Diamond Jubilee: Columbus, Ohio

Quite honestly, the only thing I knew about Columbus was that it is a frequent choice for restaurants wanting to "go franchise" as a testing ground. Columbus is "America" and if a business is successful there, it likely will be anywhere. Hence, Columbus is a kind of "foodie paradise" with places attempting to make it big that cannot be found elsewhere (yet).

AQ and I found a hotel on the edge of town after our multi-stop drive from Marietta and called it a day. We had done a lot.

The next day started with the Scioto Audubon Park along the river and a walk into downtown (it also offered free parking). The weather was great - it ended up being a good choice. The park itself is massive and provides a lovely green escape for residents not far from downtown.

Butterfly weed - Scioto Audubon Park

We walked up the Scioto River with splendid views of downtown. I was incredibly impressed.

Downtown from the Scioto River

One building that stands out is the LeVeque Tower. Among the other tall buildings it is the most architecturally appealing - like Columbus' own Chrysler Building.

The LeVeque Tower is a 47-story skyscraper in Downtown Columbus, Ohio. At 555 feet 5 inches it was the tallest building in the city from its completion in 1927 to 1974, and remains the second-tallest today. Designed by C. Howard Crane, the 353,768-square-foot Art Deco skyscraper was opened as the American Insurance Union Citadel in 1927 and at the time was the fifth tallest building in the world. Built at a cost of $8.7 million, the tower's design incorporates ornate ornamentation and a terracotta facade, and it was designed with 600 hotel rooms in two wings as well as an attached performance venue, the Palace Theatre. After the American Insurance Union went bankrupt in the Great Depression, the tower was renamed the Lincoln-LeVeque Tower in 1946, and later the LeVeque Tower in 1977.

(Wikipedia)

We passed by the base of the tower after we reached downtown - the entrance is equally elegant. The age of building such places in the US has passed - it was good to see it well preserved.

LeVeque Tower

We reached Capitol Square surrounded by the "newer" tall buildings of the city. The space was empty (likely due to COVID). The Capitol is surrounded by trees and a variety of small memorials. It felt "open" for being the center of the city.

Capitol Square

Across the street from the park is a stand-out older structure (now a law firm) which served as Columbus' Post Office and High Court for many years. It is strikingly unique in its style because Columbus doesn't have many similar buildings. It almost looked like it had been transplanted from Cleveland (awash in such buildings).

Old Courthouse/Post Office

The Capitol itself is one of the few in the US without a dome. There is a kind of "turret" structure sticking up (that looks like a dome from inside). My overall impression was one of "incompleteness" because other state houses have domes (mostly).

With great fanfare, the new Statehouse opened to the public on January 7, 1857, and soon thereafter the Ohio General Assembly convened in their new chambers. Most of the building was completed, with the notable exception of the rotunda. Although actual work on the building was proceeding smoothly, government officials were deeply dissatisfied with Nathan Kelley, citing problems with his working methods and aesthetic choices. Isaiah Rogers, a well known architect based in Cincinnati at the time, was recruited to supervise the final stages of the Statehouse's construction. During his tenure, Rogers oversaw completion of the building's interior and coordinated work on the distinctive rotunda and its enclosing cupola. One of the building's most distinctive exterior features is the low, conical roof atop the cupola, positioned where many viewers expect to see a dome. In the long span between beginning construction on the Statehouse and its completion, the "finished" design changed many times and various proposals included a round dome atop the building. Rogers, in deciding not to use a dome, was actually reverting to an earlier design scheme by architects West and Sawyer. In the end, the building featured a low conical roof that some critics would deride as "a Chinese hat." Construction of Capitol Square, including its buildings, grounds, and landscaping, was finally completed in 1861.

(Wikipedia)

So, in fact, the Columbus Statehouse had a very difficult birth: from last minute opposition to keep the capital in the city to fires that had burned earlier structures down. Even its now much loved and applauded "non-dome" was initially derided

AQ had never been inside a state capitol building. We walked around to find the visitor's entrance open and easy to enter. I was worried since A was a foreigner, but security was extremely friendly (like in the old days). We entered and wandered the public areas - just wow. I think for the first time A was very impressed with something we were visiting. Another theme had emerged on the trip - state houses.

State Capitol

Not far from the Capitol was the public library, so we decided to have a look.

The Columbus Public Library and Reading Room was opened on March 4, 1873, in the reading room on the first floor of City Hall, with a collection of 1,500 books. These included 1,200 from the Columbus Athenaeum (1853-1872), 358 from Columbus's high school library, and 33 from its horticultural society. In 1906, the reading room moved to a separate building across from the Ohio Statehouse. James L. Grover served as the first director of the library, for a period of six years beginning in 1872. The system's Main Library was built to replace the reading rooms. It was constructed from 1903 to 1906 primarily using funds donated by Andrew Carnegie. Columbus was initially passed over by Carnegie for funds to build a large main library, as it was against his preference for smaller branches accessible to local working class residents. Library director John Pugh traveled to New York City and secured Carnegie's $150,000 donation after bonding over their similar heritage; Carnegie was Scottish and Pugh was Welsh.

(Wikipedia)

Another Carnegie Library (I saw several on the trip), I was impressed as usual. What a legacy to leave behind - books and knowledge. We walked inside to admire the architecture and found there was a newer extension as well (far less interesting, but much more practical as a modern library space).

Columbus Metropolitan Library

Next to the library was Columbus' Topiary Park. I had never heard of it, and its concept was unique: a park based on a painting!

Topiary Park is a 9.2-acre public park and garden in Columbus, Ohio's Discovery District. The park's topiary garden, officially the Topiary Garden at Old Deaf School Park, is designed to depict figures from Georges Seurat's 1884 painting, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. It is the only park based entirely on a painting.

(Wikipedia)

Part of me found it a little hokey, but it was very well done. To see it as the original painting, it could only be viewed from one angle; otherwise, it just appeared to be some random topiary figures in a park. That specific spot always had visitors (unlike the rest of the park). Friends later reminded me that old classmates from Gallaudet had studied at the Deaf School (next to the park) in Columbus before it moved. The former school was a grand old building itself.

Topiary Park

Walking back toward the car I was absolutely thrilled to find Oscar Meyer Wiener Mobile in a hotel parking lot. AQ was a little mystified by my extremely excited reaction over something so silly. I am a victim of lifetime marketing, I guess.

Finally, we hit the German Village, probably the only part of "Old Columbus" left. The area of quaint buildings with a kind of European style is small, but the whole neighborhood is lovely. I am certain it is one the most sought-after places to live near downtown. We had a late lunch at the locally famous Schmidt's Restaurant. The interior was ultra-Old World. AQ thought it was very atmospheric. I was just happy to have a beer after all that walking.

German Village. June 2021

We arrived back at parking lot where we had left the car very tired. We walked a LOT.

After driving to the hotel, we decided that we had "done" Columbus. It was time to move on, next on the list - Cincinnati (with one important stop along the way).