CMH_Downtown

I think that would be wonderful, actually, since it would somewhat complement some other recent additions to the historical society's roster. I don't know how many of you remember, but there used to be a small aviation museum located at Port Columbus. The museum became somewhat obsolete, and with attendance at a trickle, it was closed down. A Hilton Garden Inn now sits on the site, but apparently most of the collection was supposed to go to the Ohio Historical Society. As to whether that actually materialized, I never found out, but if so, making a wing dedicated to Ohio's roll in transportation would be great. It could combine everything from the Ohio canal system, to the riverboats, the lake barges, the intricate rail system, the Wright Bros., Curtis-Wright, and others. I would love to see that, however I don't know about the likelihood of such an idea.

According to Experience Columbus, there are 21,355 hotel rooms "city-wide." So, by "city-wide" do they mean the 222 sq. miles that is the city of Columbus, or the metro area? If they do mean just the City of Columbus, then that omits suburbs with decent amounts of hotel rooms, such as Dublin (which, according to their chamber of commerce, has 2,000 hotel rooms) and Westerville. Experience Columbus link: http://www.experiencecolumbus.com/meeting_planners.cfm?nav=t Visit Dublin link: http://www.dublinvisit.org/visitors/accommodations.htm

The Ohio Historical Center is a joke, plain and simple. From the horrible brutalist building surrounded by parking, to the abandoned Ohio Village next door, the Center has become a complete embarassment. I remember visiting the center twice: once for a holiday event and once for my elementary school's history fair. I recall the exhibit that they are bringing down, and honestly it's a very good and informative display...it just needs to be updated. The exhibit they want to bring in to replace it sounds interesting as well, but given the ineptitude of those running the place, I'll probably never go there. In my opinion, they need to fire all current management, knock down that horrible structure, and start all over again...either at the fairgrounds or at a new location. I think most would agree that the parkland on the southern bend of the Scioto, next to COSI would be the optimal place for a new historical museum. They would have much more flexibility for exhibits, and be in an area more condusive to attracting visitors. However, such a task requires money, and as stated earlier, the state doesn't really have the funds for such an endeavor.

You've got to be kidding. ODOT had no problems closing down I-670 through downtown for nearly 2 years, and they're afraid to close I-70/71 for reconstruction? If they make 315/670 an alternate, they shouldn't have to worry much about traffic clogging up city streets. ODOT has absolutely no forsight in any matter, and if something comes up that contradicts what they want, they piss and moan about it.

Good news overall for Columbus' two main commercial airports. Here's hoping that the passenger trend at CMH can continue and that they get someone to fill in the void left by Independence Air. Over at LCK, the increased cargo traffic is definitely a great sign, especially with all the new construction that is going on in that area. Once the intermodal facility is complete, hopefully more companies will decide to bring freight through the airport. The prospects of a cargo hub at the airport are nil, however LCK could definitely position itself as a gateway for international cargo traffic, especially as a Foreign Trade Zone. Large international companies such as CargoLux, NWA Cargo, and Air China could be future candidates for flights into LCK. Here's hoping.

A big "finally" for the Main St. bridge.

What I meant by "freshly-hired exec" was a person coming out of college (i.e. just graduated from Purdue and gets a mid-management position at Simons in Indianapolis). By in large, most college grads do not have a family yet and are looking for an affordable, fun, central location in which to live. I completely agree that it is difficult to make urban (especially downtown) living attractive to a family with small children. But then again, why does a city have to try and cater to them when there are pleanty of other population segments that are more than willing to move to the center city? I think a small part of why young adults and empty nesters gravitate towards downtown is because there aren't many kids. It all boils down to what the individual is looking for. If you want a nice cul-de-sac where the kids can ride their bikes without any supervision in a subdivision with several other families with children that has excellent public schools, then maybe an urban dwelling isn't right for you.

As much as everyone bemoans the loss of Columbus' Union Station, I think the single greatest building loss in Columbus was the original Franklin County Courthouse:

I used to take the No. 18 Kenny Rd. local bus to campus from my apartment, and they had a scrolling message board by the main door that announced the next stop, as well as an audio recording of the next stop. The system seems to be operated by the driver, as the system is barely ever used on the No. 2 N. High St. route. Man, that would've been nice. I can recall many a times waiting for over half an hour for the bus to come, since my classes would get out at different intervals per day. I definitely agree about the website. Some kind of pictoral image would help trip planning immensly. It would be nice also if more crosstown buses would connect to the No. 2 easier, as you can get just about anywhere on the No. 2 in between downtown and Worthington.

After going to the Jackets game against Nashville last night, I can't help but think that the arena and surrounding district has been monumental in raising awareness of the advantages of urban living. Upon leaving the arena, many in the crowd looked up and commented on the new condos and apartments in the area, admiring how nice it must be to live so central to everything. Something I believe would help continue the trend of finding homes in urban areas is through corporate recommendations, especially for those relocating to a new city. For example, a freshly-hired executive to AEP might be relocating to Columbus. To assist in his/her move, AEP should point to the advantages of living downtown or in the surrounding neighborhoods. The company could point out that their home would be within walking distance of their office, central to just about every activity in Columbus, and would be in a safe and functional area. This would also give more corporations more incentive to invest in the downtown area.

I say we start at the underground crosswalk at High and N. Broadway and make our way south!

That's correct, Progressive's main offices are located in the Cleveland area. However, in addition to Nationwide and SafeAuto, Columbus also has: Motorists Insurance: Grange Insurance (which recently announced they'll be constructing a new 200,000 sq. ft. building next to their current HQ's in the Brewery District). (Their building is the brick on in the background on the right)

Cedar Fair, now's your chance!

Hey, not everyone wants a dining room set as trendy as this:

re: Detroit I kid! I kid! :-)

Are you thinking of Po Furnishings (I forgot to add them to my list)? Their original store was in the Short North, then they closed it and opened two new stores, one in Polaris and one in City Center. Their new website is "coming soon": http://www.pofurnishings.com

Global Living in Grandview Heights is nice, they just built a huge new showroom on Grandview Ave just north of Dublin Rd.: Global Living, 855 Grandview Ave. (614) 488-4700 http://www.egloballiving.com I don't know if it's convenient to you, but there are several distinct furniture galleries in the Short North: Asia Gallery, 891 N. High St., 614-297-6846 www.theasiagallery.com Four Winds International, 921 N. High St., 614-299-0311 www.fourwindsintl.com GrandView Mercantile Co., 873 N. High St., 614-421-7000 Needfulthings, 772 N. High St., 614-291-5873 Norka Futon, 780 N. High St., 614-424-9949 www.norkafuton.com ReVue, 881 N. High St., 614-421-5870 Roche Bobois, 858 N. High St., 614-299-9696 UrbanOffice, 641 N. High St. Ste 106, 614-221-4780 www.urbanofficefurnishings.com Wildwood Furnishings, 1201 N. High, 614-291-9400 And of course, if you're willing to make the drive, there are IKEA stores in suburban Pittsburgh and Detroit :-D

Advertisers having a ball with murals Downtown More huge displays on the way to promote Crew, Nationwide Friday, January 27, 2006 Debbie Gebolys THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH The Columbus Crew is about to make a smash hit Downtown. A really, really big one. Starting Monday, a 25-foot soccer ball carrying the team’s logo will stick out of the top three stories of a condominium tower at 145 N. High St. The Downtown Commission approved the idea yesterday, and workers are to begin placing the foam ball on the building this weekend. Commissioners said the ad, designed by Orange Barrel Media, fits into their plan to use "organized chaos" to make city streets more lively. The 600-pound ball will look as if it smashed the walls of the 12-story Brunson Building and stayed there. Surrounded by a web of stress cracks in the wall, it will look as though some supernatural force delivered a mighty kick. It will stay up for six months and should be visible from High, Spring, Wall and Front streets. Read more at http://www.dispatch.com/2006/01/27/20060127-Pc-A1.html

Cardinal will add 300 jobs Dublin to benefit from consolidation effort Thursday, January 26, 2006 Barnet Wolf THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH Cardinal Health Inc. will add more than 300 jobs in Dublin, as the company consolidates its financial shared-services operations into two sites from locations across the country. Cardinal is leasing MetroCenter III, an office building at 475 Metro Place S., for one of the centers. The other will be located in an existing company plant in Albuquerque, N.M. The Dublin center will handle the accounts-receivable portion of the business, including credit underwriting, collections and processing cash. The New Mexico center will oversee payments from Cardinal to vendors and others, such as utilities. Read more at http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/01/26/20060126-B3-01.html

Unizan purchase is given go-ahead Huntington’s efforts had been stalled by regulator concerns Friday, January 27, 2006 Paul Wilson, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH Almost two years to the day after the deal was announced, Huntington Bancshares Inc. announced yesterday that the Federal Reserve Board has approved its purchase of Unizan Financial Corp. The acquisition, delayed by regulatory problems, is expected to close March 1 and is worth $602 million. "This merger is a great addition to our Ohio franchise," Thomas E. Hoaglin, Huntington’s chairman, president and chief executive, said in a statement. "We look forward to welcoming Unizan’s customers and associates to the Huntington family." MORE: http://www.dispatch.com

Safe Auto plans move to Easton Insurer says it’ll keep its Whitehall building; 200 jobs may be added at new headquarters Friday, January 27, 2006 Mike Pramik THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH Safe Auto Insurance Co. plans to leave its Whitehall location and build a $20 million headquarters at Easton. The homegrown vehicle insurer, known for its "minimumcoverage" pitch, will move to a four-story, 150,000-square-foot office building at Easton Oval in 2007. Most of the company’s 500 area employees will move to the new offices, and 200 jobs could be created, Chief Executive Ari Deshe said. Safe Auto will keep its current location at 3883 E. Broad St., but plans are incomplete for the building’s use. Read more at http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/01/27/20060127-B1-01.html

ARNOLD FITNESS WEEKEND Beefed-up show expanding to Nationwide Friday, January 27, 2006 By Mike Pramik THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH The producer of the Arnold Fitness Weekend is promising a record turnout in March for the 31-year-old event, which is spreading out to Nationwide Arena for the first time. Jim Lorimer, who founded the fitness show with Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1976, said more than 120,000 people will attend the March 3-5 event. They will include 15,000 athletes competing in 30 sports, including 15 Olympic sports. Wrestling, boxing and volleyball will be new events to the fitness weekend. Lorimer said the diversification from the longtime bodybuilding component of the event will lead to a name change for 2007 to the Arnold Sports Festival. Because of the sheer size of the spectacle, several events will move to Nationwide Arena, including a martial-arts battle that will be shown on pay-per-view television. It will be the first time any event has used the arena, the Greater Columbus Convention Center and Veterans Memorial at the same time. MORE: http://www.dispatch.com

Uber-cool map! Maybe it has something to do with the moratorium on new construction in the Darby Creek watershed? You can see development stradling the entire expanse next to the watershed in far western Franklin Co.

Good stuff. Nice to see some renderings for the planned stadium.

Surely not to the same extent that Nationwide is, however other local companies/corporations are actively participating in downtown redevelopment. There is a development board comprised of about a dozen of Columbus' top CEOs, including executives from Limited Brands, The Dispatch, and AEP. Their merits were recently reported in the Dispatch, mostly their success in lobbying money for projects. As far as actual bricks and mortar, Nationwide has definitely done the most development downtown. I'm actually somewhat surprised AEP hasn't done much more as far as development goes, especially since their headquarters are right across the tracks from the Arena District. The only building they've put up in recent memory is a parking garage.