Battelle Riverfront Park is a park in downtown
Columbus, Ohio, United States, near
Columbus City Hall. The park was established in 1983.
It is named after
Gordon Battelle
Gordon Battelle (10 August 1883 – 21 September 1923) was the founder of Battelle Memorial Institute, a non-profit independent research and development organization.
Birth, death and family
Gordon Battelle was born in Covington, Kentucky, to Oh ...
and was funded by the
Battelle Memorial Institute.
Features
The park features the
James W. Barney Pickaweekee Story Grove (moved from a nearby children's park) amid several monuments and memorials, including the
Columbus Firefighters Memorial (1958),
Spanish–American War Memorial (1937), ''
Their Spirits Circle the Earth'' (1987), and ''
To Honor the Immigrants'' (1992).
Alfred Tibor
Alfred Tibor (February 10, 1920 – March 18, 2017) was a Holocaust survivor and sculptor. His artwork can be found in nearly 500 private collections and museums throughout the world, including the Yad Vashem memorial in Jerusalem.
Life
Tibor w ...
's sculpture ''
Freedom'' (1985) is also installed in the park.
Several of the park's monuments and memorials were moved here from the Harry E. Richter Workers Memorial Park in 2016. That park, built in 2000, held a memorial originally placed in
Franklin Park in 1992. The Richter Workers Memorial Park was replaced in 2016 with the
Michael B. Coleman Government Center, which opened two years later.
The
Santa Maria Ship & Museum
The Santa Maria Ship & Museum was a museum ship in downtown Columbus, Ohio. The craft was a full-size replica of the '' Santa María'', one of three ships Christopher Columbus used in his first voyage to the Americas. The ship was displayed in Co ...
, a replica of Christopher Columbus's ''
Santa María'', was docked on the Scioto River by the park beginning in 1991, as part of the city's 1992 Christopher Columbus Quincentennial Jubilee, celebrating the 500th anniversary of Columbus's voyage to the Americas. The ship's presence was aimed to draw people to the Columbus riverfront, though it had limited success, and attendance dropped over the years.
The nonprofit tourist organization that operated it closed in 2011, and the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department inherited it. $5-6 million was estimated for its repairs, and with the extensive renovation of the Scioto's riverfront, the ship had to be relocated. It was removed in 2014, and remains in a city-owned lot in the South Side, in ten pieces.
Environmental Protection Agency rules no longer permit it back on the Scioto River, and nobody has expressed interest in restoring the ship given the expense.
Gallery
File:Columbus, Ohio (2018) - 035.jpg, Park sign
File:Columbus, Ohio - Highsmith 12.jpg, Statues in the James W. Barney Pickaweekee Story Grove
File:Columbus riverfront.jpg, The park and the Santa Maria Ship & Museum
The Santa Maria Ship & Museum was a museum ship in downtown Columbus, Ohio. The craft was a full-size replica of the '' Santa María'', one of three ships Christopher Columbus used in his first voyage to the Americas. The ship was displayed in Co ...
in 2008
File:Santa Maria - 2772222245.jpg, ''Santa María'' replica, 2008
See also
*
List of parks in Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio has numerous municipal parks, several regional parks (part of the Metro Parks system), and privately-owned parks. The Columbus Recreation and Parks Department operates 370 parks, with a combined .
City parks
* Academy Par ...
References
External links
*
Scioto Mile page
{{Columbus Recreation and Parks
1983 establishments in Ohio
Broad Street (Columbus, Ohio)
Downtown Columbus, Ohio
Parks in Columbus, Ohio
Protected areas established in 1983