Columbus: The City of Lost Mansions

Once a beacon of architectural brilliance, Columbus, Ohio, was renowned for its magnificent mansions and grand buildings. But today, the city stands as a mere shadow of its glorious past. What happened to Columbus' architectural gems? Why did a world-class city lose its allure?

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Location: Columbus, OH

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[mikenixon]

I honestly do not think I will ever understand why North Americans tend to prefer demolition over restoration. Good report, Ken.

[davidpalmer]

Absolutely criminal regarding demolishing such masterpieces 😢

[rayn]

Well, that was rather depressing! Like the Joni Mitchell song, Big Yellow Taxi, 'they paved paradise and put up a parking lot. '

[janavenue]

progress brought to you by people who don't care about history, beauty, or architecture

[johnpotter]

There is a notable survivor among Columbus' homes, The James Thurber House and Museum. I have been a Thurber fan since my early teenage years and visited the house during a business trip a few years ago. Thurber only lived there during his teenage years. It is filled with period furniture and offers his books and memorabilia for sale. The upstairs has these narrow, tortuous hallways which figure into his short story "The Night The Bed Fell on Father". I was alone in the place, chatting with one of the volunteers. He asked me what my favorite Thurber short story was. I had to give "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" # 1, but my next favorite is "the Greatest Man in the World" a parody of the daring aviators who were flying the Atlantic in the late 1920s. Jacky Smersch, a slovenly mechanic, becomes the first man to fly around the world, non-stop. He is not, however, the handsome, selfless hero- he is an uncouth slob who is in it for the money. The government tries to clean him up, but to no avail. The volunteer had not heard of it, and we found it in one of Thurber's anthologies. As I began to read it, a group of 40 middle-aged urban bicyclists tromped in, lots of spandex, of course. They gathered around, and I read "The Greatest Man In The World" to an appreciative audience, in the James Thurber House, in downtown Columbus, Ohio. A great moment for me.

[sharke.julian]

Born and raised in Columbus Ohio. We actually purchased an old Victorian 5000 sq ft plus home on Bryden Road. There are still large mansions around the area you just have to drive around to find them. Some of them are located in German Village around the park, others are located on Broad Street, Bryden Road and around Franklin Park. Our home had original leather wallpaper, gas lights, buzzard in the floor to call servants and the main staircase was covered with carpet and when we removed it the wood was outstanding. The only building lost on our property was the carriage house. Unfortunately we moved outside Ohio due to work and had to sell our home.

[davidflory]

I actually live in Columbus on Bryden It's just heartbreaking to know that all this beautiful architecture was destroyed in the name of 'progress'. All of the hard work and artistry, all of the incredible marble and granite, all of the stunning old-growth wood... lost forever. Thanks for another great video.

[williamtyre]

Great overview of the city's architecture. Like so many cities, the mid-20th century was a dark period where these architectural treasures were underappreciated, and swept away without much thought.

[bluebox]

Would be great to do a story on Cincinnati next. This beautiful old city has lost so much of its downtown area but still has some remarkable buildings left. It's really disturbing how America throws away its history. People don't visit Europe to see the new buildings.

[garywait]

This reminds me of the tragic fate of the architectural marvels that once were fine homes in my present residence Hartford, CT.
Hartford's money was its worst enemy, when the wealthy could afford to demolish grand old homes and replace them with something worse. Or, if they fell on hard times, sold out to "developers" -- really "demolishers" -- who left ugly commercial buildings or parking lots in their wake.
So sad !!😢😢

[amandab.recondwith]

Urban Renewal was one of the great curses of the 20th century. My hometown of Sioux Falls SD was utterly decimated in the '70. Beautiful Victorian buildings downtown were bulldozed and replaced with parking lots. Fortunately, the city is undergoing an urban revival and many surviving buildings make up a very pretty and busy commercial and retail center, full of restaurants, local bars and breweries. Plans keep being made to expand the downtown area into dense housing, office and retail buildings, sensitive to the city's past.

[BensEcoAdvntr]

Hello. Lifelong Columbus resident here. I won't argue that we've lost some gems, particularly during the 1960s & 70s. However I feel this video is a disservice to all the successful preservation efforts here. Look no further than German Village - a neighborhood of modest 19th century houses just south of downtown. In the 60s, this area was threatened with "urban renewal", but grassroots efforts kept it almost entirely intact today, now one of the most desirable areas in the city. Same is true for Victorian Village and along Bryden Road.

There were also a number of unfortunate factual errors in the video. An image of the Toledo and Ohio Central railroad station was shown, but that building is very much still here. It also missed the fact that the OSU armory wasn't demolished because it was unwanted, it had to be due to a giant fire.

Last thing I'll say, while architecture from the late 19th/early 20th century is interesting, I don't believe it the only era worthy of preservation. Columbus also has one of the most iconic examples of brutalist architecture in the world - the Ohio History Center. There are lots of well preserved mid century buildings here. I just think it's unfair to paint the city as completely uncaring about preservation as you did.

[carmichael]

I'm a 63-year-old Columbus native, who has traveled rather extensively; and the way Columbus has mostly razed its historical buildings has always sickened my heart. Tearing down these wonderful examples of history and architecture is probably one of the reasons Columbus has remained a little leaguer. A can't move forward unless its past is its foundation, and we parted with ours during the 20th century.

[andreaberryhill]

I wish I'd been born in the years of such splendid architecture all around. Such beauty, all lost . 😢

[christinacody]

That Firestone mansion and the buggy developer mansions are the most disheartening to me from a historic preservation perspective, because they were both buildings of historically significant individuals. There's a mansion/historic home in Jeffersonville Indiana (across from Louisville, Kentucky) who built many of the steamboats that traversed the Mississippi, Ohio and other major rivers of the United States. They're the house museums I'm most interested in because they often showcase something unique to their time while also presenting historically significant events in US historical development.

[donnamariebrown]

Reminds me of my hometown. All the beautiful old Thanks Ken!!

[Nunofurdambiznez]

I'm completely horrified that my hometown lost so many marvelous mansions!

[randolphsrants]

SAD. But your channel is Great... Thank you!

[teresawilliams]

It's sad all those beautiful homes were demolished.

[hcat]

"It's no longer known for its architecture but rather for what it's lost." A truly emotional sentence, brought a tear to my eye.