The last of the "Villages" to the south is Hungarian Village just south of Merion Village.

 

MAP

 

Furthest south is Reeb-Hosack.

 

MAP

 

First up is Hungarian Village which is basically a couple stretches of nice, well-kept homes. Nothing spectacular. There is, however, a Hungarian church here which is quite unique and really stands out. As is usual with the south side, the commercial corridors are have becom car-oriented: victims of urban renewal, suburbanization/car culture, and neglect in varying degrees.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now for the church.

 

 

 

 

Couple shots of Parsons.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reeb-Hosack is one of those neighborhoods that makes you ask if you're in Columbus, the 15th largest city in the country. It feels and looks like a place that is 100 miles from German Village: not a mere one mile. Homes are mostly wood framed and the neighborhood was built on industry to the south which has been evaporating and the effects can be seen. Grafitti tags are visible:a sign of ongoing decline. But the neighborhood is distinct and has its own character and you know when you've crossed over. The Dispatch even did a story on the neighborhood and there's a short video included (use IE).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looks like there's at least some new builds in the area.

 

 

Kitchen now open!

 

 

 

Gets a little smelly down south.

 

 

Cute, and they bike.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They even have a crosswalk here so that neighbors across the street can stumble back with the right of way. My street has one of the best vegan restaurants in the country and also has a bar across the street. No crosswalk. I find this city confusing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spoke with the nice lady who takes care of these cats by buying them food and a place with a view.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Native American Indian Center of Central Ohio? Wha!? Always bound to be surprised when you venture out of the main neighborhoods.

 

 

So that is what's south of German Village. If nothing else, it was interesting!

Well done!

Somewhat interesting...

I've passed by this area for years (since I was a wee lad) and had no idea there were so many nice neighborhoods south of Interstates 70/71...

"Beer Rocks

Drink It

 

Happy Hour

11am - 7 pm"

 

Looks like a neighborhood where happy hour is a full time job!

Excellent photos of an overlooked little area, also known as Steelton years ago.  There was a sizeable Czech community living in the area who have since moved to greener pastures as the neighborhood changed.  My parents belonged to St. Ladislas church for many years, and drove miles to go there.  I always found it depressing. 

 

 

 

Columbusite... the Undisputed King of South Coumbus!  You gotta round off this tour eventually with a trip to the Ohio Deli for a famous dagwood sandwich.

Wow I am so impressed that Columbus still has a Hungarian neighborhood still intact.  I know that the Cleveland area has the largest concentration of Hungarians outside of Budapest but the neighborhood is not intact.  I believe it is somewhere on the east side in the Buckeye neighborhood.  Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

But yea great post!

Wait is there still a large Hungarian population in the neighborhood?

I'm guessing just enough for the church. I did see an old lady driving a car who was wearing one of those head coverings.

 

^^You're talking the far south side. The next neighborhood across the tracks and south of SR 104 is Scioto Southland (pdf) which extends to 270. Their own website even has a flash intro . I'm certainly not against covering it, especially since I haven't had the Dagwood yet (as featured on Man vs Food). The tricky part is getting there since I basically bike everywhere. I can see what the traffic and roads looks like to gauge if it's reasonable to cross into here. Otherwise it'd be a bus 'n bike venture. Even then it's a huge area, so I'll have to do some research first. The homes, however, are largely post WWII/yucky/bland, so there'll be little of that.

I wish there were more of this in Columbus. Love it!

If I recall right there is a big foundry or metals plant where Parsons crosses the railroad?  This is one of those areas where one realizes Cols had an industrial past.

 

Wow I am so impressed that Columbus still has a Hungarian neighborhood still intact.

 

 

Yeah, same here.

 

And Czechs, too, at one time (as has been noted).  I guess St Ladislas has closed by now?

 

(and I like those Reeb-Hossack doubles)

 

 

I think that 4, 6 and 10 have done a good job of erasing the names of neighborhoods across town. They just say East Side, South Side etc. while news in other cities actually give the neighborhoods' names, no matter how obscure they are. The only name I recognized was Merion Village -- and I don't think they even say that one on the news.

I went to grade school at St Leo's and my brother went to St Ladislas.  I can tell you honestly I despised every second I spent in that neighborhood.

 

That being said, my parents loved it and spent 27 years running a food pantry out of St Lads to feed the poor.  They lived about 5 or so miles further south, but would drive in daily until their deaths in 2000.  I only lived in the area for 4 years, but can  say they were the worst 4 years of my life. 

 

 

 

 

^Rough neighborhood?

It was rough then and redneck to the core.  An uneasy mix of eastern European, newly urbanized appallachian immigrants, die hard south siders and down and outs.  The stretch between Hosack and Corr Road was an unbelievable mess.  Urban mismanagement, bad planning, blight and neglect at its worst.  I remember a talk given by an urban planner when I was at Ohio State who described the area as America at its very worst.  That was over 30 years ago.

 

To top it off, the former Buckeye Steel Castings was the biggest eyesore ever...with a factory whose walls were tumbling onto the street, a sidewalk which had not been repaired in probably 50 years, etc. etc.  It was just a big old f'ing mess.

 

Prompted me to leave and never look back. As much as I love the rest of Columbus, these images will always stick in my head and will always prevent me from ever calling Columbus home again.  Was worse than a rough neighborhood.....to say it was a slum would be far to nice.

I actually think Spike's memory is good one to keep in mind, throughout UrbanOhio, because we tend to fetishize a certain kind of post-industrial neighborhood. A lot of these places weren't very nice to live in and while we are sad about the loss of a certain kind of physical environment it is important to remember that even 30 years the condition of the built environment was far less sanitized than it is today. Our tolerance for chaos and disorder dropped dramatically over the last 30 years. We may look back to it as a Golden Age of sorts as the economic problems cause disinvestment in the physical environment.

Unfortunately, the "cure" was suburbia. There needs to be a middle ground--something I hope the forces of gentrification can keep in perspective.

Much of Columbus is a city I could never imagine living in. If you stray from the great neighborhoods, much of the city is in and has been in a serious state of disrepair despite all annexations. They're not seeing much, if any, of the money that has come from it. I think this applies to American cities in general and I also wonder about how the impact of the removal of a transit system that once connected all corners of this city together may have contributed to the isolationism of certain mentalities and cultures within neighborhoods far removed from the liberalism and acceptance of places like Victorian Village.

 

Hell, in Reeb-Hosack there was a carryout I wanted to snap, but there were some street toughs, so I wasn't going to point my camera in their direction, there were also "Blue Aces" graffiti tags on numerous buildings, and a home with a $5,000 reward for those involved in the arson.

 

The problem with gentrification is that inferior aspects of sub-cultures, whether it be acquiescence of violence, homophobia, vandalism, etc is that they are not confronted, they are merely pushed to a different location. But that's the easier way out. I don't think all of our neighborhoods need to look like the Short North nor would I want them to, but there's no reason our not-so-great neighborhoods shouldn't at least be somewhat healthy, functional, and places where people have some neighborhood pride.

I actually think Spike's memory is good one to keep in mind, throughout UrbanOhio, because we tend to fetishize a certain kind of post-industrial neighborhood. A lot of these places weren't very nice to live in and while we are sad about the loss of a certain kind of physical environment it is important to remember that even 30 years the condition of the built environment was far less sanitized than it is today. Our tolerance for chaos and disorder dropped dramatically over the last 30 years. We may look back to it as a Golden Age of sorts as the economic problems cause disinvestment in the physical environment.

 

For me its maybe more nostalgia as I can recall Chicago versions of these places before everyone moved to suburbia and the factorys all shut down.

 

 

I actually think Spike's memory is good one to keep in mind, throughout UrbanOhio, because we tend to fetishize a certain kind of post-industrial neighborhood. A lot of these places weren't very nice to live in and while we are sad about the loss of a certain kind of physical environment it is important to remember that even 30 years the condition of the built environment was far less sanitized than it is today. Our tolerance for chaos and disorder dropped dramatically over the last 30 years. We may look back to it as a Golden Age of sorts as the economic problems cause disinvestment in the physical environment.

 

In Columbus, the problems are more complicated and some neighborhoods were doomed from the start. Columbus had and still has, serious grading and storm water management issues. I invite you to drive down Sullivant Ave. after the worst storm of any given year. It isn't pretty. Unless you're driving an SUV, you could easily get stuck in water. I remember coming back from Cincinnati and getting off on Broad street and traffic was grid locked for miles because of the storm. I grew up in a neighborhood that had no incentive to build nice houses or spur economic development because they were constantly damaged by flooding. I lived in Franklinton and remember our basement would flood constantly. I agree with what you said, inhabiting a place and living under the average person's conditions is different than looking from the outside. For me, it wasn't an urban paradise growing up, it was a place where we had roaches, our basement flooded nonstop and I got my @ss kicked walking to the store. I honestly wouldn't care if the whole neighborhood was razed and obliterated. It'll happen eventually anyway, at least the portion closest to downtown/ mt. carmel hospital.

 

Unfortunately, the "cure" was suburbia. There needs to be a middle ground--something I hope the forces of gentrification can keep in perspective.

 

Check out some Cincinnati Over the Rhine threads. People moving into the gentrifying Over the Rhine are shaking in their boots over a labor agency moving in. Suburban peace and tranquility will be converted to urban peace and tranquility - they'll just acquire different, more innovative security measures.

 

BTW, Thanks for the tour Columbusite. These are great pics.

 

I don't know why but I hate these roofs.

 

 

 

I love the other styles though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was rough then and redneck to the core. An uneasy mix of eastern European, newly urbanized appallachian immigrants, die hard south siders and down and outs. The stretch between Hosack and Corr Road was an unbelievable mess. Urban mismanagement, bad planning, blight and neglect at its worst. I remember a talk given by an urban planner when I was at Ohio State who described the area as America at its very worst. That was over 30 years ago.

 

To top it off, the former Buckeye Steel Castings was the biggest eyesore ever...with a factory whose walls were tumbling onto the street, a sidewalk which had not been repaired in probably 50 years, etc. etc. It was just a big old f'ing mess.

 

Prompted me to leave and never look back. As much as I love the rest of Columbus, these images will always stick in my head and will always prevent me from ever calling Columbus home again. Was worse than a rough neighborhood.....to say it was a slum would be far to nice.

 

When you lived there were they first generation Hungarians? Appalachian redneck factory workers and a new influx of Hungarians.. I bet they welcomed those Hungarians with open arms lol

 

There's still a lot of migrants in Columbus (Mexican and Somalian) but people are a lot more desensitized now when it comes to outsiders, I think. I always see Somalians in libraries with text books and calculators. A lot of them also go to community college here. I guess coming from those horrible conditions in your home country will make you determined take advantage of opportunities here.

Toledo has similar flooding problems especially along Airport Highway. Sometimes great neighborhoods collapse even though they have plenty of amenities (traditional racist white flight did that to a lot of neighborhoods esp. Jewish ones), but more often poorly located or built neighborhoods never really get escape velocity and become nice neighborhoods. It will soon become clear who the winners and losers are in terms of neighborhoods in the city and the suburbs because much of the real estate enticement going on will help the winners win more and losers will fall further behind. Well located but down on their 'hoods will come through, but poorly located or flood prone or what have you 'hoods will fall ever more prey to the forces disinvestment.

Wait is there still a large Hungarian population in the neighborhood?

 

I don't think so. I haven't seen any noticeable Hungarian businesses or bakeries/restaurants in this area, so the Hungarian culture has probably been decimated. Most of the Hungarian businesses were torn down and those streets were suburbanized. The commercial district was completely leveled, and I bet that's around the same time the enclave quit functioning as much of an enclave. That's typical of most small enclaves like this. It was never large in the first place, but what it did have was special. And like most special places, it was torn down to make way for suburbanization.

 

The immigrants willingly move out eventually, just as any upwardly mobile resident moves out.

 

Hell, most Ohioans still have never even heard of it (but they'd love it if they tried it). It's all the good of Adderral with fewer side effects. In Ohio, it carries the same penalites as cocaine or heroin. Sorry, but a natural version of Adderral is nothing like heroin.

 

 

Well the fact that a drug is 'natural' doesn't necessarily make it any better than a synthetic drug. Opium is natural and it contains morphine and codeine.

 

I know about Khat but I've never tried it. I tried Kratom, actually a really effective painkiller/anti-anxiety plant that is perfectly legal right now but not in the country it's harvested in. You know, drugs are only scheduled when they become a problem in the community. Law responds to social changes, it doesn't cause them. I can see how, for instance, if Somalians were being pulled over by police and Khat were found, it would cause a sort of 'moral panic' similar to Mexicans and marijuana. Drug laws have more to do with cultural attitude than addiction potential, severity of withdrawal, social cost, etc. There is some hostility towards Somalians here.. you often hear complaints about how they don't have to pay taxes (I'm not sure if that's even true) but I admire them for working hard to better themselves. Hell, that is what America is supposed to stand for and you don't see non-immigrants going out of their way to study at the library - unless they go for the internet access. The Somalians came from rough social/ecomomic/political conditions, they're just trying to move up. Columbus is probably a weird dynamic for them though. The vastness and density of large cities has always been a way for immigrants to go unnoticed, which is kind of comforting because there's the feeling that people can't get at you, while you're clearly a stranger that people know nothing about. But since the majority of the old city of Columbus is gentrified the majority of immigrants are in the cheap decaying suburbs and they're not exactly a Cosmopolis.

Am feeling a big guilty that I was so overwhelmingly negative.  My parents adored that neighborhood and poured all their energies into it for years.  Of course, for them it was a work of love.  When they started attending St. Lads in the mid-sixties there were still lots of Hungarians and Czechs, but they were gradually moving further and futher away from the area, as was the case with the original Germans of German Village. A bit of prosperity and people no longer want a house with no central heating and a leaking roof. And they wanted to shop somewhere nicer than Schottensteins.

 

It is a shame that the ethnic part of the neighborhood no longer exists, but it wasn't as cohesive as many other ethnic enclaves in the state.  It was already quite diluted by the sixties.

 

 

But since the majority of the old city of Columbus is gentrified the majority of immigrants are in the cheap decaying suburbs and they're not exactly a Cosmopolis.

 

Have to disagree with this here. I'd say the majority is un-gentrified. From Weinland Park to Hilltop to Linden to various south side and near east side neighborhoods, they compromise a larger urban area than what has been gentrified. This is why I'm baffled that immigrants haven't come into these neighborhoods whereas in other cities they would and have. It's not like the Northland or Westland areas are prosperous suburbs: they're dumpy and deteriorating.

I meant closer to downtown.

 

Now that you mention it, it is strange that they didn't settle in some of those areas like Weinland Park, Hilltop. I wonder why they chose the neighborhoods/municipalities they did. They do seem to be setting up shop in cheap shopping centers. Maybe that's why. God knows Westland Mall is a cheap place to do business.

 

I meant closer to downtown.

 

Now that you mention it, it is strange that they didn't settle in some of those areas like Weinland Park, Hilltop. I wonder why they chose the neighborhoods/municipalities they did. They do seem to be setting up shop in cheap shopping centers. Maybe that's why. God knows Westland Mall is a cheap place to do business.

 

Bingo. Example: the insanely ethnic strip malls along Cleveland Ave. in Minerva Park. As much as I hate to say it, a lot of those bizarre little bazaars wouldn't fly along Broad in Hilltop. But put lots of easy parking out front, and it's subsistence city, baby.

Yes, they are cheap, but far from anything else and totally car-dependent. In other cities where ethnic enclaves set up shop near a downtown they attract local visitors from other neighborhoods and even tourists. Over here it doesn't seem like they're attracting people to businesses in these locations, so they have to be supported by locals. It's just too much effort to go out to "Little Mexico" or "Little Somalia".

 

These south side neighborhoods, though most are rougher, have potential for some degree of urban revitalization if only the city would start rebuilding stretches of the commercial corridors in these areas. To a certain extent I think the lack of buildings in which to set up a business has probably served as a deterrent. I will say that S. 4th St which is a straight shot from Schiller Park down to Hosack St. could easily be converted into a bike boulevard or complete street (the city already installed numerous curb extensions) and encourage an improvement in the handful of businesses located along that stretch while also increasing property value.

Immigrant merchants cater to their countrymen first and everybody else second. Besides the fact Minerva Park has decent mass transit access (Cleveland Ave.), nobody gets a $200 junker running like an immigrant.

You're right on both points. And the #1 on Cleveland looks like it has better service than the #10 for W. Broad. Waited for the #10 one day to do Westgate and it didn't show up. I think I'll focus on the south side later, since I have ADD when it comes to choosing areas to cover, but they will be covered, even though the ones on the eastern end look less than ho-hum. I'll try my best though.

Glad I'm not the only one who has had trouble in the #10. Actually, no. I'm not glad. That sucks. #1 runs real good though.

Just posted this article in the Random Columbus Developments Thread.  Pretty nice revitalization story for the neighborhood.  Hope it works out.  Although, if I were the headline writer, I would've wrote "HIBERIAN HAVEN IN HUNGARIAN VILLAGE". :wink:

 

 

Hibernian Haven

Irish-Catholic fraternal group celebrating St. Patrick's Day in new headquarters

Tuesday,  March 17, 2009 - 3:14 AM

By Jeffrey Sheban, The Columbus Dispatch

 

A new home for an old fraternal organization will give some Irishmen twice the reason to toast this St. Patrick's Day. 

 

For the first time since 2001, a central Ohio chapter of the Ancient Order of Hibernians has a permanent hall to mark the holiday.  The group, which supports Roman Catholic causes mainly in Northern Ireland, found its pot of gold when member Jim Fath, riding his bike, happened upon an abandoned bar on the South Side.

 

Fath spent months with other members, including police officers and firefighters, restoring the latest incarnation of Tara Hall, which opened Friday at 274 E. Innis Ave.

 

The organization lost the previous Tara Hall, at 195 E. Main St., to a dispute with the property owners.  Ever since, it has borrowed and rented space to share its culture, its music and a pint of beer.

 

"We've been on the lookout for several years for a permanent location," said J.D. Richardson, an officer with the Patrick Pearse division of the Hibernians.  "This is pretty much a lucky find for us."

 

The chapter's new neighbors could use some of its good fortune: Dotted with vacant homes, the Reeb-Hosack/ Hungarian Village area has been plagued in recent months by suspicious fires.

 

One area resident has high hopes, she said -- even though she couldn't tell a Hibernian from a "low bernian."

 

"As long as it ain't rowdy, I don't care what it is," said Alice, a neighbor across the street from the former Village Pub who didn't want to give her last name.  The three-story brick building, she said, had become a drain on the community.  Squatters were living upstairs when the Hibernians arrived in October.

 

Tara Hall -- a reference to the Hill of Tara, the seat of the kings of Ireland until the sixth century -- will host live bands (the Hooligans were featured on opening weekend) and dancing.  And alcohol will continue to be served in the old saloon, to a select group.

 

Full membership is limited to Catholic men of Irish descent for $30 a year, with social memberships available to others -- men and women 16 and older -- for $10 a year (or, to accommodate St. Patrick's Day revelers, $5 for March only).  A social member must be invited by a full member.

 

Any member of the Catholic clergy is allowed a full membership, while a sister organization -- the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians -- has similar membership requirements along with full access to the building.

 

"We're not exclusionary," Richardson said. "We want people to join us."

 

The group, which had 360 full members and 2,000 social members before losing its previous Tara Hall, plans to collect trash and pursue service projects with schools and church organizations.

 

Hibernians are tied to a worldwide society, which was formed in the 16th century in Ireland to protect Catholic priests and the church from persecution by British rulers. 

 

With discrimination against Irish Catholics pretty much a nonissue these days, U.S. chapters focus most outreach efforts overseas -- primarily in Northern Ireland.

 

Yet attention is paid to nearby groups and causes, including the Holy Family Soup Kitchen as well as the St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry, connected with St. Ladislas Catholic Church on Reeb Avenue.

 

"The neighbors are slowly finding out who we are," Richardson said.

 

"They say the Eskimos have 100 words for snow.  Well, the Irish have 100 words for camaraderie and friendship."

 

Ed Norris, left, and Pete Havens install a backbar in the Ancient Order of Hibernians hall on E. Innis Avenue.

 

 

 

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/life/stories/2009/03/17/1_ANCIENT_ORDER_-_st._paddys.ART_ART_03-17-09_D1_DMD6S7O.html?sid=101

But what good is the crosswalk now if it's not for the inebriated to stumble across the street? Good news though! Keep it up, Reeb-Hosack/Steelton!