columbus ohio - june 10, 2006

Columbus, Ohio - June 10, 2006

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I arrived in Columbus early Friday afternoon, and after checking into my motel, drove downtown to look around. I took a parking place on Front Street in the Brewery District and set out on foot for the two hours maximum allowed on the parking meter.

My first reaction upon seeing the Brewery District was, "Look at all the bricks!" As the weekend went on, I learned that applies to much of Columbus.

Ohio State Supreme Court.

LeVeque Tower, completed in 1927, was the tallest building in Columbus at 555 feet until the Rhodes State Office Tower was completed in 1973

Columbus City Hall.

Construction of the Ohio State House began on July 4, 1839 with the ceremonial laying of the cornerstone. The structure would be completed much later, in 1861. Prison labor from the Ohio Penitentiary was used to construct the foundation and ground floors of the building. Objections from skilled tradesmen, who felt they were losing out on good-paying jobs, brought about changes in hiring practices for the remainder of the building.

I returned to my parking place in the Brewery District via the edge of German Village. I got there with three minutes to spare on the meter, drove across the river to a new parking spot behind COSI, and took off on foot again.

This deteriorated but handsomely-designed Art Deco bridge, cclosed to traffic and fenced off to pedestrians ...

... makes me think of how a bridge was integrated into White River State Park, in Indianapolis.

"514 Years Social Oppression"
And you expect to make it better by spray-painting other people's property?

Forgive us our trespasses on railroad property.

An industrial remnant being assimilated.

Laborers' Union Hall, Alum Creek Road.

The rockin' City Center Mall. I thought I might hang out here until time to go to the State House for the meet, but the excitement proved too much for me.

Columbus Public Schools graduation ceremonies were taking place at the Ohio Theatre, and the esplanade and the area under the marquee were filling up with gaduates and their friends and families.

The lanterns at the State House entrances are functioning gas lights.

Let the festivities begin - or as someone called it, the Columbus Death March. By one account, those who stuck with it to the end tallied about eight miles.

Burnham Arch, the only surviving remnant of Daniel Burnham's Columbus Union Station. The destruction of that historic treasure gave birth to the historic preservation movement that has enriched many of the neighborhoods.