(Continued from Walking Tour Part One)

...Ready for a rest? One storefront away from Skully’s is the Short North’s

Limestone Sofa 1159 North High Street

Only in the Short North can you stop to rest on a 10,000-pound limestone sofa. This unique piece of public art/furniture was designed and carved by University of Akron professor Robert Huff and set in place in November of 2004. It resides in Greenwood Park, one of many pocket parks located in the area. The couch was actually selected by a jury of local artists and community representatives as the winner of a public-art contest. According to an article written by Short North Special Improvements District President Tim Wagner, “Robert’s sofa was inspired by investigation into the previous use of the land. The property had housed furniture stores in the past. The sofa was created in reminiscence of the former shops.”

Now that you’re well-rested, walk north one more storefront to see the

Garden Theatre 1187 North High Street

The Garden Theatre opened on Thanksgiving-day in 1920. The theatre put on live shows as well as silent films and “talkies.” Though the theatre closed in 1929, its sign still hangs above the building, reminding us of its past.

The Garden Theatre was once one of the area’s main attractions. But by the 1970s and 80s it had fallen to become a place of deviance where pornographic movies were made and shown. Prostitutes and drug dealers guarded the entrance, and the building’s exterior was in disrepair.

In 1996 the Garden Theatre was reborn and rechristened. Steve Campbell bought the establishment and turned it into the Garden Church. In 2007 the Garden Church relocated. The old building now stands vacant.

Make your way back down High Street to First Avenue. Turn right on First Avenue and head west to Neil Avenue.

Welcome to

Victorian Village Neil Avenue and its side streets

The land now known as Victorian Village was mainly founded by three families: Neil, Hubbard, and Starr. Until 1875 virtually all of it was farmland. By 1920 it was a thriving residential area. Many original homes remain, refurbished by residents with the help of the Victorian Village Society and the Victorian Village Architectural Review Commission, which oversees remodeling efforts in order to preserve historical integrity. Though all true to the Victorian Era, styles in the neighborhood vary, with the more elaborate homes lining Neil Avenue. A stroll through this antiquated neighborhood will turn-up an overwhelming amount of beautiful gable roofs, dormers, turrets, chimneys, stained glass windows, leaded glass windows, porches, and carriage houses. Styles include Italianate Queen Anne, Second Empire, Carpenter-Stick, and Four Square with details borrowed from Tudor, Shingle Style, Gothic Revival, Greek Revival, and Richardson Romanesque architecture. Every September the Victorian Village Society hosts the Victorian Village Tour of Homes and Gardens where residents open their estates for public viewing.

Turn left (south) on Neil Avenue until you reach Buttles Street. Then turn left (west) on Buttles to make your way back towards High Street. You will pass the lovely

Goodale Park At the corner of Buttles and Park Streets

In 1851 Goodale Park was donated to the city by Dr. Lincoln Goodale, Columbus’ first physician. Dr. Goodale referred to the land as a “pleasure ground,” meaning a place to go for pleasant activities, or in other words, a municipal park. This concept was different from that of the typical 1850s park in that in those days a typical park was just a common greenspace. At the time of its instatement, Goodale Park was the largest municipal pleasure ground in the country.

During the Civil War many of the trees in the park were cut down so that the space could be used by more than eight-thousand Union troops as a staging area. According to the Victorian Village Society, redevelopment of the park started in the 1870s, and the current pond, which was originally big enough to sail boats on, was put in place in 1874.

Overlooking the lily-covered pond is the park’s ornate gazebo. Showing its versatility, the gazebo has become a popular space to have lunch, stage a concert, or take wedding photos.

While the park’s original shelterhouse was built in 1853, it was torn down and replaced with the park’s current shelterhouse in 1912. The craftsmen-style building originally acted as a home for the park’s caretaker and his family. In 1997 the Victorian Village Society began using the north half of the house as offices. Today the Short North Business Association and the Short North Special Improvements District also house their offices there. In addition, many groups use the shelterhouse’s conference room for their meeting. Meanwhile, the other half of the shelterhouse can be rented for business or private events.

To rent the gazebo or shelterhouse please contact the City of Columbus’ Department of Recreation and Parks at 614-645-3337.

Head to the front of the park (towards High Street). You will hit Park Street. Turn right (south) onto Park Street through the Goodale Street intersection. Before long on the left side of the street, you will come to the

North Market 59 Spruce Street

The North Market has a long history dating back to before 1876. Originally, there were four city markets (North, East, West, and Central). Fire and foreclosure ended the existences of the three sister markets. In 1948 the North Market itself, then located at 29 Spruce Street, caught fire, ruining the building. The City of Columbus, then in charge of the North Market, decided not to rebuild. The market’s merchants, however, protested by banning together to purchase a portable hut. The merchants sold their goods out of that hut for nearly fifty years, surviving the introduction of the supermarket, month-to-month lease negotiations with the City, and other tribulations.

Around 1988 the North Market Development Authority (NMDA) was formed to protect the market from the looming fear that it would be torn down to make way for additional Convention Center parking.

In 1992 the North Market moved to its current location at 59 Spruce Street. This move allowed the market to expand, growing sixty-percent larger than the portable hut they had been operating out of. After pre-move renovations, the market re-opened in November 1995. Now more than one-million people a year enjoy the historic market’s traditional butcher, baker, fishmonger, and green grocer goods along with its newer ethnic and gourmet specialties. 

Exit the North Market and walk east past their parking lot. In front of you at the corner of Spruce and High Street

Greater Columbus Convention Center 400 North High Street

“In 1988, Columbus city officials held a competition for the long-planned Greater Columbus Convention Center. Michael Graves, Peter Eisenman and Holt Hinshaw Pfau Jones, along with their associate architects, submitted proposals for the competition, which was funded by Leslie Wexner, chairman and CEO of Columbus-based Limited Brands. Eisenman won with a departure from his usual grid-based buildings.

Located in the foyer of the recently renovated Battelle Hall is an Emerson Burkhart mural entitled Music. In 1934 Burkhart painted the mural in Central High School. Determined too risqué for high school students, the mural was whitewashed in 1938. The mural was discovered when the building was closed and sold to COSI. Over a six-year period it was restored by 1,000 high school students and then installed at the Convention Center.

On the left of that corner is the

Hampton Inn 501 North High Street

The far north part of the building was Melman’s Steak House. When they built the Hampton Inn, they had to take each brick down and number it and then put them back up to complete the beautiful façade. To the south was the State Penitentiary Cemetery. When they were doing roadwork on Spruce near the North Market, they did find some coffins and remains.

Turn left once you are on High Street, and you will soon come to the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral 555 North High Street

The Short North harbors a great Greek community. At the heart of that community is the Annuciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral. The existing cathedral was built in 1990 around a smaller 1922 chapel. Much of the funding for this project came from the Kontogiannis family. The elaborate architecture is based on traditional Byzantine style. This style incorporate much symbolism and is characterized by having a Greek cross-shaped floor plan capped by a dome. It is also noted for its interior and exterior magnificence.

The Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral hosts the annual Greek Festival and also serves as a banquet facility for up to six-hundred people complete with carpeted floors, chandeliers, a dance floor, a stage, and a built in bar. The first Short North Arts District Gala was held here.

Just across the intersection from the Cathedral you will see two identical structures filled with shops. This is

The Cap At the corner of Goodale and North High Streets

Built in 2002, The Cap is the strip that rejoined the Short North with the North Market and the Convention Center. Consisting of specialty retail stores and restaurants, The Cap is reminiscent of Union Station, a railway depot designed by Daniel Burnham and built in 1897. Union Station was pivotal in attracting early Columbus city-dwellers to neighborhoods like Italian Village.

Walking or driving on The Cap, few would realize that it is actually a bridge over I-670. In this respect, The Cap “heal[ed] the gateway into downtown Columbus,” which was previously an eyesore (Ball.)

The Cap is noted for its large arches, roofed walkway, and ample lighting.

Thanks to the ingenuity of Jack Lucks, who spearheaded the construction of this landmark project, The Cap not only acts as a literal bridge over the interstate, but also as a bridge between the Short North and downtown and between the past and present.

Cross the street to discover

Poplar Park Between The Cap and Utrecht on High Street

A brick-paved park resides next to The Cap. This courtyard is a great place to sit and relax. Small sets of tables and chairs along with park benches are accompanied by planters and overseen by a magnificent mosaic totem pole. The totem pole is a piece of public art named In Dreams Again. It was created by Andre Lidgus of Park Ridge, Illinois and donated to the city in May of 2005 by Jack and Zoe Johnstone, long-time residents and fans of the Short North. The totem features three symbols of Ohio: water (“Ohio” comes from a Seneca-Iroquois word meaning “beautiful river”), trillium (the state wildflower), and cardinals (the state bird). Poplar Park was created through the contributions of Short North enthusiasts including Sherrie Hawk of Sherrie Gallerie, Jack and Zoe Johnstone, Christie Nohle of Urban Gardener, Heather Shepard of Muse Off High, Mark Swanson of Cup O’ Joe and MoJoe Lounge, Bob Trout of Schreiner Ace Hardware, and the Short North Special Improvement District. As stated by the Short North Neighborhood Foundation the vision of such efforts is "embedded history, public art, and kinetic art, which encourages visitors to stroll High Street, relive our history, and celebrate Columbus’ prominent artists, performers, and others who have contributed to the city’s culture.”

Making your way back to where you parked (north) you will notice two more public art pieces:

The Train Mural/Basic Training & Union Station Mural 630 & 612 North High Street

These neighboring art pieces are located on the Bernard's Tavern and Utrecht Art Supplies building. These two murals are linked, paying homage to the district’s former life. Union Station, a train station that was pivotal in attracting early Columbus city-dwellers to neighborhoods like Italian Village, and the trains that lined its rails are reminders of our ancestors who made this area a beautiful and popular place to live long before it was the Short North.

Union Station was painted in the 1980s by Greg Ackers who went on to become the founder of International Murals and Graphics Enterprises, Inc. The Train Mural/Basic Training was created by Greg and Jeff Ackers in 1989.

On the other side of the street is the

Cliff Dwellers Mural 641 North High Street

The Cliff Dwellers Mural, created in 2004 by couple Michelle Attias and Curtis Goldstein, is a nod to Columbus native and artist George Bellows. Bellows was an OSU graduate. His paintings were that of a social realist, showing the strange mix of beauty and ugliness that came with the rapid growth of cities.

In an article titled “Walls that talk: In the Short North, the painting’s on the wall,” Curtis told the Short North Gazette, “the choice of image was an attempt to ‘educate Columbus about Bellows,’ who was a native of this city. ‘The work, in many ways, is reminiscent of what Columbus might have looked like one-hundred years ago when this area was more of a village and less a city…To us, Bellows and this particular image made the most logical sense for the space.’ The image harkens back to what the Short North may have resembled before gentrification” (5-6).

Many people and organizations made pivotal contributions that led to the reality of this mural including The Wood Companies, Brick Street Arts Association, the Ohio Arts Council, the Greater Columbus Arts Council, Creative Paints, and United Rentals.

You can find the 45x60’ Cliff Dwellers Mural on the side of The Burgundy Room building.

Just north of the Cliff Dwellers Mural is

Victorian Gate 663 North High Street

An $11 million undertaking, this residential complex opened in August of 1994. The Victorian Gate boasts 160 condominiums, two banks, and offices. Jack Lucks, developer of the Victorian Gate who later went on to lead the construction of The Cap, is quoted in a 1998 Columbus Dispatch article saying, “It was risky, but I saw an emerging market for urban dwellers” (1A). The project originally began as an apartment complex. In 2005 the apartments were renovated to become condos. In 2007 First Community Bank opened in the space formerly occupied by Brian Borus.

Continue north past Chase Bank. Just past the ATM is Chase Park and The Guardian Located North of Chase Bank

Chase Park was named after its largest donor Chase Bank.  The design of the park was created by MSI Design architect Darren Meyer. The beautiful chairs and urns were fashioned by Fortin Ironworks and Tork created the transom panels. Recessed between two columns, "The Guardian", by Russ Vogt was purchased by the city in 2008 to be displayed in this pocket park.  "The Guardian" symbolizes the organic creativity and brilliance of the Short North.

This completes our walking tour. Hopefully you stopped along the way to find your own unique spots and new favorite places. Staying on the same side of the street and heading South will bring you back to your car. But you are not ready to go home just yet, are you?

by Morgan Baughman

Back to the beginning of the Walking Tour