OSU masthead and toolbar
Online Exhibition:
Neighborhood Design Center Collection
View of North High Street at the Interstate 670 CAP (east side), ca 2008
View of North High Street at the Interstate 670 overpass (east side), ca 1985
About the Collection:
The Columbus, Ohio Panoramas collection contains streetscape scenes taken by the Neighborhood Design Center in the mid-1980s and the Knowlton School of Architecture in 2008. The Neighborhood Design Center is a non-profit organization whose goal is to enhance the economic viability and general appearance of major commercial corridors and the surrounding residential areas through capital investments and improvements in overall planning and design. Assistance is provided based on selected Neighborhood Commercial Revitalization Districts (NCR) and Community Reinvestment Areas (CRA). The NCR and CRA areas contain a variety of notable places within the city, including: Hilltop, Franklinton, Old North Columbus, Short North, Noth Market Historic District, Parsons Avenue, East Livingston Ave, East Main Street, Old Towne Quarter, East Long Street, Mt. Vernon Avenue, East Fifth Avenue, South Linden, and North Linden. Many of the streetscape scenes included in the collection were taken of these NCR Districts in 1985.
Also included in the collection are present-day streetscape panorama scenes that were taken by the Knowlton School of Architecture Digital Library staff in 2008. They were taken of the same NCR Districts in an effort to illustrate the changes that have taken place over the years.
North High Street:
One major change to the North High Street NCR District can be found at the Interstate 670 overpass. Originally built in the 1960’s the overpass was seemingly designed without much concern for aesthetics. The sidewalks were narrow and there was no buffer from the traffic which made it an uncomforable place for pedestrians. As a result of this, the bridge severed the connection between downtown Columbus and the Short North. In 2004, the widening of Interstate 670 allowed for an opportunity to fix some of the problems that the original construction had caused. The City of Columbus worked with the Ohio Department of Transportation and private developers to create, not only a bridge, but a sense of place. A pedestrian arcade was created which reconnected two of the most popular areas in Columbus, the Short North and the Arena District. The I-670 CAP is one of the first of its kind and has proven to be highly successful. The images above show the overpass before and after the reconstruction.
View of North High Street at 3rd Avenue (east side), ca 2008
View of North High Street at 2nd and 3rd Avenues (east side), ca 1985
Another change can be seen on the south east corner of North High Street and 3rd Avenue. Here, the Neighborhood Design Center led the renovation project to the exterior of the commercial space for Bodega a café and bar in the Short North. Along with façade, streetscape, and signage design services the NDC also provides assistance in locating funding for businesses within the Neighborhood Commercial Revitalization Districts. The first image above is of the commercial space in 2008 and the second image is of the area surrounding the space in 1985.
View of North High Street at 11th Avenue (west side), ca 2008
View of South Campus Gateway (west side), ca 2008
View of North High Street at 11th Avenue (west side), ca 1985
In 1999, the Neighborhood Design Center worked with the Columbus Planning Division to establish an Urban Commercial Overlay which applied to many of the Neighborhood Commercial Revitalization Districts. The UCO was intended to counteract some of the inadequacies of the current zoning in these areas that fostered more suburban style growth and development that was destroying many of the unique and traditionally urban design that had existed. Around the same time Campus Partners, a non-profit organization, began a major renovation project within an established UCO NCR District along North High Street that would eventually become the South Campus Gateway. The images above show the significant changes to the area.
Site Help | Copyright Information | Give to the Digital Library