Just over a handful of blocks east of Columbus' signature Short North neighborhood sits Milo-Grogan. Dammit, I forgot to get a pic of the new Buckeye Fried Chicken on E 5th & Cleveland  :x , it's now the 3rd fried chicken restaurant at the intersection where Rally's was and is now painted scarlet and gray. I noticed that Whale Fish Shrimp & Chicken is now Royal('s?) Fish & Chicken, yet somehow didn't think to get that either. Anyway, those are a couple of the biggest changes in the neighborhood. Last thread was focused on the southern half & the small (empty) Cleveland Ave business district, while this one focuses on the northern half and the E 5th Ave business district.

 

MAP

 

A quick recap of Milo-Grogan: traditionally blue-collar neighborhood (lots of Italians) built by the huge railroad yards nearby and saw 1/3 of the neighborhood bulldozed for highways (I-71 splits the neighborhood in half and I-670 acts as a wide buffer on the remaining southern end) and unlike German Village, has not bounced back yet. The neighborhood mainly functions as a stepping stone for suburban commuters speeding through along the highways or suburbanized main streets.

 

After entering the railroad bridge gateway to the neighborhood there's a bit of an incline. Here you can see where more homes once stood.

 

 

 

It figures that this residential street right that's the link closest to Italian Village would be the first to have a rainbow flag pop up.

 

 

Oh, hi doggy.

 

 

 

 

While some homes still need work you can see that a few improvements are  going on here and it's doing better than the east half.

 

 

Ironic advertising: using the corpse of a dead local business for a McDonald's product that is vastly inferior to what is offered by numerous coffeeshops just west of here.

 

 

 

A common sight here and in the south end of neighboring North Central: industrial abutting residential. The fuschia trees are a nice touch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is I-71.

 

 

Crossing from this side

 

 

to the other side.

 

 

I could hear work being done on the highway. How about ODOT spending some of that money on the neighborhood that they helped messed up?

 

 

Here's the still usable outdoor area of the neighborhood recreation center. I was even invited to play some b-ball and was kinda tempted, but I was pretty busy.

 

 

 

 

 

A couple of businesses on St Clair: a bar and a grocery store (people still complain about Downtown not having a grocery store).

 

 

E 5th Ave is the saddest street in Columbus. I just walked half a block east from St Clair and could feel my soul being sucked out by this trash-lined, ugly arterial road.

 

Mally Gal's Lounge: best bar you never heard of.

 

 

 

 

I hear this is rather good diner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See? There's even trash growing on the trees here!

 

 

 

Seriously, E 5th Ave is used as a trashcan by motorists passing through here and traffic is going 50MPH. It needs help real bad and is really nothing more than a mini-highway even though 670 is just a couple blocks south. Now for the NE quadrant continuing up St Clair.

 

Nice.

 

 

Ooh, a new playground.

 

 

Heading east...

 

 

 

 

Umm, where are the sidewalks? What's happening?  I think I'll head back to St Clair.

 

Not quite sure what it is, but I like it.

 

 

End of the road.

 

 

Another traffic calmed street: kids playing in the street and the driver slows down accordingly. I saw quite a few people hanging out on their porches here.

 

 

Is that Jewish graffiti on that house?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not a pedestrian-friendly street.

 

 

 

Actually, that's probably not good for those residents' property values. What @ssholes.

 

 

 

Where the sidewalk ends.

 

 

Ice cream!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some of the friendly residents.

 

 

And few bonus shots of Cleveland Ave from Fall 09.

 

 

 

 

While it's not in the best shape and has largely been forgotten by the city there seems to be a sense of community that could be tapped into. Yes, the city did draft a neighborhood plan, but small improvements to Cleveland and E 5th have not been made to also prioritize pedestrians and cyclists along with cars, which would also have the benefit of being a more attractive place for urban businesses. I slapped a little plan together myself. And yeah, there is a Milo-Grogan Area Commission, but as you can see they aren't very active, so a resident-driven neighborhood association with a website would be a good idea.

The Battersea of Columbus.

Looks like Toledo.

Another glorious stretch of my morning bike commute. More Columbusite awesomeness!

 

Looks more small town abandoned than a city neighborhood.

I got that exact feeling on off of some of the main roads in this neighborhood and was hoping that impression would come through. I found it kind of creepy myself, even in broad daylight, particularly heading east of St Clair north of E 5th along Shoemaker, which I forgot to mention is where some projects are located, which makes it even more bizarre.

 

FYI, I threw in a pic of Italian Village right off of E 2nd east of 4th St, which no one seems to have picked up on. The purpose is to show that similar looking streets right next door got revitalized/occupied, so why not some of that in Milo-Grogan?

^I prefer the weird 2nd Ave transition between the train overpass and Cleveland Ave. If you continue straight through Milo-Grogan you can access the Alum Creek trail. Some wild busted concrete no man's lands there.

r.i.p. skankland

 

 

I heard it was the sweetest deathtrap in the city. A shame, because it was probably the biggest draw for the neighborhood.

Are we talking the same Skankland that used to be where Skully's is now?

I'm guessing it was an older building where parties were held in the neighborhood. I don't know what it was named, only that it was closed down, so I assume that's what he's talking about.

yeah skankland was in a building on the north side of fifth before cleveland, next to what is or was rallys. the last time i was in town i think it was a biker bar and closed up? anyway it was a live music reggae bar, after staches (which later moved and was called little brothers) it was the most popular live music joint in town. great place despite the bummy odd building.

 

Are we talking the same Skankland that used to be where Skully's is now?

 

yes and before that it was out here for many many more years! it was a long running and legendary columbus live music club.

 

In 1998 my band played Skankland when it was on High Street, and to kill time before the show we played kickball on the playground of the school behind it (Everett). Eleven years later I'd be living in Columbus, and my son would attend Kindergarten at that same school (Indianola at Everett), and play on that same playground. File under: WEIRD; STORIES KINGFISH HAS TOLD BEFORE 

That is rather depressing, but a place I need to head over to check out one day...

The Battersea of Columbus.

 

...uh, the Edgemont of Columbus?

LOL!

Shades Diner has some of the BEST breakfast in the City! I love that place