The neighboring Downtown district provides access to major employers, cultural and learning institutions, and entertainment venues.

[1] Specifically, N. Fourth Street is one of the primary routes through downtown while E. Fifth Avenue crosses both the Scioto and Olentangy Rivers.

[1] The City of Columbus has designated part of Italian Village, along with portions of the Short North and Victorian Village as a "market ready" Community Reinvestment Area, with available 15-year, 100 percent tax abatements if projects include 10 percent affordable housing, with options to buy out of the requirement.

[2] Its proximity to downtown ensured access to goods, services, and recreational facilities and provided employment opportunities.

[2] A small group of African Americans settled in the northeast section of the village and established the Bethany Baptist Colored Church in 1882.

[4] Additionally, the Great Depression brought attention to Italian cuisine because the home grown food was much less expensive.

[4] Immediately south of Jeffrey's factories, at Fourth and Warren Streets, was the Case Crane, Kilbourne & Jacobs Company with 200 employees.

[2] Along with residential decline came a decrease in commercial vitality; the new residents did not have the money to support local businesses on High Street.

[2] In 1951–1952, Italian Village lost a portion of Russell, Lincoln, Brickel Swan, Goodale, and Poplar Streets to a slum clearance program for construction of the inner belt and urban renewal.

[2] The Columbus City Council then formed the Italian Village Commission to further combat the deterioration of physical conditions.

In 1978, Community Development funds identified the Italian Village target area and supported housing improvement efforts.

St. John's drew members were mostly from the Columbus’ Italian immigrant population, including the St. Clair Avenue neighborhood, Flytown, Grandview, and Marble Cliff areas.

[4] The mission of the church was to bring Italian immigrants together and give them opportunity to worship in their native language and with the practices familiar to them from their earlier lives in Italy.

The Jeffrey Manufacturing Company, which produced coal mining equipment, was a major employer in the Italian Village area early in the 20th century.

Recent grants have enabled perennial bed plantings, donated mowing, and other forms of lawn maintenance for the park.

[2] The Italianate style is defined by vertical proportions, asymmetrical floor plans, and low-pitched roofs as well as ornamental brackets at the cornice and decorative woodwork on porches.

[2] Characteristics of the Queen Anne style include steeply-pitch, irregularly shaped rooflines, asymmetrical massing, and numerous different window treatments.

[2] Each house is typically two to two and a half stories high and has either a hipped or gabled roof, characteristic of Italianate style architecture.

The American Four Square House is common within the village, reflecting Italian architectural elements like the hipped/gabled roof and a broad front porch.

[2] Some commercial buildings reflect Italianate or even Victorian styles in their architecture, but many were renovated after High Street was widened in 1920.

Storefronts are almost always articulated into bays with large expanses of glass while upper floors resemble residential buildings with regularly spaced windows.

The neighborhood also offers other opportunities for entertainment within the Short North including theaters, farmers markets, and pocket parks.