The Discovery District is a
special improvement district in
downtown Columbus, Ohio
Downtown Columbus is the central business district of Columbus, Ohio. Downtown is centered on the intersection of Broad Street (Columbus, Ohio), Broad and High Street (Columbus, Ohio), High Streets, and encompasses all of the area inside the Inner ...
, the home of
Columbus State Community College
Columbus State Community College (CSCC) is a public community college in Columbus, Ohio. Founded as Columbus Area Technician's School in 1963, it was renamed Columbus Technical Institute in 1965 and was renamed again to its current name in 198 ...
,
Columbus College of Art and Design
Columbus College of Art & Design (CCAD) is a private art school in Columbus, Ohio. It was founded in 1879 as the Columbus Art School and is one of the oldest private art and design colleges in the United States. Located in downtown Columbus, CCA ...
,
Columbus Museum of Art
The Columbus Museum of Art (CMA) is an art museum in downtown Columbus, Ohio. Formed in 1878 as the Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts (its name until 1978), it was the first art museum to register its charter with the state of Ohio. The museum collect ...
, and
Columbus Metropolitan Library
The Columbus Metropolitan Library (CML) is a public library system in Franklin County, Ohio, in the Columbus metropolitan area. The library serves an area of 872,000 residents, has a collection of 1,483,433 volumes, and circulates 17,262,267 ite ...
. It is considered a cultural district because of its close proximity to higher educational campuses and art destinations. It was named to imply that the area is full of possibility due to the number of learning and creative campuses in this small area. "Culture, art, and academia converge and present the Discovery District."
While not typically viewed as the most prominent Columbus neighborhood, the density of academic and arts-based institutions in this area are what make this creative campus unique.
History
The Discovery
Special Improvement District was created in 2007. As a
special improvement district (SID), its property owners have agreed to pay a special tax to help maintain the area and keep it clean and safe. The services they are paying for include employing safety ambassadors, a homeless outreach specialist, and a safety coordinator. They also pay to have first-floor graffiti removed and to promote the area through PR and communications publications in various outlets throughout the city, to promote visitors and make the area a downtown Columbus destination.
Before the Discovery District was an SID, it was considered an unsafe area of the city, and officials recognized the need for something to be done, especially with a large student demographic in the area attending either
Columbus State Community College
Columbus State Community College (CSCC) is a public community college in Columbus, Ohio. Founded as Columbus Area Technician's School in 1963, it was renamed Columbus Technical Institute in 1965 and was renamed again to its current name in 198 ...
or the
Columbus College of Art and Design
Columbus College of Art & Design (CCAD) is a private art school in Columbus, Ohio. It was founded in 1879 as the Columbus Art School and is one of the oldest private art and design colleges in the United States. Located in downtown Columbus, CCA ...
.
In 2007, a Board of Directors overseeing two private, non-profit organizations, the Columbus Downtown Development Corporation (CDDC) and the Capitol South Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation (Capitol South), made this area their new project.
These two organizations have backed multiple special improvement districts in the
Columbus
Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to:
* Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer
* Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio
Columbus may also refer to:
Places ...
area, including the Discovery District and the Capitol Crossroads
Special Improvement District. The CDDC was formed in 2002 in order to implement the Downtown Strategic Plan while Capitol South was formed earlier, in 1974, to redevelop the area south of
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 ...
.
Other buildings in the area remain historic landmarks and were in place long before the Discovery District was given its name. These include the
Kelton House, the
First Congregational Church on Broad Street, and the
Broad Street United Methodist Church.
Special Improvement District
The main priorities of the Discovery
Special Improvement District are to eliminate disorder and prevent crime. Around 80% of revenue raised from the district is directed towards these goals. Some safety improvements made to the district include creation of safety ambassadors, the hiring of a specialty police force, and the establishment of a full-time outreach program. Through the safety ambassadors program, security guards from the major institutions in the district have joined forced to "close the gaps"
in the district. The ambassadors created a security network in which they can easily communicate with each other. The security guards also meet every two months to check up with each other and make sure that the correct pathways of communication are in place. The specialty police force also enhances security in the district. This police force consists of a number of
beat cops focused on crime solely within the Discovery District. The force is extremely effective and guarantees a quick response to any safety threats. Lastly, the Discovery's
outreach program
Outreach is the activity of providing services to any population that might not otherwise have access to those services. A key component of outreach is that the group providing it is not stationary, but mobile; in other words, it involves meetin ...
has provided support to the homeless in the area. This program connects the homeless with jobs and
rehabilitation centers that are necessary to those requiring help.
Some common crime occurrences before the creation of the SID included camping,
panhandling,
defecation
Defecation (or defaecation) follows digestion, and is a necessary process by which organisms eliminate a solid, semisolid, or liquid waste material known as feces from the digestive tract via the anus. The act has a variety of names ranging f ...
, and
auto theft
Motor vehicle theft (also known as a car theft and, in the United States, grand theft auto) is the criminal act of stealing or attempting to steal a motor vehicle. Nationwide in the United States in 2020, there were 810,400 vehicles reporte ...
. Now, the district experiences limited crime due to the heightened security. The safety improvements were so revolutionary that the SID received the
Homeland Security
Homeland security is an American national security term for "the national effort to ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards where American interests, aspirations, and ways of life can thrive" to ...
Award in 2014.
The remaining 20% of revenue is dedicated to marketing for the district and for seasonal events.
Geography
Boundaries
The Discovery District has slightly varying boundaries depending on the source. The Discovery District is bounded to the north by
I-670, to the east by Jefferson Avenue and Lester Drive, to the south in a zig-zag pattern until it reaches
I-70
Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a park and ride lot just east of I-695 in Baltimore, Maryland, and is the fifth-longest Interstate in the co ...
, and then to the west by South Grant Avenue.
Buildings and landmarks
This district is home to various cultural and educational institutions. The
Columbus Metropolitan Library
The Columbus Metropolitan Library (CML) is a public library system in Franklin County, Ohio, in the Columbus metropolitan area. The library serves an area of 872,000 residents, has a collection of 1,483,433 volumes, and circulates 17,262,267 ite ...
, one of the highest-ranking large-city libraries in the nation, is an example of this. Its main branch location is within the bounds of the Discovery District, and is currently under construction and closed to the public. The
Columbus Museum of Art
The Columbus Museum of Art (CMA) is an art museum in downtown Columbus, Ohio. Formed in 1878 as the Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts (its name until 1978), it was the first art museum to register its charter with the state of Ohio. The museum collect ...
is another example and is home to a wide array of American and European Art, as well as many contemporary and photographic collections.
Among its educational institutions are the
Columbus College of Art and Design
Columbus College of Art & Design (CCAD) is a private art school in Columbus, Ohio. It was founded in 1879 as the Columbus Art School and is one of the oldest private art and design colleges in the United States. Located in downtown Columbus, CCA ...
,
Columbus State Community College
Columbus State Community College (CSCC) is a public community college in Columbus, Ohio. Founded as Columbus Area Technician's School in 1963, it was renamed Columbus Technical Institute in 1965 and was renamed again to its current name in 198 ...
,
Franklin University
Franklin University is a private university with its main campus in Columbus, Ohio. It was founded in 1902 to serve the needs of adult students. On-site courses are offered at the university's campus in Columbus' Discovery District. However, mos ...
, and
Capital University Law School
Capital University Law School is an American Bar Association#Accreditation of law schools, ABA-accredited private law school located in downtown Columbus, Ohio. The law school is affiliated with Capital University, the oldest university in Centra ...
. The Columbus College of Art and Design is a nationally ranked school for the arts, while
Columbus State Community College
Columbus State Community College (CSCC) is a public community college in Columbus, Ohio. Founded as Columbus Area Technician's School in 1963, it was renamed Columbus Technical Institute in 1965 and was renamed again to its current name in 198 ...
is a well-known community college in the area, with many of its students beginning there and then transferring through to a four-year school in
Columbus
Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to:
* Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer
* Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio
Columbus may also refer to:
Places ...
, such as
The Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...
,
Otterbein University
Otterbein University is a private university in Westerville, Ohio. It offers 74 majors and 44 minors as well as eight graduate programs. The university was founded in 1847 by the Church of the United Brethren in Christ and named for United Bre ...
, or
Ohio Dominican University
Ohio Dominican University is a Private university, private Dominican Order, Dominican liberal arts university in Columbus, Ohio. The university has approximately 1,700 students and offers undergraduate degrees in 40 majors as well as nine graduat ...
, or another school in
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
.
The
Kelton House is a
Greek Revival
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...
and
Italianate
The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...
mansion in the Discovery District that was converted to a museum by the
Junior League
The Association of Junior Leagues International, Inc. (Junior League or JL) is a private, nonprofit educational women's volunteer organization aimed at improving communities and the social, cultural, and political fabric of civil society. With ...
of
Columbus
Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to:
* Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer
* Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio
Columbus may also refer to:
Places ...
"to promote an understanding of daily life, customs, and decorative arts in 19th century Columbus and to educate visitors about the
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. T ...
."
The area also contains several religious institutions including The
First Congregational Church on Broad Street and
Broad Street United Methodist Church.
Residential
The majority of residents in the Discovery District reside in apartment-style buildings. This is due to the urban setting and the student-heavy population; many of these apartments are listed online as "luxury student housing."
These include more than ten buildings, each multiple stories.
Another large portion of land in the Discovery District goes towards parking lots for the many apartment buildings, as well as those servicing many of the higher education buildings,
Columbus State Community College
Columbus State Community College (CSCC) is a public community college in Columbus, Ohio. Founded as Columbus Area Technician's School in 1963, it was renamed Columbus Technical Institute in 1965 and was renamed again to its current name in 198 ...
,
Columbus College of Art and Design
Columbus College of Art & Design (CCAD) is a private art school in Columbus, Ohio. It was founded in 1879 as the Columbus Art School and is one of the oldest private art and design colleges in the United States. Located in downtown Columbus, CCA ...
,
Franklin University
Franklin University is a private university with its main campus in Columbus, Ohio. It was founded in 1902 to serve the needs of adult students. On-site courses are offered at the university's campus in Columbus' Discovery District. However, mos ...
,
Capital University Law School
Capital University Law School is an American Bar Association#Accreditation of law schools, ABA-accredited private law school located in downtown Columbus, Ohio. The law school is affiliated with Capital University, the oldest university in Centra ...
, or the
Columbus Museum of Art
The Columbus Museum of Art (CMA) is an art museum in downtown Columbus, Ohio. Formed in 1878 as the Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts (its name until 1978), it was the first art museum to register its charter with the state of Ohio. The museum collect ...
.
Parks
The Discovery District is home to the
Topiary Park
Topiary Park is a public park and garden in Columbus, Ohio's Discovery District (Columbus, Ohio), Discovery District. The park's topiary garden, officially the Topiary Garden at Old Deaf School Park, is designed to depict figures from Georges S ...
and Thurber Park. Topiary Park, otherwise known as The Old Deaf School Park, began construction in 1988 and uses
topiaries
Topiary is the horticultural practice of training perennial plants by clipping the foliage and twigs of trees, shrubs and subshrubs to develop and maintain clearly defined shapes, whether geometric or fanciful. The term also refers to plants ...
to represent
Georges Seurat
Georges Pierre Seurat ( , , ; 2 December 1859 – 29 March 1891) was a French post-Impressionist artist. He devised the painting techniques known as chromoluminarism and pointillism and used conté crayon for drawings on paper with a rough su ...
's painting, ''
A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grand Jatte.'' The park is seven acres and is home to 67 separate topiary figures, more than 220 trees, and a pond. The Thurber Park is an oval piece of grass set across from the
Thurber House
Thurber House is a literary center for readers and writers located in Columbus, Ohio, in the historic former home of author, humorist, and ''New Yorker'' cartoonist James Thurber. Thurber House is dedicated to promoting the literary arts by pr ...
, temporary residence of
James Thurber
James Grover Thurber (December 8, 1894 – November 2, 1961) was an American cartoonist, writer, humorist, journalist and playwright. He was best known for his cartoons and short stories, published mainly in ''The New Yorker'' and collected in ...
, on Jefferson Street. The park is half an acre and contains a gazebo, walkways, and trees.
Commercial
Dining
The Discovery District is home to multiple restaurants, including a variety of cuisines. These dining options have helped to keep people in the area after business hours to eat dinner, whereas without these amenities, the district was formerly a "ghost town" after the
Columbus Metropolitan Library
The Columbus Metropolitan Library (CML) is a public library system in Franklin County, Ohio, in the Columbus metropolitan area. The library serves an area of 872,000 residents, has a collection of 1,483,433 volumes, and circulates 17,262,267 ite ...
and
Columbus Art Museum closed for the day.
Events and entertainment
The district is one of the many hosts to the annual Columbus Art Walks, a series of self-guided walking and audio tours through Columbus's downtown districts. Among its many destinations are the locations listed above. According to the Columbus Art Walks website, "The Discovery District Art Walk will lead you through the Northeastern portion of
Downtown Columbus. Experience Columbus' Creative Campus where
Columbus State Community College
Columbus State Community College (CSCC) is a public community college in Columbus, Ohio. Founded as Columbus Area Technician's School in 1963, it was renamed Columbus Technical Institute in 1965 and was renamed again to its current name in 198 ...
,
Columbus College of Art and Design
Columbus College of Art & Design (CCAD) is a private art school in Columbus, Ohio. It was founded in 1879 as the Columbus Art School and is one of the oldest private art and design colleges in the United States. Located in downtown Columbus, CCA ...
, and several downtown arts and cultural institutions all converge. You will find hidden murals on buildings, artistic surprises in parks, historic architectural landmarks, and much more!"
The district also hosts seasonal events to bring people to the area around the winter holiday season, including one called the Holiday Trolley Hop, a tour of the district by trolley in the evening, with stops for activities, crafts, tours, and shopping. One year, the Hop took visitors to Topiary Park,
Kelton House, Bosco Center,
Columbus Museum of Art
The Columbus Museum of Art (CMA) is an art museum in downtown Columbus, Ohio. Formed in 1878 as the Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts (its name until 1978), it was the first art museum to register its charter with the state of Ohio. The museum collect ...
, Hills Market Downtown,
Thurber House
Thurber House is a literary center for readers and writers located in Columbus, Ohio, in the historic former home of author, humorist, and ''New Yorker'' cartoonist James Thurber. Thurber House is dedicated to promoting the literary arts by pr ...
, and the State Auto Nativity Display.
The district hosts the Topiary Theater Summer Movie Series. The district partners with the Columbus Metropolitan Library and the Gateway Film Center to put on a
book-to-film series in Topiary Park, next to the
Ohio School for the Deaf
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
.
The Discovery District also creates
sand volleyball
Beach volleyball is a team sport played by two teams of two or more players on a sand court divided by a net. Similar to indoor volleyball, the objective of the game is to send the ball over the net and to ground it on the opponent's side of the ...
courts in the summer as a part of "Discovery Beach". The beach is located at 100 N. Grant Avenue and is open and free to volleyball players all summer long. The
YMCA
YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...
hosts a spring and summer volleyball league at the beach as well.
References
External links
*
{{Columbus, Ohio
Neighborhoods in Columbus, Ohio