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About Columbus
Columbus is the capital of the U.S. state of Ohio. Founded in 1812 at the
confluence of the Scioto and Olentangy rivers, it assumed the functions of state
capital in 1816.
According to the 2000 census, Columbus has a population of 711,470 residents,
making it the largest city in Ohio and the 15th largest in the United States.
The population increased to an estimated 730,657 in 2005. The greater
Columbus metropolitan area has a population of 1,708,625 as of 2005, ranking
it third in Ohio (behind Cleveland and Cincinnati) and 31st in the United
States. With regard to the Combined Statistical Area (which includes Chillicothe
and Marion), Columbus ranks 24th in the country with approximately 1.84 million
residents.
Located near the geographic center of the state, Columbus is the county seat of
Franklin County, though parts of the city also extend into Delaware and
Fairfield counties.
The confluence of the Scioto and Olentangy rivers occurs just west of downtown
Columbus. Several smaller tributaries course through the Columbus metro area,
including Alum Creek, Big Walnut Creek, and Darby Creek. By and large, Columbus
has relatively flat topography thanks to a large glacier that covered most of
Ohio during the Wisconsian Ice Age, but numerous ravine areas near the rivers
and creeks help give some variety to the landscape. The region is dominated by a
humid continental climate, characterized by hot, muggy summers and cold, dry
winters. The highest temperature ever recorded in Columbus was 106F (41C),
which occurred twice during the Dust Bowl drought of the 1930's - once on July
21, 1934, and again two years later, on July 14, 1936. The coldest was -22F
(-30C), occurring January 19, 1994. As far as trees, deciduous trees are
common, including maple, oak, hickory, walnut, poplar, cottonwood, and of
course, buckeye.
Columbus also has a number of distinctive neighborhoods within the metro area.
The Short North, situated just north of downtown, is rich with art galleries,
dining, pubs, and specialty shops. A number of large, ornate Victorian homes are
located nearby, and together they comprise Victorian Village. To the south,
German Village is known for its quaint 19th century brick cottages, and it holds
the distinction as the largest privately funded historic district on the
National Register of Historic Places. Franklinton, sometimes known as "the
Bottoms", is the neighborhood immediately west of downtown. It gets its colorful
nickname due to the fact that much of the land lies below the level of the
Scioto and Olentangy rivers, and a floodwall is required to contain the rivers
and protect the area from devastating floods. Just to the west of Franklinton is
a group of smaller neighborhoods commonly referred to as "The Hilltop."
The OSU Campus area is populated by a high concentration of students during the
school year (approximately 35,000 undergraduate students and 15,000 graduate
students for a total of 50,000 students) and features many old homes which have
been converted to apartments for student use. The stretch of High Street that
runs through the campus area caters to the student body with its abundance of
dive bars, sandwich shops, and bookstores. Located between OSU and Worthington
is Clintonville, where a mix of middle class Levittown-type homes can be found
alongside beautiful old stone and brick-faced houses nestled among rolling
hills. Clintonville is home to Whetstone Park, and the Park of Roses, a
beautiful 13 acre rose garden. Further west of downtown, San Margherita is a
community formed by Italian immigrants who arrived at the turn of the 20th
century.
In 2003, a documentary entitled "Flag Wars" by Linda Goode Bryant and Laura
Poitras premiered on the PBS series P.O.V. The film chronicles the plight of
African-American homeowners in the Old Towne East neighborhood who are at odds
with white gay couples buying older Victorian houses in the area, fixing them
up, and in the process creating a tense gentrification that is captured in the
documentary spanning from 1999 through 2002. Crime, economic sustainability, and
culture clashes are highlighted against the backdrop of personal and family
struggles and a beleaguered Environmental Court trying to enforce zoning and
other regulatory laws.
Other neighborhoods and crossroads around the area include: Berwick, Hungarian
Village, Merion Village, Steelton, Milo Grogan, Linden, Flytown, Italian
Village, Weinland Park, Driving Park, Olde Town East, Grandview-Marble Cliff,
Seagrave, University View, Valleyview, New Rome, Briggsdale, Urbancrest,
Eastmoor, Minerva Park, Huber Ridge, Mifflinville, Linworth, Riverlea,
Northland, Olentangy, Amlin, Lincoln Village, and Alton.
Columbus is bisected by two major Interstate Highways, Interstate 70 running
east-west, and Interstate 71 running north to roughly southwest. The two
Interstates combine downtown for about 1.5 miles in an area locally known as
"The Split", which is a major traffic congestion point within Columbus,
especially during rush hour. U.S. Highway 40, aka National Road, runs east-west
through Columbus, comprising Main Street to the east of downtown and Broad
Street to the west. It is also widely recognized as the nation's first highway.
U.S. Highway 23 runs roughly north-south, while U.S. Highway 33 runs
northwest-to-southeast. The Interstate 270 Outerbelt encircles the vast majority
of Columbus and its suburbs, while the newly redesigned Innerbelt consists of
the Interstate 670 spur on the north side (which continues to the east past Port
Columbus International Airport and to the west where it merges with I-70), State
Route 315 on the west side, the I-70/71 split on the south side, and I-71 on the
east. Due to its central location within Ohio and abundance of outbound
roadways, nearly all of the state's destinations are within a 2-hour drive of
Columbus.
The city's street plan originates downtown and in the immediate vicinities, the
oldest parts of the city. The plan follows a roughly gridiron model bisected by
High Street (running north-south) and Broad Street (running east-west). The city
street numbering plan originates at their intersection in mid-downtown, so house
numbers increase with distance from downtown. This street grid is not followed
as strictly further out from downtown, particularly in the suburbs (mostly old
towns with their own street plans still intact) and the newer subdivisions.
Besides High Street and Broad Street, major thoroughfares in Columbus include
Main Street, Morse Road, Dublin-Granville Road (aka SR-161), Cleveland
Avenue/Westerville Road (aka SR-3), Olentangy River Road, Riverside Drive,
Sunbury Road, and Livingston Avenue.
Columbus maintains a widespread municipal bus service called the Central Ohio
Transit Authority (COTA). Columbus used to have a major train station downtown
called Union Station, however it was razed in the late 1970s. Columbus is now
the second largest city in the U.S. (after Phoenix) without passenger rail
service. It is served by Port Columbus International Airport, Rickenbacker
International Airport, Don Scott Airport (run by OSU), and Bolton Field Airport.