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Introduction
Columbus (/kəˈlʌmbəs/, kə-LUM-bəs) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest (after Chicago), and the third-most populous U.S. state capital (after Phoenix, Arizona and Austin, Texas). Columbus is the county seat of Franklin County; it also extends into Delaware and Fairfield counties. It is the core city of the Columbus metropolitan area, which encompasses ten counties in central Ohio. It had a population of 2.139 million in 2020, making it the largest metropolitan area entirely in Ohio and 32nd-largest metro area in the U.S.
Columbus originated as numerous Native American settlements on the banks of the Scioto River. Franklinton, now a city neighborhood, was the first European settlement, laid out in 1797. The city was founded in 1812 at the confluence of the Scioto and Olentangy rivers, and laid out to become the state capital. The city was named for Italian explorer Christopher Columbus. The city assumed the function of state capital in 1816 and county seat in 1824. Amid steady years of growth and industrialization, the city has experienced numerous floods and recessions. Beginning in the 1950s, Columbus began to experience significant growth; it became the largest city in Ohio in land and population by the early 1990s. Growth has continued in the 21st century, with redevelopment occurring in numerous city neighborhoods, including Downtown. (Full article...)
Selected general articles
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Image 1
The Thomas J. Moyer Ohio Judicial Center is a state courthouse, office building, and library in Columbus, Ohio, in the city's downtown Civic Center. The building is the headquarters of the Supreme Court of Ohio, the state's highest court, as well as the Ohio Court of Claims and Ohio Judicial Conference. The judicial center is named after the court's former chief justice Thomas J. Moyer.
The building was designed by Harry Hake in the Art Deco style. It was built from 1930 to 1933, known as the Ohio Departments Building, as it first housed Ohio state departments. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990. Beginning in 2001, an extensive renovation restored the building, and set it up to be used for the Supreme Court of Ohio. The building reopened in 2004, marking the first time the court was established in a building solely for the judiciary, and the first time the building was open to the public. (Full article...) -
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Smart Columbus is an innovation organization in Columbus, Ohio. The initiative is led by the City of Columbus and the Columbus Partnership, a nonprofit organization for development in Central Ohio. Smart Columbus was founded in 2016 to utilize $50 million in grant awards toward technology, transportation, and environmental developments. (Full article...) -
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The Discovery District is a special improvement district in downtown Columbus, Ohio, the home of Columbus State Community College, Columbus College of Art and Design, Columbus Museum of Art, and Columbus Metropolitan Library. It is considered a cultural district because of its close proximity to higher educational campuses and art destinations. It was named to imply that the area is full of possibility due to the number of learning and creative campuses in this small area. "Culture, art, and academia converge and present the Discovery District." While not typically viewed as the most prominent Columbus neighborhood, the density of academic and arts-based institutions in this area are what make this creative campus unique. (Full article...) -
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Victorian Village is a neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio, United States, north and near west of downtown. It is an established neighborhood built when a streetcar line first ran along Neil Avenue around 1900 with a fair number of established trees for an urban setting. To preserve, protect and enhance the unique architectural and historical features, the Victorian Village Historic District was established in 1973. Columbus Monthly named this neighborhood the top place to live for Arts and Entertainment, with fun right around the corner in the Short North as its neighborhood hangout. (Full article...) -
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DeVry University (/dəˈvraɪ/) is a privately owned for-profit university. DeVry is predominantly an online educator but does have campuses in the United States. It was founded in 1931 by Herman A. DeVry and is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. (Full article...) -
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Columbus, Ohio has numerous municipal parks, several regional parks (part of the Metro Parks system), and privately-owned parks. The Columbus Recreation and Parks Department operates 370 parks, with a combined 13,500 acres (5,500 ha). (Full article...) -
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Capitol Square is a public square in Downtown Columbus, Ohio. The square includes the Ohio Statehouse, its 10-acre (4.0 ha) Capitol Grounds, as well as the buildings and features surrounding the square. The Capitol Grounds are surrounded to the north and west by Broad and High Streets. These are the main thoroughfares of the city since its founding. They form the city's 100 percent corner. The grounds are surrounded by 3rd Street to the east and State Street to the south. The oldest building on Capitol Square, the Ohio Statehouse, is the center of the state government and roughly in the geographic center of Capitol Square, Columbus and Ohio. (Full article...) -
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The Kelton House Museum and Garden is a Greek Revival and Italianate mansion in the Discovery District of Downtown Columbus, Ohio. The museum was established by the Junior League of Columbus to promote an understanding of daily life, customs, and decorative arts in 19th-century Columbus and to educate visitors about the Underground Railroad. (Full article...) -
Image 9The Columbus Destroyers were an Arena Football League (AFL) team based in Columbus, Ohio, with home games in Nationwide Arena. The team was founded in 1999 as the Buffalo Destroyers, based in Buffalo, New York, and relocated to Columbus in 2004. They folded along with the original incarnation of the AFL following the 2008 season, after a total of ten seasons of play.
On February 7, 2019, the AFL announced that it had placed an expansion team in Columbus and once again play at Nationwide Arena. The league announced on February 22, 2019, that the team as a re-launch of the Destroyers and revealed the new logo and Matthew Sauk as the head coach.
After the 2019 season, the AFL announced that they had suspended local business operations including the Destroyers, but were looking into become a traveling league. A month later, on November 27, 2019, the league announced that they had filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and were ceasing operations. (Full article...) -
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Whitehall is a city in the U.S state of Ohio, located 6.6 miles (10.6 km) east of the state capital of Columbus in Franklin County. Whitehall had a population of 20,127 in the 2020 census. Founded in 1947, Whitehall is a growing suburb of Columbus. Per the U.S. Census Bureau, Whitehall's population is culturally and racially diverse, with over 50% of the population identifying as black, African American, Hispanic or Latino. A further 20% of its residents speak a language other than English at home. (Full article...) -
Image 11This is a list of public school buildings in Columbus, Ohio, of historical or architectural importance to the Columbus Public School District. Items are listed by opening date. (Full article...)
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There have been 48 individuals that have served as mayor of Columbus, Ohio, serving 53 distinct mayoralties or consecutive terms in office. The first mayor of Columbus was Jarvis W. Pike. He was appointed by the Burough Council of Columbus in 1816. The first mayor of Columbus to be elected by popular vote was John Brooks in 1834. Five mayors have served non-consecutive terms. Philo H. Olmsted is counted as both the 8th and 12th mayor, Alexander Patton as both the 17th and 19th mayor, James G. Bull as both the 22nd and 24th mayor, George J. Karb as both the 30th and 39th mayor, and Jack Sensenbrenner as both the 46th and 48th mayor. Of the individuals appointed or elected as mayor, five have resigned from office - James Robinson, John Brooks, Warren Jenkins, John G. Miller, and Jim Rhodes. No mayor has died or become permanently disabled while in office. The shortest-serving former mayor is James Robinson, who served only eight months before resigning from office on September 11, 1827. The longest-serving mayor is Michael B. Coleman, who served 16 years and is the only African American to serve as mayor. Andrew Ginther is the current mayor. He took office on January 1, 2016. (Full article...) -
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The Central Ohio Fire Museum is a firefighting museum in Downtown Columbus, Ohio, housed in the former Engine House No. 16 of the Columbus Fire Department, built in 1908. It was listed on the Columbus Register of Historic Properties in 1983 and the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.
Details of the building's plans were released in September 1908, drawn by department architect A. C. Burley. The building was renamed Station No. 1 when the old Engine House No. 1 at Front and Elm streets closed. The fire station was one of several built to similar design, along with Engine House No. 14 and Engine House No. 15.
The building was completed in 1908, built as the last in the city to accommodate horse-drawn engines (the transition to motorized equipment began one year later). It was remodeled several times for larger equipment, and was closed in 1982 when the new Station No. 1 was built two blocks away. The city began leasing the station to the Central Ohio Fire Museum, which facilitated a restoration of the building's exterior in 1990. The facade's third story and decorative parapet were rebuilt, along with the top of its hose tower. New doors were added based on the original design as well. (Full article...) -
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The Oakland & Northwood Avenue Area (sometimes referred to as Northwood Park) is located in the northern University District in Columbus, Ohio and is bounded by Patterson Avenue to the north and Northwood Avenue to the south & Pearl Alley to the west and Indianola Avenue to the east . It is sometimes considered to go as far north as Blake Ave.
The Northwood & Oakland Avenue Area was settled between the early 1900s and the 1940s, making it one of the first subdivisions to be built on the then "outskirts" of the City of Columbus. The homes are traditionally American Four Square with some Classical, Prairie, Colonial, and Craftsman mixed in to create a unique tree lined neighborhood.
The neighborhood is known for its strong sense of community, large homes, beautiful gardens and brick alleys. It also has a very high percentage of owner-occupancy. (Full article...) -
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The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tree, the Ohio buckeye. The Buckeyes participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I in all sports and the Big Ten Conference in most sports. The Ohio State women's ice hockey team competes in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA). The school colors are scarlet and gray. The university's mascot is Brutus Buckeye. "THE" is the official trademark of the Ohio State University merchandise. Led by its football program, the Buckeyes have the largest overall sports endowment of any campus in North America.
Ohio State is one of only seven universities to have won an NCAA national championship in baseball and men's basketball, and be recognized as a national champion in football. Ohio State has also won national championships in women's ice hockey, men's swimming & diving, men's outdoor track & field, men's volleyball, men's golf, men's gymnastics, men's fencing, women's rowing, co-ed fencing, co-ed and women's pistol, synchronized swimming, and wrestling. Since the inception of the Athletic Director's Cup, Ohio State has finished in the top 25 each year, including top 6 finishes in three of the last five years. During the 2005–06 school year Ohio State became the first Big Ten team to win conference championships in football, men's basketball and women's basketball in the same season. This feat repeated in the 2006–07 season, which also included a February 25, 2007 men's basketball game which saw the Buckeyes defeat the Wisconsin Badgers in the Big Ten's first basketball game between the number one and number two ranked squads in the nation.
A few of the many outstanding sports figures who were student athletes at Ohio State include Jesse Owens, "The Buckeye Bullet" (track and field), John Havlicek, Jerry Lucas, and Katie Smith (basketball), Frank Howard (baseball), Jack Nicklaus (golf), Archie Griffin (football running back, the only two-time Heisman Trophy winner), and Chic Harley (three-time All-American football running back). Hall of Fame coaches at Ohio State have included Paul Brown and Woody Hayes (football), Fred Taylor (men's basketball). Notable sports figures in Ohio State history may be inducted into the Ohio State Varsity O Hall of Fame. (Full article...) -
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Clinton Township is one of the seventeen townships of Franklin County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 4,499 people in the township. (Full article...) -
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Northland is a residential and commercial area in northeast Columbus, Ohio. The area is served by the Northland Community Council, which oversees land east of Worthington, roughly north of Morse Road, south of I-270, and west of New Albany, including the neighborhood Forest Park and the independent village of Minerva Park.
The area has one of the largest populations of new American citizens in Columbus, including thousands of refugees from Nepal, Somalia, and Bhutan. (Full article...) -
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Capital University Law School is an ABA-accredited private law school located in downtown Columbus, Ohio, United States. The law school is affiliated with Capital University, the oldest university in Central Ohio and one of the oldest and largest Lutheran-affiliated universities in North America. (Full article...) -
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CoGo Bike Share is a public bicycle sharing system serving Columbus, Ohio and its suburbs. The service is operated by the bikeshare company Motivate (part of Lyft, Inc.) It was created in July 2013 with 300 bikes and 30 docking stations, since expanded to about 600 bikes and 80 stations. The service is operated in conjunction with the City of Columbus, which owns all equipment. (Full article...) -
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The current city flag of Columbus, Ohio is a yellow-white-red vertical triband with the city seal on a blue field. Officially, the flag was adopted in 1929, although it is unknown if the flag was ever flown when it was first adopted.
The city's first flag was adopted in 1912. The design consisted of the seal on a blue field. The second and current flag replaced this flag in 1929, but an unofficial flag similar to the one officially defined in legislation rose to higher prominence. Instead of a yellow, white, and red tricolor, it had a red, white, and blue tricolor. It remains unknown how this flag came to be, but after this anomaly was discovered, the city began flying the correct flag.
A redesign of the flag began in 2020. During the George Floyd protests, city mayor Andrew Ginther requested changes to the flag due to its use of imagery related to Christopher Columbus. (Full article...) -
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Columbus Museum of Art at The Pizzuti is a museum for contemporary art in Columbus, Ohio, United States. It has been part of the Columbus Museum of Art since September 2018. The three-story gallery is located in the Short North and Victorian Village neighborhoods, on the eastern edge of Goodale Park. Its exhibits rotate, featuring artists from around the world.
The museum was originally owned by the Pizzuti family, which made its wealth from the real estate firm the Pizzuti Companies. The family began collecting art in 1977, after a trip to Paris. The Pizzuti Collection opened in 2013, and had shown 16 temporary exhibits before its 2018 donation to the Columbus Museum of Art. (Full article...) -
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The Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA /ˈkoʊtə/) is a public transit agency serving the Columbus metropolitan area, headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. It operates fixed-route buses, bus rapid transit, microtransit, and paratransit services.
COTA's headquarters are located in the William J. Lhota Building in downtown Columbus. The agency is managed by President and CEO Monica Tellez-Fowler along with a 13-member board of trustees. COTA is funded by a permanent 0.25% sales tax as well as another 10-year 0.25% sales tax.
The agency was founded in 1971, replacing the private Columbus Transit Company. Mass transit service in the city dates to 1863, progressively with horsecars, streetcars, and buses. The Central Ohio Transit Authority began operating in 1974 and has made gradual improvements to its fleet and network. Its first bus network redesign took place in 2017. (Full article...) -
Image 23The Columbus Quest was a professional women's basketball franchise located in Columbus, Ohio, in the now-defunct American Basketball League (ABL). They were one of the league's original eight teams that started play in 1996. In the league's brief history, the Quest was its most successful franchise, winning both championships the league awarded.
The Quest's head coach was Brian Agler, who finished with a record of 82–22 during the team's two-plus seasons of existence. After Agler left the Quest midseason to become the head coach of the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx, the team was coached by player-coach Tonya Edwards
. Many of the Quest's players later played for the Lynx, including Edwards, Katie Smith, Andrea Lloyd-Curry, Angie Potthoff and Shanele Stires.
The Quest played their home games at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Battelle Hall. Despite being the league's most successful team, they had the league's lowest average attendance for all three years of the ABL's existence. (Full article...) -
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Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens is a botanical garden and conservatory located in Columbus, Ohio. It is open daily and an admission fee is charged. Today, it is a horticultural and educational institution showcasing exotic plant collections, special exhibitions, and Dale Chihuly artworks.
The conservatory contains more than 400 plant species. Biomes representing global climate zones include: Himalayan Mountains, Tropical Rainforest, Desert, and Pacific Island Water Garden. Additional plant collections include a Bonsai Courtyard, Showhouse with seasonal displays, orchids and tropical bonsai collections, and Palm House with more than 40 species of palms. The conservatory is set within the Franklin Park neighborhood, and surrounded by Franklin Park, the 88-acre city park of the same name.
The conservatory was built in 1895 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. It was added to the new Columbus Near East Side District in 1978. (Full article...) -
Image 25Rides at Adventure Cove is a small amusement park area that is part of and owned by the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in Powell, Ohio. The park was originally part of Wyandot Lake before the zoo purchased the property in 2006, splitting it into two separate sections after the 2006 season. The water park became known as Zoombezi Bay while the dry ride area became Jungle Jack's Landing. The amusement park was named after zoo director emeritus Jack Hanna and opened on May 26, 2008. It debuted with 14 rides and attractions, several of which were retained from the former Wyandot Lake. In 2020, the Jungle Jack's Landing name was dropped with the amusement park area being renamed to tie into the neighboring Adventure Cove area of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium which opened for the first time on the same year. (Full article...)
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Selected images
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Image 1Map of land surveys and city boundary growth, 1812–1920 (from History of Columbus, Ohio)
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Image 2Municipal offices, including the Columbus Division of Police Headquarters, in the city's Civic Center (from Columbus, Ohio)
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Image 6Eastern side of Olentangy Commons (from Neighborhoods in Columbus, Ohio)
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Image 7Camp Chase as it stands today, a memorial to fallen soldiers from the American Civil War. (from Neighborhoods in Columbus, Ohio)
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Image 8Racial distribution in Columbus in 2010: ⬤ White ⬤ Black ⬤ Asian ⬤ Hispanic ⬤ Other (from Columbus, Ohio)
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Image 11The Merion Village arch (from Neighborhoods in Columbus, Ohio)
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Image 12The Santa Maria Ship & Museum, a Santa María replica, was docked downtown from 1991 to 2014. (from Columbus, Ohio)
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Image 131954 urban renewal map of Columbus (from List of demolished buildings and structures in Columbus, Ohio)
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Image 19The LeVeque Tower was the tallest building in Columbus from 1927 to 1973. (from List of tallest buildings in Columbus, Ohio)
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Image 21The Pontifical College Josephinum (1888-1931) (from List of demolished buildings and structures in Columbus, Ohio)
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Image 22Barlouie (from Neighborhoods in Columbus, Ohio)
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Image 23Locations of numbered streets and avenues (from Columbus, Ohio)
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Image 25Victorian-style homes located along Goodale Park (from Neighborhoods in Columbus, Ohio)
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Image 26Aerial satellite image of Columbus (from Columbus, Ohio)
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Image 28Four of the city's five tallest buildings are around Capitol Square (from List of tallest buildings in Columbus, Ohio)
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Image 29Home in Old Oaks (from Neighborhoods in Columbus, Ohio)
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Image 33Taylor House on Bethel Rd. (from Neighborhoods in Columbus, Ohio)
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Image 35Bird's eye view map of Columbus in 1872 (from History of Columbus, Ohio)
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Image 38Audubon nature center at Scioto Audubon Metro Park, the first built close to a major city's downtown (from Columbus, Ohio)
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Image 40Holy Rosary and Saint John Church (from Neighborhoods in Columbus, Ohio)
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Image 42Lou Berliner Sports Park (from List of parks in Columbus, Ohio)
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Image 44Ohio Stadium, on the campus of Ohio State University, is the 5th-largest non-racing stadium in the world. (from Columbus, Ohio)
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Image 492010 Census-based map: red dots indicate white Americans, blue dots for African Americans, green for Asian Americans, orange for Hispanic Americans, yellow for other races. Each dot represents 25 residents. (from Neighborhoods in Columbus, Ohio)
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Image 50Homes in German Village (from Neighborhoods in Columbus, Ohio)
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Image 51The historic Lincoln Theatre (from Neighborhoods in Columbus, Ohio)
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Image 52Located in the Arena District, McFerson Commons is home to the Union Station arch. (from Columbus, Ohio)
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Image 54Aerial view of Reeb-Hosack (from Neighborhoods in Columbus, Ohio)
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Image 55Bird's eye view map of Columbus in 1872 (from Columbus, Ohio)
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Image 56COSI (east entrance pictured) features themed, interactive science exhibits. (from Columbus, Ohio)
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Image 57Big Run Sports Complex, in Big Run Park (from Neighborhoods in Columbus, Ohio)
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Image 58Italian Village rowhouse (from Neighborhoods in Columbus, Ohio)
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Image 59Dutch Colonial Style residences in Hungarian Village (from Neighborhoods in Columbus, Ohio)
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Image 61The Columbus Museum of Art collects and exhibits American and European modern and contemporary art, folk art, glass art, and photography. (from Columbus, Ohio)
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Image 64I-71, part of the innerbelt around downtown, bridged by numerous overpasses (from Columbus, Ohio)
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Image 65The city in 1936 (from Columbus, Ohio)
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Image 69Arcade of the third Union Station, the city's rail station from 1897 to 1977 (from Columbus, Ohio)
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Image 70Skyline of Columbus (Use cursor to identify buildings) (from List of tallest buildings in Columbus, Ohio)
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Image 71The Scioto Mile includes nine parks along both banks of the Scioto River between downtown Columbus and Franklinton. (from Columbus, Ohio)
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Image 72Old North Columbus Arch (from Neighborhoods in Columbus, Ohio)
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Image 74The city c. 1924 (from History of Columbus, Ohio)
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Image 77Map of the Ohio Country between 1775 and 1794, depicting locations of battles and massacres surrounding the area that would eventually become Ohio (from History of Columbus, Ohio)
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Image 78The iconic arches of the Short North (from Neighborhoods in Columbus, Ohio)
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Image 79Brewery District Scene (from Neighborhoods in Columbus, Ohio)
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Image 80St. Mary Magdalene Church in Westgate (from Neighborhoods in Columbus, Ohio)
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Image 81Hungarian Reform Church, in Hungarian Village (from Neighborhoods in Columbus, Ohio)
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Image 85Map of the Ohio Country between 1775 and 1794, depicting locations of battles and massacres surrounding the area that would eventually become the U.S. state of Ohio (from Columbus, Ohio)
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Image 87Historic Home in Harrison West (from Neighborhoods in Columbus, Ohio)
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Image 88Hilltop signage (from Neighborhoods in Columbus, Ohio)
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Image 90Columbus in 1936 (from History of Columbus, Ohio)
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