The Columbus Civic Center is a

civic center A civic center or civic centre is a prominent land area within a community that is constructed to be its focal point or center. It usually contains one or more dominant public buildings, which may also include a government building. Recently, the ...

, a collection of government buildings, museums, and open park space in

Downtown Columbus, Ohio Downtown Columbus is the central business district of Columbus, Ohio. Downtown is centered on the intersection of Broad and High Streets, and encompasses all of the area inside the Inner Belt. Downtown is home to most of the tallest buildings ...

. The site is located along the

Scioto Mile The Scioto Mile is a collection of parks and trails along both banks of the Scioto River in Columbus, Ohio, connecting parts of the Scioto Greenway Trail with downtown Columbus and Franklinton. The nine parks cover . History At the beginnin ...

recreation area and historically was directly on the banks of the

Scioto River The Scioto River ( ) is a river in central and southern Ohio more than in length. It rises in Hardin County just north of Roundhead, Ohio, flows through Columbus, Ohio, where it collects its largest tributary, the Olentangy River, and meets t ...

. The civic center includes Columbus City Hall, the Ohio Judicial Center, Central High School (now the

COSI Cosi, COSI or CoSi may refer to: * '' Così'', a 1992 play by Louis Nowra ** ''Cosi'' (film), 1996, based on the play * Così (restaurant), an American fast-casual restaurant chain * Compton Spectrometer and Imager, or COSI, a NASA telescope to ...

science museum), the

Joseph P. Kinneary United States Courthouse The Joseph P. Kinneary United States Courthouse is a federal courthouse in Columbus, Ohio, in the city's downtown Civic Center. It was formerly known as the U.S. Post Office and Court House. It was designed by Richards, McCarty & Bulford and was ...

, and the former Central Police Station. It also included the Scioto River Bridge Group. Also sometimes included in the civic center are the

LeVeque Tower The LeVeque Tower is a 47-story skyscraper in Downtown Columbus, Ohio. At 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 Art Deco skyscraper ...

and newer government office additions to the area, including the Front Street office buildings, the since-demolished

Franklin County Veterans Memorial The National Veterans Memorial and Museum (NVMM) is the United States' national museum for veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces. The museum is located in Columbus, Ohio, along the Scioto River between Franklinton and Downtown Columbus. The museum ...

and Columbus Public Health office in Franklinton, as well as the newer Michael B. Coleman Government Center and current

Columbus Division of Police Headquarters The Columbus Division of Police Headquarters is the central office of the Columbus Division of Police, of Columbus, Ohio. The building is located in the city's Downtown Columbus, Ohio, downtown Columbus Civic Center (Ohio), Civic Center. It is the ...

. Following a local version of the

City Beautiful movement The City Beautiful Movement was a reform philosophy of North American architecture and urban planning that flourished during the 1890s and 1900s with the intent of introducing beautification and monumental grandeur in cities. It was a part of the ...

, the Columbus Plan first envisioned a riverfront civic center in 1908. The

Great Flood of 1913 The Great Flood of 1913 occurred between March 23 and March 26, after major rivers in the central and eastern United States flooded from runoff and several days of heavy rain. Related deaths and damage in the United States were widespread and ext ...

destroyed many riverfront structures, allowing the opportunity to redevelop according to the 1908 plan. Columbus's most prominent architect, Frank Packard, spearheaded the project until his unexpected death in 1923. The Neoclassical,

Renaissance Revival Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range o ...

, and

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

buildings, bridges, and retaining wall were built from 1917 to 1934. In 1988, the area was nominated to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

as the Columbus Civic Center Historic District.

Historic district

The Columbus Civic Center Historic District is a historic district comprising most of the civic center. It includes Central High School ( NRHP-listed, 1924), Columbus City Hall (built 1928), the former Central Police Station (1930), the Ohio Judicial Center (NRHP-listed, 1933), and the

(NRHP-listed, 1934). It also includes the riverfront retaining wall, spanning from Broad to Town Streets. The c. 1921 Scioto River Bridge Group (comprising the Broad Street, Town Street, and Main Street Bridges) was listed, though the bridges were replaced in recent decades by the Discovery Bridge, the Rich Street Bridge, and a new Main Street Bridge. The Front Street office buildings were included as non-contributing buildings. The historic district's nomination to the

was prepared in the late 1980s by the City of Columbus's Economic Development Division. The district was determined to be eligible for the National Register on September 14, 1988, due to its association with community planning, engineering, government, and transportation in the city, and for its Art Deco, Neoclassical, and Renaissance Revival architecture. Even though its suitability was confirmed, the district was never listed.

History

When Columbus was founded, the only planned green spaces downtown were around the Ohio Statehouse and in front of the Carnegie Library. The 1908 Columbus Plan recommended more green spaces, public promenades, and beautification. The plan urged the removal of the numerous factories, coal yards, boarding houses, and tenements stretching along the riverfront downtown. The city's prison, storage facilities, and a junk shop were also located on the riverfront there. Overall, about two dozen buildings deposited untreated sewage directly into the Scioto and Olentangy rivers between Clintonville and the South Side. The cleanup was urged to present a positive view of the city for travelers on the

National Road The National Road (also known as the Cumberland Road) was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the road connected the Potomac and Ohio Rivers and was a main tran ...

entering Columbus from the west. Following a local version of the

, the Columbus Plan first envisioned a riverfront civic center in 1908. The plan aimed to visually unite both banks of the river along with the nearby

Capitol Square Capitol Square is a public square in Downtown Columbus, Ohio. The square includes the Ohio Statehouse, its Capitol Grounds, as well as the buildings and features surrounding the square. The Capitol Grounds are surrounded on the north and west ...

, and build classically-inspired yet simple buildings, surrounded by open spaces, parks, and parkways. Development was slow, though the Great Flood of 1913 in Columbus dramatically affected the area, destroying many riverfront buildings and both of its bridges. It gave the city the opportunity to redevelop the riverfront into its planned civic center, though with added flood control - a retaining wall and low head dam. The civic center layout was expanded to two to three times its original size. From 1917 to 1922, the Broad Street and Town Street Bridges, parallel Neoclassical structures, were built, along with the still-intact retaining wall between the bridges. In the early 1920s, the plan included a Masonic temple at the current site of the federal courthouse, and a park for World War I veterans at the site of the Judicial Center. The old Columbus City Hall was destroyed in a fire in 1921, allowing a new city hall to be built within the new civic center. In 1923, architect Frank Packard began a new civic center plan. He was Columbus's most prominent architect at the time, and organized the

Allied Architects Association of Columbus An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

to work on the civic center plan. Packard died later that year while working on the plan, before any of its buildings were built. The bridges, and other riverfront structures were already under construction or complete, but it led to the city planning its police station there, as well as an office building for state departments, and later the federal government moving its post office and courthouse from its former Capitol Square location to the new civic center. In 1924, Central High School opened, the first building built along the river since the 1908 plan was published. The school was designed following the plan, and its stone facade and scale acted as a link between the planned government buildings on the east bank with the school on the west. The site's government buildings were built next, between 1926 and 1934. Other government buildings, offices, and museums have been built in the civic center in years since.

Gallery

File:Columbus Plan 06.jpg, Riverside condition in 1908 File:Columbus Plan 11.jpg, Illustration of the 1908 civic center proposal File:Ohio - Columbus - NARA - 68147040-crop.jpg, C. 1923, as the riverfront cleanup began File:Columbus riverfront cartoon, Billy Ireland.jpg, Billy Ireland cartoon for the ''

Columbus Dispatch ''The Columbus Dispatch'' is a daily newspaper based in Columbus, Ohio. Its first issue was published on July 1, 1871, and it has been the only mainstream daily newspaper in the city since ''The Columbus Citizen-Journal'' ceased publication in 19 ...

'' in 1926, urging more prompt redevelopment File:Ohio - Columbus - NARA - 68147024 (cropped2).jpg, The completed civic center, 1936 File:Town Street Bridge, Columbus.jpg, Plaque commemorating the civic center, bridges, and related riverfront improvements

References

{{Columbus, Ohio Downtown Columbus, Ohio Geography of Columbus, Ohio Tourist attractions in Columbus, Ohio Historic districts in Columbus, Ohio Buildings in downtown Columbus, Ohio Broad Street (Columbus, Ohio)