By the 1960s, suburban development, city income taxation and racial factors caused families, especially white residents, to leave the neighborhood.

The Linden neighborhood was part of a land grant by John Adams to George Stevenson of Delaware for his service in the American War of Independence.

Early settlers such as Frederick Weber, Gustavus Innis and Henry Huy are commemorated in the names of local roads.

It was established in 1908 as Linden Heights Village, and grew into a bedroom community with a prominent commercial district centered on Cleveland Avenue.

The northeast corridor, including Linden, saw the greatest number of housing subdivisions constructed in the 1920s, 29 percent of the citywide total.

Civil rights activism also led reactionary white residents to leave, seeking more segregated suburbs.

Some houses and commercial buildings were demolished to make room for the interstate, though not to the extent of other areas like Milo-Grogan and King-Lincoln Bronzeville.

[1] The City of Columbus has designated Linden as a Community Reinvestment Area that is "ready for opportunity", with available 15-year, 100 percent tax abatements for all projects, with no affordable housing requirements.