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| Columbus Apartment Locator Services : Columbus Apartments |  | Contents | |
| Arts and Culture |
| Cultural features |
| Landmarks and museums |
 The Ohio Statehouse |
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| The Ohio Statehouse (illustration, right) was
begun in 1839 on a 10 acre (40,000 m²) plot of land donated
by four prominent Columbus landowners to form Capitol Square,
not part of the original layout of the city. The Statehouse
stands upon foundations 18 feet (5 m) deep, which were laid
by prison labor gangs, rumored to have been swelled by masons
jailed for minor infractions [1]. The Statehouse features a
central recessed porch with a colonnade of a forthright and
primitive Greek Doric mode, built of Columbus limestone that
was quarried on the west banks of the Scioto River. A broad
and low central pediment supports the windowed astylar drum,
under an invisibly low saucer dome, that lights the interior
rotunda. Unlike many US state capitol buildings, the Ohio State
Capitol owes little to the architecture of the National Capitol.
During the long course of the Statehouse's 22 years of construction,
seven architects were employed. Relations between the legislature
and the architects were not always cordial: Nathan B. Kelly,
who introduced heating and an ingenious system of natural forced
ventilation, was dismissed because the commissioners found his
designs were too lavish for the original intentions of the committee.
The Statehouse was opened to the legislature and the public
in 1857, and finally complete in 1861. |
 Columbus Museum of Art |
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| The Columbus Museum of Art opened in 1931, with
a collection focusing on European and American art up to early
modernism. Downtown Columbus also boasts the Franklin Park Conservatory,
which was also home to Ameriflora '92, and a to-scale replica
of the Santa Maria on the Scioto Riverfront that was installed
to commemorate the 500-year anniversary of the discovery of
America by Columbus' namesake. Columbus also includes the Center
of Science and Industry (COSI), a notable science museum; and
the museum of the Ohio Historical Society. |
| To some extent, the Ohio State University is a
museum unto itself with its rich history and roots in the Columbus
psyche, but it does host a number of museums and museum-like
exhibits. Notable among these are the Wexner Center for the
Arts, a contemporary art gallery and research facility located
on the OSU campus, the Ohio State University Athletics Hall
of Fame located in the Schottenstein Center (home of the OSU
basketball and hockey teams). |
| The Ohio Historical Society is headquartered in
Columbus, with its flagship museum, the 250,000 square foot
(23,000 m²) Ohio Historical Center, located just four miles
(6 km) north of downtown. |
| Columbus is also home to a top-ranked library
system, as well as several top-ranked independent libraries
(Hennen’s American Public Library Ratings). |
| The Columbus Zoo is world-renowned, and its director
emeritus, Jack Hanna, frequently appears on national television,
including The Tonight Show and The Late Show with David Letterman. |
| Columbus is home to several world class buildings,
including the Greek-Revival State Capitol, and the Peter Eisenman-designed
Wexner Center and Columbus Convention Center. |
| Festivals |
| Annual festivities in Columbus include the Ohio
State Fair—one of the largest state fairs in the country;
the Columbus Arts Festival and the Jazz and Ribs Festival, both
of which occur on the downtown waterfront. ComFest (short for
"community festival") is an immense three-day gathering
in Goodale Park (just north of downtown Columbus) with art vendors
and live music on multiple stages, hundreds of local social
and political organizations, body painting, and enough beer
to quench anyone's thirst. Coinciding with the weekend of ComFest
is the large Gay Pride Parade, reflective of the sizeable gay
population in Columbus. Around the Fourth of July, Columbus
hosts Red, White, and Boom, the largest fireworks display in
the midwest on the riverfront downtown to crowds of over 500,000
people, as well as the popular "Doo Dah Parade", a
nonsensical satire of ordinary parades. The Origins International
Game Expo is held around the first week of July. The Short North
is host to the monthly "Gallery Hop", which attracts
hundreds to the neighborhood's art galleries (which all open
their doors to the public until late at night) and street musicians.
German Village has an annual Oktoberfest celebration featuring
32 bands, authentic German food, and various other festival
activities. |
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