Columbus's Heartland--TRIP 3 (2012)

"The office building is a Longaberger basket," I told Andy.

Early this morning we drove past the Longaberger Company headquarters in Newark, Ohio.
"You need to take a picture of that!" said Andy. The office building was shaped like a monstrous Longaberger basket."That looks exactly like the basket in our bathroom... the basket with all the green soaps," I told him. I hopped out of Little Red to acquiesce.

A statue outside the judicial building
emphasizes the order of law
in downtown Columbus.

The city of Columbus and the state of Ohio, probably with the help of the federal government, did a beautiful job reclaiming the land along the Scioto River to create Genoa Park. We checked out the replica of Christopher Columbus's ship The Santa Maria, walked past the judicial building with the gigantic gavel statue and the Ohio Statehouse, and stopped for coffee at Tim Horton's.  Bicentennial Park, Scioto Mile, Battelle Riverfront Park and North Bank Park, all bordering the river, featured flower gardens, shaded sycamore groves, swinging benches and well-kept waterfront bike and walking paths. People lolled everywhere on this hot Sunday afternoon. Outside the Statehouse, the statue of William McKinley, 25th President of the United States, stretched tall into the blue sky. One of the Presidents from Ohio, McKinley served from March 4, 1897, until his death by assassination on September 14, 1901, in Buffalo, New York.

A statue of William McKinley,
25th President of the U.S.
graces the front of the Ohio Capitol.

"The book said to drive down High Street for a good taste of the city of Columbus," explained Andy, when we got back to the car after about four miles on foot.  With lighted wrought iron arches every block, High Street provides a cross section of all parts of Columbus from downtown through Ohio State University to the outskirts of the city.  "It must be lovely at night," said Andy, "with all those lights strung across the street."
I agreed. It had an old-world charm. "Warm and safe feeling," I answered. "A sense of class and elegance."
"I like it because you can tell immediately where you are," said Andy. Each wrought iron arch strung with lights included the name of the city section.


A little girl tested out the dancing waters of Bicentennial Park
by creating her own ballet. 

"It's definitely a college town," said Andy. The Little Bar, The Joint, The Chamber, Las Margas, The Stout House, The Village Idiot, The Surly Girl, The Garden, The Bodega...
Bar after bar lined the outskirts of the Ohio State University campus.


Gardens flourished in the
city park in Germantown.

 

        "It's a city in itself," said Andy about the school. "Just think, Ohio State has something like 55,000 in attendance. It's one and a half times the size of our whole town! I read that it's the second largest campus in the country. The stadium alone holds more than 100,000 people. And I thought Virginia Tech was a big school!"
Bicentennial Park included dancing waters that shot up and down. Young children played on the edges and danced through the gentle spouts as patient adults looked on with pleasure.
Shiller Park in Germantown prepared for a big event tomorrow, but we enjoyed the flower gardens today. Lots of other people walked dogs or just relaxed on park benches in the early autumn heat of mid-afternoon.  City blocks on all sides around the park were cobblestone streets with neat two-story red brick bungalows, each one cuter than the next with rose gardens, white picket fences or little front porches.
Appropriately named, Germantown retains the flavor of its old world immigrant origins.
As we headed back to the motel, Andy expressed my sentiments.  "Columbus is a beautiful city," he said.
I echoed, "And this has been a lovely day."