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‘Background Info’ Category

Wondering who these people are?

Tuesday, October 7th, 2008

The people at the top of my banner, I mean. Well, I am wondering too. I believe this is the Hollenback family (the family that started The Booster, and who lived on High Street) but I have been unable to confirm who the pictures are of, or where the photos were taken.

Historical Maps

Sunday, October 5th, 2008

Maptech’s collection of historical maps is one of my favorite resources for old USGS topographic maps.

It’s a bit tricky to use. All the scanned maps are in quarters. I usually start with the town index (not the quad index) and work my way through the four quarters of the quad map until I find the area I’m interested in. Buildings, schools, and churches are indicated.

How did I decide?

Friday, August 1st, 2008

I’ve received a few questions about how I went about collecting photographs for my Clintonville and Beechwold book—and why I left some subjects out. Here’s my process. I began by identifying and contacting all the churches and schools in Clintonville. Some churches, like Crestview Presbyterian, had no photographs; others did not, for one reason or another, return my calls. I also hung flyers around town requesting photographs, and spoke with local merchants. I notified The Booster, This Week in Clintonville and several alumni newsletters; both newspapers and several newsletters ran articles about my project. I held open scanning sessions at Clintonville Historical Society meetings and at the Whetstone Branch of the Columbus Metropolitan Library. I researched history and made lots calls to families and businesses that had a hand in creating Clintonville’s history. And so on…

Clintonville on Registers of Historic Places

Friday, August 1st, 2008

These are the Clintonville places that are presently listed on the National Register of Historic Places:

  • Berry, Richard Jr., House (Also known as Tomko House)
    324 East North Broadway, Columbus
  • Coe, Truman and Sylvia Bull, House
    75 E. Lakeview Ave., Columbus
  • Glen Echo Historic District
    Roughly bounded by Glen Echo Ravine, Big Four RR tracks, Indianola Ave., and Hudson St., Columbus
  • Hamilton, Gilbert H., House
    290 Cliffside Dr., Columbus
  • North High School (Also known as North Adult Education Center High School)
    100 Arcadia Ave., Columbus
  • Old Beechwold Historic District
    Roughly bounded by W. Jeffrey Pl., N. High, River Park Dr., and Olentangy Blvd.

(I realize Glen Echo neighborhood and the Gilbert Hamilton house are not quite in Clintonville but they are so close, I included them in this list.)

In addition, the following two places are listed on the Columbus Register of Historic Properties:

  • Northmoor Engine House
    3601 N. High Street, Columbus
  • Weisheimer House
    286 W. Weisheimer Rd., Columbus

Clintonville in the Ohio Historical Markers Program

Friday, August 1st, 2008

At present Clintonville has 3 historical markers that are on the Ohio Historical Markers Program.

I am aware of one additional marker in Clintonville, located near the Clintonville Women’s Club and shown here. I believe this marker was moved to its present location from the northeast corner of North Broadway and North High Streets in 1971, and was moved to make way for a gas station at that corner.

There may be others and if so I would love to learn about them.

Wouldn’t it be nice to see more of Clintonville’s history told via these markers? For starters, here is a list of possibilities (in no particular order):

  • Site of Olentangy Park
  • Site of Olentangy Bowling Alley, reputed to be the first automatic pin-setting machine
  • Site of Virginia Gay Home
  • Site of old Columbus Zoo
  • Clinton Chapel at 3100 North High Street
  • Cemetery at Clinton Chapel
  • Site of first (original) Clintonville Post Office (see marker above)
  • Site of Bill Moose encampment and cabin
  • Site of Beers Mill
  • Site of Weisheimer Mill
  • Site of Wyandot Country Club aka Elks Country Club (now the property of the School for the Deaf)
  • Site of old Beechwold Theatre
  • Studio 35

Applications for markers flow through the Ohio Historical Markers Program, Ohio Historical Society. A 2008 Dispatch article stated that markers cost as much as $2150, and that the Ohio Historical Society’s Marker program provides grants of $750 to 20 proposals each year.

Wish list for photographs

Friday, August 1st, 2008

My wish list for photographs (an ongoing list):

  • Bliss College
  • Bowling Alley at Graceland
  • Bowling alley on High Street between Oakland Park and Dunedin
  • Broadway Canoe Club
  • Clinton League’s tennis courts on Dunedin
  • Clintonville Bridge Club
  • Clintonville Lumber Company
  • Columbus Canoe Club (on Orchard)
  • Cyro’s Market
  • Ferrill’s at Graceland
  • Fleming’s Book Store at Graceland
  • Florence Restaurant (advertised in 1927 as being “Clintonville’s Best and Most Popular Eating Place,” at 3274-76 North High)
  • Gratziano’s Market
  • Hansen’s Bakeries
  • Indiaoaka Service Station
  • Jimmy’s Drugstore (AKA Kinnairds)
  • Murry’s, the IGA where Weiland’s Market is today
  • Whip’s Vegetable Garden, at 4558 North High Street, at “Mill Road” (Weisheimer Road today)

Clintonville’s Historic Inventories

Friday, August 1st, 2008

Historic Inventories are brief “snapshot” assessments of buildings to determine whether the buildings are of historic interest. Just 1 or 2 pages in length, an inventory is intended to provide a brief description of the location, background, and architecture of a building, site, structure, or object of architectural or historical significance.

The inventories have been written by students or by dedicated residents such as those in the Old Beechwold area, under the auspices of the Ohio Historical Society Historic Preservation Office. (The Beechwold residents did an especially terrific job of inventorying their neighborhood.) For more information about Ohio Historic Inventory Program, click here.

I’ve made a map of the places in Clintonville that have been inventoried; click on the thumbnail to the right to see it.

Linked below, in PDF format, are the historic-inventories for buildings in Clintonville as of July 2008.

Old Beechwold:
4765 North High, aka “the Gatekeeper’s House,” and also this version
4475 North High
177 West Jeffrey Place
30 West Beechwold
62 West Beechwold
80 West Beechwold
100 West Beechwold, and also this version
150 West Beechwold
209 West Beechwold
4783 Olentangy Blvd
4793 Olentangy Blvd
4805 Olentangy Blvd
4817 Olentangy Blvd and also this version
4820 Olentangy Blvd
4827 Olentangy Blvd
4831 Olentangy Blvd
4837 Olentangy Blvd
4935 Olentangy Blvd
23 West Riverview Park
75 West Riverview Park
81 West Riverview Park
121 Riverview Park
197 Riverview Park
157 Rustic Bridge
222 Rustic Bridge
4787 Rustic Bridge
4795 Rustic Bridge
4857 Rustic Bridge
4866 Rustic Bridge
4876 Rustic Bridge
4 West Royal Forest
52 West Royal Forest
91 West Royal Forest
115 West Royal Forest
128 West Royal Forest
201 West Royal Forest

North Broadway:
65 East North Broadway
77 East North Broadway
150 East North Broadway
155 East North Broadway
162 East North Broadway
177 East North Broadway
456 East North Broadway
489 East North Broadway

Elsewhere in Clintonville:
3119 North High
3377-3381 North High (Clinton Theatre)
3783 North High
3535 North High
149 East Kelso
45 East Crestview
238 Crestview
129-131 West Weber
259 Walhalla
334 Walhalla
224 East California
91 West Longview
191 West Delphi
163 Kenworth
203 Kenworth
265 Kenworth
285 Kenworth
289 Kenworth
629a Oakland Park
645 Oakland Park
189 Northmoor
3624 Weston Place
214 Arden (a Lustron home)
100 Webster Park
213 Webster Park
7 West Henderson (Maple Grove Church)
45 Weisheimer
239 Weisheimer
286 Weisheimer

And (technically) just south of Clintonville:
100 Arcadia (Old North High School)
Glen Echo United Presbyterian Church
290 Cliffside Dr
17 West Dodridge
44 West Dodridge and 44 West Dodridge
96-98 East Dodridge

Locations in Clintonville & Beechwold Book

Friday, August 1st, 2008

Several people mentioned to me that they’d used my Clintonville and Beechwold book as a driving tour of Clintonville. To make it more convenient to do so, here’s a Google map of all the locations in my book.