Before and After Goodale Expressway




This Before and After Goodale Expressway addition shows a bit of the Columbus highway system’s earliest construction projects.

Before: Around 1960
Before and after Goodale Expressway
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
Before and after Goodale Expressway view
While an unfortunate fence blocks the view, you can still see how drastically the landscaped has changed after more than 60 years.

Random Columbus Photos 10




In Random Columbus Photos 10, we look toward the East Side.

Photo Location: James Road, looking north from Livingston Avenue.
Photo Date: August 16, 1950
Photo History: This photo of a very primitive James Road was taken by the City in preparation for installing a sewer system in the area. There were very few homes and other buildings on James at the time, and the area was still mostly farmland. The homes on the left side of the photo had only just been completed, and were the first of large-scale, small-home subdivisions that now dominate this part of the city and neighboring Whitehall. By 1953, the entire area seen in the photo would be fully developed and unrecognizable.
Random Columbus Photos #10 Columbus, Ohio
The same view today:
Random Columbus photos #10 Columbus, Ohio

Thousands of historic before and after photos from across the city can be found on the Historic Building Database.