Columbus Civic Center (Ohio)

Following a local version of the City Beautiful movement, the Columbus Plan first envisioned a riverfront civic center in 1908.

The district was determined to be eligible for the National Register on September 14, 1988, due to its association with community planning, engineering, government, and transportation in the city, and for its Art Deco, Neoclassical, and Renaissance Revival architecture.

The plan urged the removal of the numerous factories, coal yards, boarding houses, and tenements stretching along the riverfront downtown.

Overall, about two dozen buildings deposited untreated sewage directly into the Scioto and Olentangy rivers between Clintonville and the South Side.

The cleanup was urged to present a positive view of the city for travelers on the National Road entering Columbus from the west.

[5][6] Following a local version of the City Beautiful movement, the Columbus Plan first envisioned a riverfront civic center in 1908.

Development was slow, though the Great Flood of 1913 in Columbus dramatically affected the area, destroying many riverfront buildings and both of its bridges.

It gave the city the opportunity to redevelop the riverfront into its planned civic center, though with added flood control - a retaining wall and low head dam.