The North Broadway Methodist Church (built 1924) was designed by architect James Boyd Martin, who also designed his own house at 190 East North Broadway. His home is complete with an architecturally-consistent play house to the rear. Martin’s house was made of Indiana Limestone with green roofing tiles. (The original plans for the church called for limestone as well, but changed to brick for budget reasons.) Martin also built the house at 155 North Broadway as a wedding gift for his daughter. His son, Boyd Gibson Martin, eventually joined the architectural firm (Martin, Orr & Martin) and designed his own house at 256 East North Broadway as well as the Worthington Presbyterian Church (in 1927) and the Worthington and Westerville Libraries. Sadly, the Great Depression put the architectural firm out of business. (Photo courtesy of Lynn McNish)

In 1925, members of Maple Grove Church presented a play at the church. The play was Friendly Helpers Class. It was a success and was taken on the road to the Linworth and King Avenue Methodist Churches. The left photo shows cast members Katherine Cooke (Barbee) and Lulu Browne (Ohsner), Dorothy Cooke (Hambleton) and a neighbor playacting for the camera in 1925. The photo on the right is the program for the June production. (Photo courtesy of the Ron Ohsner Family)

Crestview and Overbrook Presbyterian Churches were organized by the Reverends Walter Houston and Harry Barr, and both claim this “tin church” as their first home. In 1915 the Crestview congregation purchased five lots at Tulane and Esmond. They met in the tin church until 1918, when a more permanent structure was erected. In 1922 a larger church was built; the first brick structure was converted to a manse. (Photo courtesy of Overbrook Presbyterian Church)

This is the newer Crestview Presbyterian Church, built in 1922 at Tulane and Esmond. (Photo courtesy of the Clintonville Historical Society)

Around 1880, Robert Turner founded the Olentangy Villa Tavern. It was a small picnic grounds and offered boating and swimming, perhaps a couple rides. By 1895 the park came to be owned by the Columbus Railway, Power and Light Company; enabling the electric company to earn money from both its electric streetcars and from electricity at the park, and ensuring streetcar traffic (with its use of electricity) not only during weekdays when commuters traveled to their jobs in the city, but also on weekends when residents traveled by streetcar to the park. In 1899, brothers Joe and Will Dusenbury purchased about 100 acres of the park and built it up into a state-of-the-art amusement park with nationally renowned entertainment in a lovely, picturesque setting. They offered rides, a pool, bowling alley, canoeing, an amphitheatre, even a Japanese Village purchased from the St. Louis Exposition. Many long-time residents recall happy and exciting days spent at the park.

Eventually the park began to decline, and was eventually sold, and then sold a couple more times. In 1937 L.L. Leveque purchased the park and in 1939, built the Olentangy Village Apartment Community in the park’s place. (Photo courtesy of the Clintonville Historical Society)

The streetcar came right to the entrance of the park, and from there attendees walked over a pedestrian bridge to get into the main park. This is a picture of the “South Glen Bridge.” (Photo courtesy of Chris Bourne)

Loop-the-loop and Shoot-the-Chutes were among the favorite rides at the park. Loop the Loop took riders on a 360-degree vertical loop. The unruffled gentleman appears unconcerned about gravity in this well-known image of the ride. The ride was said to be accident prone and was eventually torn down. (Photo courtesy of Galen Gonser)

This photo shows, left to right, the Whirl Wind, Shoot-the-Chutes, and the Racer. Shoot-the-Chutes involved a long slow boat ride to the top, followed by a creaky turn, and then a steep descent, hitting water and wetting the riders to their unabashed delight. It was one of the favorite rides in the park. (Photo courtesy of Chris Bourne)

Anyce Milam, a Columbus resident, shared these two postcards of the Olentangy Park with me for use on this web site. The first is a color picture of the ride, Loop-the-Loop, which had quite a few accidents and therefore did not last long in the park.

The second postcard image was taken on the river near the Park’s canoe livery. The postcard was dated 1917. (Courtesy of Anyce Milam)

was originally called the American Legion Park Playground, presumably because Post 82 owned it or gave it as a gift to the community. Today there is a conical mound at the park. The mound was “built” sometime in the 1960s (tentative date) from the dirt displaced by sewer line construction.