Cool! Almost positive that's an electric car on the race course in the last picture.

^^Amazing photos! 

 

I wish they would have saved the facade at the corner of Neil and Spring, with all three towers.

17 hours ago, ink said:

^^Amazing photos! 

 

I wish they would have saved the facade at the corner of Neil and Spring, with all three towers.

 

Isn't it true that some of the facade was saved and in storage somewhere? Or is that just a legend?

^There are parts of the facade floating around, including some pieces that Columbus Landmarks saved from the Columbus Crew stadium site. In theory, the archway is in storage somewhere also.

670 under construction in 1958. Known as the Goodale Expressway the view is from Park St looking east towards the High St bridge. The white building is gone now but the others remain. 
 

 

Goodale Expressway, then I-71 then I-670.

South Campus, 1960. A trolley bus on High St., looking south from 11th. The only thing remaining in this photo is an  apartment building at 9th and High partially hidden by the tree in the middle of the photo. Shops on High served the neighborhood, full of families at the time. A friend of mine grew up here and worked in the menswear shop on the corner in the late 70s. That’s where the Barnes and Noble is now. 
 

 

That is great, thanks!

Another way Columbus before 1960 would be totally foreign to people today.

Here is a fantastic aerial shot of Franklinton and Downtown looking southeast.  This may be one of the oldest, if not oldest, aerials of the city ever taken.  It was taken in May 1929, the same year that Columbus opened the airport.  

If you download it, you can open it larger for a lot more detail.  You can see that the riverfront wall isn't finished, that the city basically ends after Merion Village, etc.  

 

Edited February 3, 20214 yr by jonoh81

Here are some even earlier aerials, though not of the city overall.  

 

Ohio State's main campus and the old Campus armory in 1919.

 

Edited February 3, 20214 yr by jonoh81

This photo just says "Race Track", also taken in 1919.  Could this have been at the state fairgrounds?

 

Edited February 3, 20214 yr by jonoh81

Has to be the state fairgrounds. The only other race track I can think of in Columbus from that time would be Driving Park but I think even that was closed by that time for housing development.

10 minutes ago, GCrites80s said:

Has to be the state fairgrounds. The only other race track I can think of in Columbus from that time would be Driving Park but I think even that was closed by that time for housing development.

 

I'm fairly certain the Driving Park track lasted into the 1930s at least, but it never had any buildings like that.  It was pretty primitive in comparison, so yeah, probably the fairgrounds.

 

Edit: I was able to find a photo of the Driving Park track to 1929 also.  It just had a simple bandstand.

Edited February 3, 20214 yr by jonoh81

Yeah, fairgrounds. Isn't that the horse arena just east of the track? Here's the fairgrounds in 1949 with a second track.

(from ColumbusRailroads.com)

 

http://www.columbusrailroads.com/new/images/photos-wsu/wsu-49-2-1500.jpg

 

 

 

 

Cleveland Ave in Downtown Linden (sometimes referred to as Linden Heights) in 1945. The view is looking north along Cleveland Ave at Myrtle Ave. Most of the buildings still stand. I’ll bet a lot of the businesses took a hit with the construction of Northern Lights in the 1950s. The wires above are for trolley busses. The bones are still there for a resurgence - hope the City plans for the area are successful!

The photo is from the library’s historic photo archive. 
 

 

 

Here's a couple pretty cool pictures of Riffe Tower under construction around 1987.

 

 

 

And here are some unique pictures of the William Green Building and Three Nationwide Plaza under construction at the same time.

 

 

 

 

And here’s 8 on the Square under construction on 1905. View is from the Statehouse looking at Broad and High. 
 

 

State office building construction, 1931

 

 

^ That building is one of my favorite in Columbus - and it has an amazing history:

 

https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/MJC/history/

 

One more photo of it from the above website:

 

Its interior is actually better than its exterior (and I love the exterior).

When did that "New House" building on the left come down? I'm thinking early 2000s. Kind of a shame. I'd like to know more about it.

^Do you mean the Neil House hotel? It was removed for the Huntington tower in the 80s. 
 

https://www.dispatch.com/article/20120825/NEWS/308259783?template=ampart

 

Edited March 4, 20214 yr by Pablo

wow these historic pix are just awesome. good sleuthing here to find them!

On 3/3/2021 at 11:17 PM, Pablo said:

^Do you mean the Neil House hotel? It was removed for the Huntington tower in the 80s. 
 

https://www.dispatch.com/article/20120825/NEWS/308259783?template=ampart

 

 

Nope, I was thinking of the wrong building. It is the Neil House in the picture. What I was thinking of was further northeast two blocks come to think of it.

Edited March 6, 20214 yr by GCrites80s

On 3/3/2021 at 10:34 PM, ColDayMan said:

Its interior is actually better than its exterior (and I love the exterior).

 

You ain't kidding.  Check out all the interior images from the architect's website who did the renovation of the former Ohio Departments office building into the current home of the Ohio Supreme Court:  https://www.schooleycaldwell.com/supreme-court-of-ohio

 

Here's a view of the main hearing room that is now being used by the Ohio Supreme Court:

And there are many more rooms in that building that are impressive.

This is why I prefer great midewest cities to those in the new south. You just dont have much of this level of architectural interest in very many structures in those other places.

The Yukon Building in the Short North in 1984 before renovation.  And 35 years later in 2019.

1 minute ago, jonoh81 said:

The Yukon Building in the Short North in 1984 before renovation.  And 35 years later in 2019.

 

Something I never understood is why it has 1929 listed on it when it was built around 1885.  The only thing I can think of is that it is a date of significant renovation/alteration.  

Edited March 16, 20214 yr by jonoh81

West Lake in Goodale Park, around 1898.  This lake ran along the entire western side of the park between Goodale and Buttles.  It was constructed in 1891 and filled in 1953.  The boathouse building on the right was on the southern side towards Goodale.  The orientation is looking north.  If you look closely, you can see the Sells house in the left background just left of the bridge.

Edited March 17, 20214 yr by jonoh81

Oh wow. Wonder why it was filled.

17 minutes ago, GCrites80s said:

Oh wow. Wonder why it was filled.

 

I tried to find any news from the Dispatch about it that year, but couldn't find anything.  It may have been to create the ball field, though.  A small remnant pond remained near Dennison/Buttles into the mid-1960s.  

Lose that for a ball field? You can put a ball field anywhere. Wouldn't surprise me though.

3 minutes ago, GCrites80s said:

Lose that for a ball field? You can put a ball field anywhere. Wouldn't surprise me though.

 

It might not have been for that, but it's pretty clear that a ball field was there by 1957 based on aerial photos.  There may have been some issues maintaining it or considered some kind of hazard.  There was at least one story from early 1953 of some kids throwing each other in it.  

Edited March 17, 20214 yr by jonoh81

This might be Columbus' first parking garage, 1948.

 

 

This looks like the construction of the PNC tower from 1974. 

More from the 1970s.

 

Riverside Hospital under construction in 1960 looking northwest. That's Olentangy River Road bisecting the photo and West North Broadway in the lower right. Beyond Riverside are farms soon to become north Upper Arlington and the Bethel/Sawmill neighborhoods.

 

The Hyatt Regency under construction in 1979. Looking northeast at Front and Spring. All the buildings seen here are still in place but all the surface parking has been replaced with buildings. Photo from the Columbus Metropolitan Library.

 

^Everybody having to leave at the same time since there weren't parking garages.

53 minutes ago, Pablo said:

Riverside Hospital under construction in 1960 looking northwest. That's Olentangy River Road bisecting the photo and West North Broadway in the lower right. Beyond Riverside are farms soon to become north Upper Arlington and the Bethel/Sawmill neighborhoods.

 

315 didn't exist then?

6 minutes ago, TH3BUDDHA said:

315 didn't exist then?

 

Nope, it wouldn't be there for another 10 years or so.

1 minute ago, cbussoccer said:

 

Nope, it wouldn't be there for another 10 years or so.

Interesting.  I was just confused because the Wiki entry for it says it's been around since 1933.

2 minutes ago, cbussoccer said:

 

Nope, it wouldn't be there for another 10 years or so.

315 from Akerman north to 161 wasn't completed until 1984 or so

13 minutes ago, TH3BUDDHA said:

Interesting.  I was just confused because the Wiki entry for it says it's been around since 1933.

 

It was Olentangy River Road.

1 hour ago, TH3BUDDHA said:

Interesting.  I was just confused because the Wiki entry for it says it's been around since 1933.

I was referring to the limited access highway form of 315. 

On 3/16/2021 at 9:04 PM, jonoh81 said:

West Lake in Goodale Park, around 1898.  This lake ran along the entire western side of the park between Goodale and Buttles.  It was constructed in 1891 and filled in 1953.  The boathouse building on the right was on the southern side towards Goodale.  The orientation is looking north.  If you look closely, you can see the Sells house in the left background just left of the bridge.

They should bring back the lake. And I can't figure out what type of small tree is growing by the water in the middle of the pic?

6 hours ago, Toddguy said:

They should bring back the lake. And I can't figure out what type of small tree is growing by the water in the middle of the pic?

 

Based on the leaves, it's probably a Honey Locust.

9 hours ago, jonoh81 said:

 

Based on the leaves, it's probably a Honey Locust.

Thanks. That crossed my mind, but I was not sure. It sure gave an almost tropical feel to that pic. Such a shame that we do not have that today and a ballfield instead.