photo by gusto

Columbus is the state capital and home of Ohio State University. Located nearly exactly in the middle of the state, its city population of 632,910 makes it the largest in Ohio, but as a metropolitan area it is far smaller than Cleveland or Cincinnati. Columbus is a city on the cutting edge of scientific and technological progress. It has broad tree-lined streets and parks as well as impressive modern buildings designed by many of the country’s leading architects.

In 1812 residents of Franklinton, a county seat along the Ohio River, offered the state 1,200 acres of land and $50,000 to erect a Capitol building and a penitentiary on the opposite bank of the Scioto River. The offer was accepted, and the capital was built on the new site, which was named Columbus.

Within decades Columbus began to overshadow Franklinton, drawing its people and business. Known as “the Hat Box Capitol” because of its distinctive rotunda, the Capitol, built by penitentiary inmates, is one of the country’s finest examples of Greek Revival architecture, called by Frank Lloyd Wright “the most honest of state capitols.” It is constructed of Columbus limestone and is one of the few capitols without a dome. It is decorated with 24-carat gold leaf, and took six architects 22 years to complete; it finally opened in 1857. Tours and displays are available.

The Ohio Agriculture and Mechanical College (now Ohio State University) opened in 1873. The university developed the forerunner of the computer, the xerography process, and many advances in the medical treatment of the physically impaired. One of the largest universities in the country, Ohio State has 19 colleges, a graduate school, more than 120 departments, a medical center, libraries with more than 4 million volumes, 58,000 students, and a famous football team.

Columbus ranks with Washington, DC, as a center of science and technology. More than 150 hightech companies are located here. Columbus was one of the first areas offering city-wide cable television and 24-hour banking machines. It is also a center for retail banking, insurance, and real estate, and has become a leading convention city.

Because Columbus is so representative of America, many products are tested here, among them the fast-food menus of food chains. The city is nicknamed “Test Market, USA.” Columbus has a number of annual events and festivals. The OSU Jazz Festival takes place in April at the university; in June there is a Columbus Arts Festival, with music, dance, and theater performances, arts, crafts, and food; and in August there is the Ohio State Fair, one of the largest state fairs in the nation, held at the Ohio Expo Center. Octoberfest is held in September, and the Columbus International Food Festival in November offers ethnic foods, cultures, and souvenirs while musicians and dancers of many different nationalities continuously perform on several stages.

There’s a lot to do in downtown Columbus. Probably the most popular place to visit is German Village, said to be the largest restored neighborhood in the United States. The brick-lined streets, slate roofs, ironwork, and flower boxes go back to the 1800s. The Octoberfest is held here, and a house and garden tour is offered. The Golden Hobby Shop, in the village’s 125-year-old brick schoolhouse, offers many needlepoint items, and has a toy room and outdoor gallery. The new Center of Science and Industry Columbus, covering 300,000 square feet, exhibits Learning Worlds, or high-tech displays. It offers an unusual 3-D space show and presentations in four theaters, while it celebrates achievements in technology and gadgets that have molded our lives.

The Columbus Museum of Art exhibits American and European art from 1850 to 1950 as well as traveling shows. At the Columbus Zoo, 650 animal species from all over the world are on display, including Coco, the first gorilla born in captivity. The Martin Luther King Jr Performing and Cultural Arts Complex features African-American art in two galleries, and its 440-seat theater offers plays, dance, and music. The old-fashioned North Market features 30 merchants and weekend entertainment at a location that has operated since 1876. The Civil War era is recreated at the Ohio Village and the Ohio Historical Center. A museum-quality replica of the Santa Maria, the sailing vessel that brought Christopher Columbus (for whom the city is named) to America from Spain, is docked downtown on the Scioto River, in Battelle Riverfront Park. The house of comic writer James Thurber and the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum are among other Columbus attractions.

At the Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Garden, changing exhibits provide in-depth exploration of the seven climatic zones. Just north of the city, in Westerville, 92-acre Inniswood Metropark Gardens presents nine garden areas, along with natural woodland trails and running brooks. Columbus can be reached by car via I-70 and I-71, as well as by bus. Its airport is Port Columbus International.