Clintonville is an unincorporated neighborhood in north-central Columbus, Ohio, USA with around 28,000 residents. Since Clintonville is an informal neighborhood inside of the city of Columbus, there are no formally recognized boarders. The southern border is loosely defined as Arcadia Avenue or the Glen Echo Ravne. On the east, either Interstate 71 or the railroad tracks. On the west, the Olengangy River. The northern border of Clintonville is the most ambiguous, with definitions anywhere in the three-mile stretch from Cooke Road to the southern border of Worthington. Changes in the Columbus real estate market have had a great effect on the northern border. In the 1970's, when Clintonville was an seen as an affordable, urban surrounded by newer, more desirable suburbs, the Beechwold neighborhood, from Cooke Road on the south to Morse Road. on the north was seen as a distinct and more desirable neighborhood. As the cachet of the Clintonville neighborhood grew towards the turn of the 21st century, Realtors began to label homes north of Cooke Road as being in Clintonville, leading to the apparent absorption of Beechwold and nearby neighborhoods south of Worthington. It was not uncommon in the booming real estate market around the turn of the century to even find homes outside of the distinct east and west borders being sold as "Clintonville" homes. It should be stressed though, that since Clintonville and Beechwold have no official existence, the boundaries are a matter of opinion. The area also contains the former unincorporated community of Evanston, a name that was used by the Big Four Railroad as a station along its line and US Postal service until the 1920s. Clintonville includes parts of zip codes 43202 and 43214. The Post Offices at the center of each Zip code are known as Clintonville Station and Beechwold Station respectively
The topography of Clintonville is divided into two distinct regions, with High Street forming the demarcation line. Property west of High Street to the Olentangy River is lower in elevation than property to east of High Street. Five glacial ravines, Glen Echo, Walhalla, Overbrook, Beechwold and Delawanda, cut through the area from east to west, with stream beds feeding into the Olentangy River. Four of the Ravines have been developed, either with public roadbeds and/or private residences, with Glen Echo being the first ravine preserved as a public park in 1913. A portion of Overbrook Ravine is part of Whetstone Park, adjacent to the Park of Roses.
Residential districts in Clintonville are divided into three distinct (and unofficial) areas:
South Clintonville - South of North Broadway, housing stock is a mix of single and multiple family homes. The majority of these houses were built prior to 1930, and represent a variety of styles from basic American four-square to other types of revival style architecture. The area is also home to many catalogue (Sears, Montgomery Ward, Radford, etc.) kit homes. These neighborhoods were also initially developed as "streetcar" developments, the intention being that most residents would rely upon the High Street streetcar lines to travel to downtown Columbus. Garages for the earliest developed streets are access via alleys behind the properties. North Clintonville - Immediately north of North Broadway and stretching to the Overbrook Ravine, this central section of Clintonville shows the progression in architectural styles and lifestyle considerations from the 1920s through the late 1950s. Houses in this portion of Clintonville were built as higher end properties, lack alleyways and contain driveways as a nod to the increasing importance to the role of the automobile. Beechwold - Named for the Jeffery family summer estate on North High Street, Beechwold contains the widest variety of housing, from Cape Cod influenced starter homes to high style, high end housing that occupies the land comprising the former Jeffery family estate.
Like many of the neighborhoods in Columbus, the streets were often named after either early settlers or areas of Great Britain. However, the streets in the Walhalla Park Place section of Clintonville bear the legacy of Mathias Armbruster, a Bavarian immigrant who was fascinated with Norse mythology and Wagnerian opera; these street names include Druid, Mimring, Midgard, Brynhild, Gudrun, and Walhalla.
Whetstone Park in Clintonville is a Columbus landmark. The Park includes bike trails, baseball fields and tennis courts, a pond, ravine, library and recreation facility, as well as the beautiful 13 acre (53,000 mē) Park of Roses. Opened in 1952, the Park of Roses is a frequent site for weddings and special events. In June the Park of Roses hosts its annual "Rose Festival." During summer months concerts featuring many of Columbus' brass bands are held every Sunday evening at the Park's gazebo. Originally located at Fort Hayes, the gazebo was relocated to the Park and restored in 1976. Whetstone Park also hosts an annual Fourth of July fireworks display for the Clintonville community, perhaps the largest in Columbus aside from the downtown display, Red, White & Boom.
Popular landmarks in Clintonville include the "Welcome to Clintonville" signs at the main entryways of the community, Immaculate Conception church and Hagley Field, on lease from the Columbus City Schools for Bishop Watterson High School to use as its home field, previously utilized as such by Columbus North High School that closed as a normal high school and re-opened as a vocational school before becoming the temporary home of Columbus East School students as their school is remodeled. One of the curiosities of the community is a plaque in the sidewalk at the corner of Torrence and Brevoort reading "On This Site in 1897 Nothing Happened." A commemorative historical marker for Clinton Township and Clintonville is now at the North High Street entrance driveway to the Clintonville Woman's Club, the sign originally having been at the corner of East North Broadway and High Street - a mile south of the present location.
At one time Clintonville was home to the largest amusement park in the United States. First opened in 1880 as "The Villa," by 1900 the 100 acre park and picnic ground had become "Olentangy Park." The Park, located along North High Street between North Street and Tulane Road, grew rapidly between 1900 and 1915, and at one time featured four large roller coasters, including a rare looping coaster known as the "Loop-the-Loop", a zoo, a dance pavilion, a large "Shoot-the-Chutes" water slide, and a building from which visitors could rent canoes for a day on the Olentangy River. It was also home to the largest theatre in the country, as well as the largest swimming pool in the world at the time. Olentangy Park closed in 1939, and the land was used to build the Olentangy Village apartment complex; scattered remains of the park could still be found in the woods by the river as recently as the late 1980s. The Park's carousel was moved several times. In 1999 it was beautifully restored, and can now be seen at the Columbus Zoo.
History of Clintonville
Because Columbus City Council does not use a ward system of representative government (all members of city council are elected at-large) the city created a series of Area Commissions to act in an advisory capacity to the city in reviewing zoning, variance, and demolition requests. The Clintonville and Beechwold neighborhoods, along with other Northern Columbus neighborhoods are represented by the Clintonville Area Commission. The nine district-representative Commissioners of the Commission are nominated by neighborhood elections - with the Commissioners being subsequently subject to appointment by the Columbus Mayor and affirmation by the Columbus City Council. The Old Beechwold subdivision is further subject to an architectural review process.
Since 2004, residents along the southern ridge of Glen Echo Ravine have been seeking to have their neighborhood represented by the Clintonville Area Commission rather than by the University Area Commission, citing the view that their needs more closely match those of Clintonville residents than those of the University Area. While there currently is not a process for accommodating such requests, their request has caught the attention of city leaders who are examining the whole Area Commission program.
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Modified: 1/7/2009 7:42:43 PM
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