Columbus streetcar arches

Modern-day arches were installed in the city's Short North neighborhood in 2002, in an effort to unify the district, draw visitors, and increase business sales.

[1] The arches spanned High Street for about 7,400 ft (2,300 m), from Union Station south to Livingston Avenue.

[2] The event also included a parade of 90,000 veterans down High Street, the largest for Union soldiers since the Civil War.

[1] One section of the city, "the Hub" around Fourth and Main Streets, had a smaller system of arch lighting.

Within one year, businessmen on Broad Street west from High to the Toledo & Ohio station raised funds for their own arches.

[1] As early as 1911, city residents began to favor more conventional street lights, and so most streetcar arches were removed from Downtown Columbus by 1914.

[1] In the 1990s, in an attempt to unify the Short North district and draw customers to the area, a real estate executive proposed the installation of new streetcar arches resembling the historical set.

Streetcar arches at night on South High Street in Columbus, early 20th c.
A similar view, c. 1913, after arches were removed from South High Street
Taking down a streetcar arch at Broad and Wall streets, 1915
Early Columbus streetcar arch preserved at the Majestic Theatre in Chillicothe
Modern-day arches lit in the Short North at night in 2020