Columbus? Hip and happening? Yes, it's true

Ohio capital sheds image as a Podunk town

By Laura Walcher
May 21, 2006 San Diego Union/Tribune

Cow Town? Nope. NOW Town.

These days, Columbus, Ohio, qualifies for heavy-duty respect and guaranteed never-boring fun for visitors.

In one three-day visit to Ohio's lively capital, we took in the following: a breath-taking Dale Chihuli glass exhibit at Franklin Park Conservatory; a moving and inspiring reading by former Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky; the Columbus appearance of Prince in a jam-packed, state-of-the-art arena on the Ohio State University campus; a Phoenix Theater for Children's performance (based on Cherokee legends) in the State office building's distinguished Vern Riffe Center; and by far not least, Columbus' annual community “Vaud-Villities” show, which showcased the impressive talents of a few hundred singers/dancers since 1943.

“Columbus is running me ragged,” said Suzanne Schneiderman, who moved to the city from Dayton two years ago. “I have to make choices every minute!”

Add to its rich cultural offerings a seasonal “fix” for San Diegans, in the city's blankets of spring-blooming trees and flowers; then, an impressively diverse, integrated and tolerant populace, and it's understandable that once there by accident (a visit to relatives?; a conference?) you're already making lists for your purposeful return.

In Columbus you can dine well, obsess with Ohio State University's Buckeye football fans or hit an ethnic festival any old weekend. If you're the slightest nostalgic for the “cow town” that Columbus used to be, you'd be satisfied to spend days at the annual Quarter Horse Show at Ohio EXPO Center (typically in October), the largest single-breed show in the world and the largest convention in Ohio.

Begin your Columbus tour at the Short North Arts District. Running along High Street, this community, only a few blocks from downtown, was once rundown and dangerous. Supported by the city, developers have transformed it into its present character: “hip-sans-snootiness,” said Beth Ervin of the Visitors & Convention Bureau.

Art havens include the world-class Thomas Riley Gallery, where, for instance, Chihuli and James Wilbat glass, David Bennett horses and whimsical Davie Reekie sculptures, are exhibited. A contrast, and a stroll away, is the Global Gallery, a co-op in which Third-World arts and crafts are affordable, funky and fun.

Now step back to a quieter time in nearby German Village, the largest historically restored residential area in the country. Its quaint, brick-lined streets and lovely restored homes characterize this charming, early 1800s neighborhood. Dining and browsing in German Village must begin with Schmidt's Restaurant and Sausage Haus, serving its famous Bahama Mama bratwurst, decadent cream puffs and other traditional Teutonic treats since 1886.

Of course, there's an Oktoberfest – just one of the dozens of festivals held annually. Festivals abound in Columbus, and virtually every ethic group and music genre is celebrated, from chalk artists, to Latin jazz, the Via color Italian Street Painting fest, ComFest (a throwback to the '60s and affectionately dubbed, “Hippie Haven”) – and the “Grande Dame,” held each June, the Columbus Arts Festival.

The population of nearly 750,000 adds rich diversity to Columbus, where Somalis, Ethiopians, Russians and more find gentle hospitality, reasonably priced housing and job opportunity.

Tolerance is the name of the Columbus game – whether toward its ample Jewish community, gays (the third largest enclave in the country, after San Francisco and New York), Afro-Americans (BET, 2002: “the best city in America for Afro-American families”), Appalachians, who move from the mountains in Kentucky to the city, and of course the largest population of Amish in the world.

Two-hundred years ago, historians say, “a squirrel could go across the whole (Ohio) territory without touching the ground.”

Leave it to Columbus, amid the vitality of its community, cultural, commercial and educational development, to keep enough trees to remind us all of our American roots.