Franklin County Memorial Hall, also known simply as Memorial Hall, is an office building, multi-use facility, and memorial for war dead 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 building is best-known today as the headquarters of Franklin County Public Health.

Uses

The building currently holds the offices of Franklin County Public Health (the county's health department), Franklin County Veterans Services, and still retains a war memorial. The building was built from 1905 to 1906 by local architect

Frank Packard Frank L. Packard (June 11, 1866 October 26, 1923) was a prominent architect in Ohio. Many of his works were under the firm Yost & Packard, a company co-owned by Joseph W. Yost. Life and career Frank Lucius Packard was born June 11, 1866 in ...

. The building features a 4,200-seat auditorium, which was the second largest in the United States behind

Madison Square Gardens Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylvan ...

when it was completed. The building has been used to host a variety of events: * Musical events that included

Rudolph Valentino Rodolfo Pietro Filiberto Raffaello Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguolla (May 6, 1895 – August 23, 1926), known professionally as Rudolph Valentino and nicknamed The Latin Lover, was an Italian actor based in the United States who starred ...

, Paul Whitman and the

Vienna Boys Choir The Vienna Boys' Choir (german: Wiener Sängerknaben) is a choir of boy sopranos and altos based in Vienna, Austria. It is one of the best known boys' choirs in the world. The boys are selected mainly from Austria, but also from many other countr ...

* Large church events * Speaking events for William Jennings Brian,

Homer Rodeheaver Homer Alvan Rodeheaver (October 4, 1880 – December 18, 1955) was an American evangelist, music director, music publisher, composer of gospel songs, and pioneer in the recording of sacred music. Early career Born in Cinco Hollow in Hocking Co ...

and DeWolfe Hopper * Sporting events * High school graduations * Political and religious debates * Columbus Philharmonic Orchestra (1941-1949) * Radio shows in the early 20th century It was home to the Franklin County Historical Society, which operated the Franklin County Museum of History here. The historical society also created the museum

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 be ...

(the Center of Science and Industry). COSI operated out of Memorial Hall from 1964 to 1999 before it relocated to its current space in Franklinton.

Gallery

File:Columbus, Ohio 20.tif, The building c. 1900-10 File:Christopher Inn 01.jpg, Memorial Hall and the

Christopher Inn The Christopher Inn was a hotel in Downtown Columbus, Ohio. The cylindrical mid-century modern hotel had 16 floors, 137 wedge-shaped rooms, and modern interiors at the time. It was built on the site of the Alfred Kelley mansion, which was disasse ...

on Broad Street, c. 1963 File:COSI Memorial Hall.jpg, The building with a modern front while owned by COSI, 1986

Uses

Gallery

References

Further reading