue.
Before: 2011

After: 2020

Spruce Street, looking south from 670.
Before: 2011

After: 2021

Goodale Street, looking west from the 315 Exit.
Before: 2011

After: 2021

Short North

High Street, looking south just north of 3rd Avenue.
Before: 2009

After: 2021

Weinland Park

High Street, looking north at 7th Avenue.
Before: 2011

After: 2021

Italian Village

Detroit Avenue, looking east at Hamlet.
Before: 2009

After: 2019

4th Street, looking north from 4th Avenue.
Before: 2011

After: 2021

OSU Campus

Fred Taylor Drive, looking east at Defiance Drive.
Before: 2011

After: 2021

High Street, looking east at 15th Avenue.
Before: 2011

After: 2021

Medical Center Drive, looking north at Old Cannon Drive.
Before: 2009

After: 2021

Olentangy River Road, looking west at J Edward Weaver Memorial Drive.
Before: 2011

After: 2021

Milo-Grogan

Cleveland Avenue, looking north towards 5th Avenue.
Before: 2011

After: 2021

American Addition

Lee Avenue, looking south from 12th Avenue.
Before: 2009

After: 2019

Linden

Cleveland Avenue, looking north at Agler Road.
Before: 2011

After: 2021

Easton

Worth Avenue, looking east from Fenlon Street.
Before: 2011

After: 2021

Worth Avenue, looking east from Stelzer Road.
Before: 2011

After: 2021

Franklinton

Souder Avenue, looking west just south of I-70.
Before: 2011

After: 2021

Fifth by Northwest

Norton Avenue, looking north halfway between 3rd and 5th.
Before: 2011

After: 2020

Chesapeake Avenue, looking west.
Before: 2011

After: 2020

King-Lincoln

Long Street, looking west at I-71.
Before: 2011

After: 2021

Long Street, looking northeast at Garfield Avenue.
Before: 2011

After: 2021

Long Street, looking north just west of 21st Street.
Before: 2011

After: 2021

West Side

Georgesville Road, looking east south of Broad Street.
Before: 2011

After: 2021



North Side

Wakeford Street, looking west from Olentangy River Road.
Before: 2011

After: 2021

Ohio Health Parkway, looking north from Healthy Community Way.
Before: 2015

After: 2021

East North Broadway, looking north at 315.
Before: 2011

After: 2021

Grandview Heights

Yard Street, looking north from just south of Burr Avenue.
Before: 2011

After: 2020

First Avenue, looking northeast at Edgehill Road.
Before: 2012

After: 2021

Dublin

Edwards Farms Drive, looking south at Frawley Drive.
Before: 2011

After: 2021

Dale Drive, looking northwest north of Banker Drive.
Before: 2011

After: 2021

High Street, looking north from North Street.
Before: 2011

After: 2021

High Street, looking east at Rock Cress Parkway.
Before: 2011

After: 2021

Upper Arlington

Riverside Drive, looking east just south of Bethel Road.
Before: 2011

After: 2021

Bexley

Parkview Avenue, looking southwest just north of Main Street.
Before: 2011

After: 2021

Main Street, looking northwest at Cassady Avenue.
Before: 2011

After: 2021

As I stated in the previous installment, these photos still just represent a small fraction of the development and changes that have occurred across the city and its suburbs in the past decade. These are meant to be representative of those changes, not to suggest that other neighborhoods not featured didn’t change as well. Either way, enjoy!

This 2-part before and after series highlights many projects that have changed the landscape around the city. Many other projects that will continue to transform the area for the next decade and beyond are still in development or construction phases. A list of local area commissions provide monthly updates on potential new projects around the city.



Before and After: Downtown Aerial Photos

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Aerial photos have been around for more than a century, ever since someone thought to take photos from airplanes. These photos go back to at least the 1910s, when the airplane was still very much a new technology. I thought it might be interesting to do show a few of these before and after Downtown aerial photos to give an idea of how the same areas look today.

Before

before and after downtown aerial photos

Downtown around 1923.


This photo of Downtown was likely taken sometime between 1922 and 1923. The main clue is that the old Central High School is clearly under construction on the Scioto Peninsula, but seemingly in the early phases. The school would later open in the fall of 1924.
Also in the photo is the new Scioto River floodwall under construction just a decade after the Great Flood of 1913. The buildings near and along the riverfront would eventually be demolished for this project, as well as the eventual Civic Center project that would later build the Post Office and Ohio Supreme Court building. Notice as well the lack of Columbus’ signature building- LeVeque Tower. That project would be constructed over the next few years.
After
before and after downtown aerial photos

Downtown in 2019.


Downtown has obviously changed enormously in the past century. Skyscrapers now dominate Downtown, and the highway system now cuts through many neighborhoods. The riverfront itself is also significantly nicer and less industrial looking.
Before
before and after downtown aerial photos

Photo taken in 1929.


This 1929 photo looks west over Franklinton towards Downtown. The most revealing part of this photo is how compact the developed area of Columbus really was at the time. Farm fields can be seen to the south and west of Columbus.
After
before and after downtown aerial photos

Photo taken in 2019.


In the after photo, nearly all the vacant land is gone except for park space, Greenlawn Cemetery and areas along the rivers.

Before
before and after downtown aerial photos
This photo of Capitol Square in 1919 is one of the earliest aerials of Downtown I was able to find. This photo predates all highrise construction. The city was compact, dense and dominated by brick buildings.
After
before and after downtown aerial photos
In the 2019 image, skyscrapers have now replaced many of the older buildings. While the Capitol itself a handful of other buildings remain, the density has largely been lost over the years, with parking lots where many once stood.
Before
before and after downtown aerial photos
The 1919 image shows the intersection of High and Broad Streets, arguably the very center of Columbus.
After
before and after downtown aerial photos
Aside from the 8 on the Square building, virtually everything else from 1919 is long gone.

Before
before and after downtown aerial photos
This much more modern image of Downtown and the riverfront was taken in 1980.
After
before and after downtown aerial photos
The 2019 Google Earth image from the same angle shows significant changes in 40 years. New skyscrapers and other development are obvious, but the massive changes to the riverfront itself almost make this look like a different city altogether.

What might these areas look like in another century?

Thousands of additional before and after photo sequences can be found at the Historic Building Database
General information about Downtown can be found at https://www.experiencecolumbus.com/neighborhoods/downtown/