How Columbus Changed in 10 Years Part 2




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: How Columbus Changed in 10 Years




How Columbus changed in 10 years

Part 2 is now available for more great before and after comparisons.

How Columbus has changed in 10 years is not always easily quantifiable. Columbus added more people in the past decade than during any previous similar period in its history. I’ve posted a lot about the 2020 Census data and updated many pages worth of information to the site. However, examining only population change through numbers is just one part of the story. How has that population growth manifested in terms of how the city appears in its built environment? This before and after look shows how the city has been transformed on a visual scale, and shows how some of the hottest neighborhoods have been radically altered in a short time.

Downtown
High Street, looking north from Rich Street
Before: 2011

After: 2021

High Street, looking north from Gay Street
Before: 2011

After: 2021

Long Street, looking east from 6th Street
Before: 2011

After: 2020

Neil Avenue, looking east at Broadbelt Lane
Before: 2011

After: 2021

The Short North
High Street, looking north from Milay Alley
Before: 2011

After: 2020

High Street, looking south from Buttles Avenue
Before: 2011

After: 2021

Fourth Street, looking east at Auden Avenue
Before: 2011

Before: 2021

Summit Street, looking west at 5th Avenue
Before: 2011

After: 2021

Perry Street, looking south at Quality Place
Before: 2011

After: 2021

Weinland Park
Grant Avenue, looking north from 7th Avenue
Before: 2012

After: 2021

Eighth Avenue, looking west from Section Alley
Before: 2011

After: 2020

Franklinton
Rich Street, looking east from McDowell Street
Before: 2011

After: 2021

Broad Street, looking west from the railroad tracks.
Before: 2011

After: 2021

South Side
Livingston Avenue, looking east at Parsons Avenue
Before: 2009

After: 2020

Washington Avenue, looking southeast from Innis Avenue
Before: 2011

After: 2020

Front Street, looking south at Whittier Street
Before: 2011

After: 2021



Campus
High Street, looking south from Lane Avenue
Before: 2011

After: 2020

10th Avenue near Dodd Drive, looking northwest.
Before: 2011

After: 2021

High Street, looking south from 8th Avenue
Before: 2011

After: 2021

West Side
Parsons Avenue, looking northeast from Chapel Street
Before: 2011

After: 2020

Champion Avenue, looking northwest at Phale D. Hale Drive
Before: 2011

After: 2021

17th Avenue, looking north from Gay Street
Before: 2011

After: 2020

Broad Street, looking northeast west of Woodland Avenue
Before: 2011

After: 2021

Oak Street, looking east from Ohio Avenue
Before: 2011

After: 2021

These images represent just a small fraction of the development and changes that have occurred in and around the city, and don’t even include the large developments in suburban areas like Grandview Yard in Grandview or Bridge Park in Dublin. The next 10 years looks to be even more significant, with new mixed-use towers for Downtown, potential skyscrapers for Easton, and large numbers of infill development projects continuing in central neighborhoods from Franklinton to Linden to the South Side. With them, the city will continue to grow more dense and more vibrant and- with any luck- will also help spur much needed change to Columbus’ underwhelming transit system.

These Columbus development links show many of the projects seen in the photos, as well as projects that are still just in the proposal stages. The City provides a master list of area development commissions to keep track of the latest proposals.