ABOUT THIS SITE

University District History is a site dedicated to exploring and sharing the rich and fascinating history of the neighborhoods that surround the Ohio State University campus in Columbus, Ohio.

The 2.8 square miles of the University District are home to nearly 40,000 people. Most of these people are transient residents. They come from some other city, state, or country, stay for their education for 4-6 eventful years, then leave.

A sense of a shared history is essential to building a community. To care about a place, people need a sense of belonging. They need to feel that their story is part of a larger narrative. They need to feel that the place they are in has meaning and matters in some way. They need to feel pride in the place. I believe knowing our area's history can engender these feelings and help build a community.

With so many people coming and going each year, that history isn't transmitted. That's why this site is here.

This site is a way to share the stories of these neighborhoods. This site is here to tell how this neighborhood came to be, to highlight the remarkable people, institutions, and events that have shaped this place, and to chronicle the changes that have taken place here over the decades.

D.A. Kellough

RANDOM GOOD THINGS ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY DISTRICT-SUMMERTIME

#14. Hot, dusty, sun-filled streets under a blazing blue sky.

#32. No traffic, plenty of parking, no waiting, no lines.

#21. The Ohio State Fair in walking distance

#29. Late afternoon thunderstorms that roar through like the end of the world.

#19. Amazing sunsets.

#44. Drifts of cottonwood fluff.

HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW THE UNIVERSITY DISTRICT?

So, how well do you know the University District?

Give our picture quiz a try:

Last month's picture was the N.Y.C.C.C. Railroad viaduct at E. 17th Ave. with one of the supports for the lower tracks in the foreground. The viaduct was built in 1917.

LATEST (Last updated: July 10, 2010)

DR. EDWARDS' OLIVE TABLETS (29 E. 5th Ave.)- In the early 20th century, Americans lived in fear of their colons. A University District patent medicine manufacturer rode that anxiety to a fortune.

RECENT

100 YEARS OF UNIVERSITY DISTRICT THEATERS- This summer marks the centennial of the first movies shown in the University District. These are the theaters University District audiences have enjoyed in the past century.

THE IDEAL THEATER (1145 Summit St.)- This small building was home to one of a half-dozen storefront theaters that proliferated in the University District at the dawn of motion pictures.

THE 1970 RIOTS- Protestors armed with rocks, bottles, and Molotov cocktails battled police and National Guardsmen armed with clubs, guns, and tear gas. The streets of the University District became a war zone and the neighborhood was changed forever.

REVOLUTION CORNER (Hunter at E. 10th Ave.)- Forty years ago, campus communists tried to inflame the student body with propaganda in concrete.

THE COLUMBUS ROWHOUSE- The often ignored, dismissed, and belittled Columbus Rowhouse is one of the most common housing types in the University District. Find out about this unique style and the role rowhouses have played in the neighborhood.

15,000 BC: THE UNIVERSITY DISTRICT IN THE LAST ICE AGE- With a population density that rivals Chicago and Boston, nature isn't the first thing you notice around here. Look a little though and it's still there. Look a little closer and you can still see traces of the epic forces that shaped this land thousands of years ago.

HENRY T. CHITTENDEN (Chittenden Ave.)- This 19th Century millionaire developer, streetcar tycoon, hotelier, history buff, theater impresario, and songwriter is the namesake of one of the University District's major arteries.

JAMES A. WHITE (44 E. 12th Ave.)- Just a hundred yards from UDF's Beer Barn stands the home of the architect of Ohio Prohibition.

W.H. KNAUSS (358 E. 15th Ave.)- This Civil War veteran overcame his personal animosities and risked his fortune, reputation, and life to help bind the wounds of a divided nation.

CROMWELL DIXON (221 W. 11th Ave.)- An incredible adventure story. Cromwell Dixon built an airship in his University District garage before he was 15 and went on to become a pioneer of American aviation.

THE ALHAMBRA THEATER (2159 N. High St.)- Known as The Alhambra, The World, and finally The Roxy, this theater's seven decades in business saw it show everything from the silents to hardcore porn. UPDATED, March 15.

COMING UP

TRIAL OF THE CENTURY- This Jazz Age story of sex, scandal, and murder was the biggest thing to ever hit Columbus. In the summer of 1929, the trial of Ohio State professor James Snook for the murder of his student lover Theora Hix was front-page news. Readers from coast-to-coast were entranced by the story of a fatal attraction that happened on these streets.

THE COLA, THE KLAN, AND THE DAIRY- In 1923, the Ohio Ku Klux Klan was the largest in the nation and starting to flex its muscle. When a local dairy appeared to endorse the Klan, people in the University District pushed back. Hard. The fight they waged against the Klan is still celebrated today.