The community of Forest Park consists of almost 2900[1] private residential properties (single-family homes and duplexes), plus apartments, condominiums, commercial properties, city-owned parks and schools, in approximately 1.4 square miles (3.6 km2) of the Northland area of northeast Columbus, Ohio.
The region that includes Forest Park was originally awarded by President John Adams to James Hamilton in payment for his military service during the Revolutionary War.
The construction of the North Freeway (a segment of Interstate 71) immediately west of Forest Park stimulated new residential and commercial development in the area.
In the mid-1970s, E. Dublin-Granville Road (SR-161) was reconstructed as a divided highway, though the portion just north of Forest Park remains a major commercial and retail corridor.
Tamarack Circle in Forest Park East is an unusual, distinctively designed large roundabout that serves as the hub of the neighborhood.
In 1961, Forest Park West was the first residential neighborhood in Columbus, and among the first in the nation, to incorporate internal shopping and recreation (including a swimming pool and bowling center), making it virtually self-sufficient.
Both centers originally included private community swimming pools; both have since closed and one is now the site of a self-storage facility.
A branch of the Columbus Metropolitan Library, a recreation facility operated by the YMCA and several churches are located on Karl Road, near the center of the community.
Nearby communities include the cities of Westerville (to the northeast) and Worthington (to the northwest) and the village of Minerva Park (to the east).
The Forest Park Civic Association (FPCA) was founded as a not-for-profit Ohio corporation in April 1962 and continues to provide services to and advocate for residents of the community.
The FPCA also publishes a triennial Forest Park Directory of residents, provided at no additional charge to paid-member households.