Comments on: East North Broadway

By: Mary Rodgers

Mary Rodgers — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 16:10:25 +0000

In the Clinton League’s scrapbook(stored at the Ohio Historical Society), you will find two pictures of the Beech Hill (Calumet) and Broadway Traffic Circle. It was made of the same brick as Broadway (Hallwood block)and was installed when the road was originally built in 1892. It was a functioning traffic circle that was landscaped in the middle. A half circle was also built at Depot Park Street (the alley next to the tracks) and North Broadway to accomodate the turn around of carriages at the train depot. The Traffic circle was removed in 1952 when the county narrowed the right of way for North Broadway from the original 100′ to the 70′ it is today. I would love to see the traffic circle restored. It original installation pre-dates Columbus Circle located in New York City. That Circle is considered by many to be the first in the United States. For more history of North Broadway see http://nbsacolumbus.blogspot.com/

By: shyatt

shyatt — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 17:25:11 +0000

Hi,
Actually, the electric trolley never came up Broadway. That circle was purely decorative, and there was also a half circle at the end of Broadway
where it intersected the railroad. Check out, on my web site, the entry called “Baist’s Atlas” and zoom into the intersection of Broadway and Beech Hill (now called Calumet) to see the circle more clearly.

Trolley’s don’t actually have to “turn around.” Electric trolleys just go up and down the street; the driver changed the controls for the direction he needed to drive, and the passengers helped swivel the seats. No trolleys went up / down Broadway.

High Street does have two turn arounds–one at Blenheim and one (which
is actually a parking lot now) at Jeffrey Place. These turnarounds were for the buses that replaced the electric streetcars.

I moved here in 1985 and I believe the “circle” (really just traffic cutoffs for the corners) –or at least the southern half of it–was there at Calumet and North Broadway when I moved here. I seem to recall that they changed the roadways–gave the cutoffs to the corner lots–about 1989 or so. I keep intended to ask some of the neighbors on this corner, hoping they will remember.

As a side note, there used to be a left (southbound) turn allowed from westbound East North Broadway, at High Street. This turn lane seemed to work fine as it was, with the existing width of the road at that time. I do not know why the city chose to eliminate it but it was not because the East North Broadway neighbors asked that it be eliminated.

–Shirley Hyatt

By: Cindy Colucy

Cindy Colucy — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 01:17:31 +0000

I live very close to the intersection of North Broadway and Calumet and an “old-timer” told me the traffic circle was once a turn-around for the trolley that came up from the railroad. Now it’s just a fun place for my boys to ride their bikes.

By: Ron Freeland

Ron Freeland — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 20:50:01 +0000

I have, at my home near North Broadway, a considerable number of old bricks. Most of them are stampled “Nelsonville Block” but several are stamped “Hallwood Block”. Could these be bricks that were salvaged when North Broadway was paved over?