March-April 2026.
Columbus’s Arena District is a neighborhood that has gone through great change. Once a heavily industrial area with a state jail to boot, it was converted to an entertainment district beginning in the 1990s. The area maintains some remnants of its industrial past, featured here and in my other posts in the neighborhood.
The Arena District is located on the near north side of Columbus, Ohio. It is bordered by I-670 and Victorian Village to the north; US-33, the Scioto River, and Franklinton to the south; Front Street and downtown to the east; and OH-315 and Grandview to the west.
History
The area of Columbus that the Arena District occupies was originally more rural due to its distance from downtown. In 1834, the Ohio Penitentiary was built there, moved from a location closer to the Statehouse and along the Scioto River. Industry quickly developed in the neighborhood beginning in the mid-19th century. The arrival of several railroads and the construction of Union Station drew manufacturing and warehouse buildings, and railroads set up freight houses along the tracks that ran through the Arena District. There were several houses at first, but they were gradually crowded out by the expanding industries.
By the turn of the 20th century, the area’s industrial buildings had expanded far westward towards the Scioto River, such as the city’s Municipal Light Plant built in 1904. The neighborhood had become almost completely industrial in nature by that time, and these industries would operate successfully though the first several decades of the 20th century.
However, by the mid-20th century, these factories began to close. Historic photos of the Ohio Penitentiary at this time show it surrounded by parking lots. This was largely caused by suburbanization, as some of the factories relocated outside of downtown Columbus, and the shift away from rail shipping towards trucks. Many were demolished in favor of parking or to get rid of what was perceived as an eyesore.
An arena complex was being planned in the 1980s to draw more events to Columbus, but citizens repeatedly voted against financing its construction through taxes. By the 1990s, the Arena District was almost completely abandoned, and the vacant Ohio Penitentiary was demolished. The city considered the land to be very valuable for redevelopment, and it was sold to Nationwide Realty Investors. Nationwide would ultimately finance the construction of Nationwide Arena. The district was planned by Acock Associates, 360 Architecture, David Benjamin Meleca Architecture, and Jonathan Barnes Architecture and Design.
Photos
10 West Nationwide Boulevard
This is a pretty good example of the Postmodern, historically-influenced new buildings in the Arena District. The building was constructed in 2012 and replaced a former parking lot. It currently houses Nationwide offices.
Note the prominent Romanesque arch at middle:
Nationwide Arena
Nationwide Arena defines the Arena District and grants the area its name. It currently houses the Columbus Blue Jackets, an expansion NHL franchise, and hosts various concerts in the area.
Columbus voters had rejected a referendum to build a stadium with taxpayer funds, most recently in May 1997, when business leaders were attempting to establish an NHL franchise there. Nationwide decided to finance the arena’s construction themselves, and the NHL announced Columbus would receive a team. The Blue Jackets were established in 2000, along with the Minnesota Wild. Nationwide Arena’s construction began in May 1998 and was completed in September 2000, designed by Heinlein Shrock Stearns and NBBJ.
Huntington Park
Huntington Park is home to the minor-league Columbus Clippers baseball team. The Clippers were founded in 1977 and previously played at Cooper Field in Franklinton. Huntington Park itself was designed by 360 Architecture and Moody Nolan and completed in 2009.
Buggyworks (Columbus Buggy Company)
Historic view of the factory buildings. (Buggyworks website)
The mixed-use complex known as the Buggyworks today was built as the Columbus Buggy Company’s factory in 1906. The company was founded in 1875 by Clinton D. Firestone, George Peters, and Oscar Peters, which manufactured buggies (small, light carriages able to be pulled by a single horse). Their earliest home was at Wall Street and Locust Street, and its focus on affordable buggies resulted in rapid growth and high sales. They quickly expanded to take up their entire city block, building 100 carriages and 1,500 dashboards a day at their peak in 1892. The company faced competition beginning in the turn of the 20th century, but they moved to the current site in 1906.
With the advent of the automobile, Columbus Buggy manufactured electric cars to compete with the more popular vehicles made in Detroit and elsewhere. Their first full-size car was made in 1909, supposedly the first ever to be left-hand drive. Their cars saw some commercial success, but they could never outsell the cheaper Model T, and with the 1913 Columbus flood, the company was forced to declare bankruptcy due to severe damage to their plant. Production was briefly revived as the “New Columbus Buggy Co.,” but ceased entirely in 1915.
After a brief stint of usage by the Allen Motor Co. until 1923, the plant had various uses. The 1921-1961 Sanborn map notes it was the Surface Combustion Co., but Wikipedia claims an earlier or later tenant was Janitrol Corp. Regardless, the remaining buildings (the facility was reduced to its current footprint before 1961) were purchased by Nationwide and converted to the Buggyworks mixed-use complex in the 1990s. Most of the buildings are now office space, but some have been converted to condos as well.
Some notable employees of the company include Harvey Firestone, cousin of founder Clinton Firestone, who went on to found Firestone Tires in Akron. Eddie Rickenbacker was also a mechanic and discovered his love for fast cars while test driving the automobiles he repaired.
Straight-on view of the facade:
Not really a fan of the stuccoed/painted brick.
As I kept walking west towards the Crew stadium, I noticed the bridges were painted with these murals:
Scotts Miracle-Gro Field
This area of the Arena District, which Columbus is trying to rebrand as “Astor Park” for some reason, has the most recently constructed buildings in the neighborhood. This stadium was built between 2019 and 2021 by HNTB and opened as Lower.com Field, replacing the older Crew stadium nearby the fairgrounds and the Ohio History Center.
A better view of the exterior looking northeast:
I tried for a detail shot of the visible structure under the canopy, but I struggled despite multiple tries:
Overlook at Astor Park (600 West Nationwide Boulevard)
This is probably one of my favorite Contemporary buildings in Columbus. I would have granted it its own article, but it was only just recently completed. Construction appeared underway on Google Maps in 2021 and the building existed in its current form by 2024. It is the first of what will be several buildings that extend northward from Nationwide Boulevard along the west side of the Crew stadium, but this one is obviously designed to be the showpiece. It was designed by Lupton Rausch.
I really love these reflective, geometric window bays. They look straight off the cover of Architectural Digest or whatever else advertises these kinds of contemporary designs.
These detail shots just came out so excellently.
Love these rhythmic, undulating bays. Again, it’s not really under the umbrella of designs I usually like, but this one just hits a sweet spot for some reason.
Another oblique view from the southwest:
Here’s a look at the skyline where we are before we double back east:
Jaeger Machine Co. Office Building (600 West Spring Street)
This one is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, but I found it pretty boring and not crazily photogenic. The Jaeger Machine Company was founded by Gebhard Jaeger, a German immigrant to Columbus, in 1906. It manufactured concrete mixers that Jaeger invented, and he eventually held 112 patents for various designs. In 1909, a trade article claimed that the company was the largest manufacturer of concrete mixers in the world, that it made 44% of all machines used by builders and other concrete workers, and that 66% of concrete mixers in Europe were Jaegers.
1983 photo of the exterior. (NRHP listing)
In 1928, Jaeger Machine purchased the Lakewood Engineering Company, a large manufacturer of road-building machines. During this time of prosperity, the existing building was built in 1936 by the company president and a friend of his who was an engineer, O. G. Mandt and Lyon Gardner. The building uses a poured concrete basement floor and a cinder block first floor, which are covered by stucco. Some slight Art Deco ornamentation exists, which was meant to make the building look more modern. Other manufacturing-related buildings were built on the site afterwards, which have since been demolished.
Jaeger Machine occupied the building through the next several decades, but the Jaeger family eventually departed, and after 1968 the company struggled heavily, being close to bankruptcy 10 years later. This was a result of poor management, increased competition, and the company’s decision to diversify into electronics. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983, and the Jaeger Machine Company has since gone out of business. The building has had other tenants but is presently vacant.
The building was historically significant to the NRHP nomination because of its status as a rare 1930s industrial building in Columbus, and that it was not designed by an architect but as a more vernacular work by the company’s president.
North facade from Nationwide Boulevard:
Northwest corner:
I thought the glass block and stucco were indications that the building was altered, but these are apparently original features.
There’s a little architectural flair on the bay closest to the south facade:
South facade:
Aside from the nameplate, fluted pilasters, and small parapet above the entrance, the rest of this building has been altered with modern windows. As a result, it has lost some of its defining character. Somehow, the original doors have survived:
You can tell that the building is vacant, however.
Detail of the sign:
Another view of the skyline from this vantage point:
Heading back down Nationwide, we’ve run into the other end of the Crew mural:
191 West Nationwide Boulevard
I like this Postmodern building. It has a clear Romanesque Revival influence, seen in the large arches across the facade, though the corbels and cornice are more classically inspired. It was designed by David Meleca and completed in 2001.
West facade from across McFerson Commons:
Other buildings of a similar character nearby:
Dean & Barry Paint Co. (Marconi Square)
Photo of the complex after 1938. (The Arena District: A Neighborhood 170 Years in the Making)
Contrary to what I had originally believed, this is actually a historic building in the district. In 1906, it was occupied by the Dean & Barry Paint Co. They completed three additions in 1929, 1938, and 1969, and they surprisingly lasted more than 80 years in their original building. It has been converted to offices today and is home to my favorite Columbus architecture firm, Schooley Caldwell.
I like this broad Romanesque arch, which springs from the base with a different color of brick than the remainder of the building:
Once you pass the front facade, though, no more fancy brick base and cornice, just the standard rectangular windows.
You can see part of the 1969 addition here (in white), which has a Miesian, International-style character:
One Marconi Place
This fireproof brick warehouse was built with some subtle Beaux-Arts flair. It was completed in 1923 and has been converted to offices today.
Columbus Transfer Co. Warehouse (Carr Building)
Historic photo of the western building before its 1900 addition. (Wikimedia)
I know this one technically isn’t the Arena District, but as a warehouse building standing isolated among more modern designs, it matches the area’s character and was part of similar designs that extended into the Arena District anyways.
The first section, the westernmost unit, was built in 1882 for either Charles Aler’s wallpaper company or the Columbus Transfer Company as a warehouse. Its matching eastern companion, which is recessed slightly, was completed in 1900. Unusual for a warehouse, it has a rather detailed facade, with Romanesque vaulting, stone lintels and columns capitals, and a brickwork cornice.
Photo of the building after its addition in 1900, showing the C. C. Aler Wallpaper Co. remaining as a tenant. (Columbus Metropolitan Library)
My sources contradict about the tenants, which is extremely unusual in that the NRHP listing actually appears to be incorrect. Historic photos clearly show that the building was occupied by the Aler firm for at least some portion of its lifetime. The Columbus Metropolitan Library asserts that the company operated there from 1918 to 1923, which is also incorrect because the second building had not yet been built until 1900, and the first photo in this section clearly shows only one building. The NRHP listing claims it has only had two tenants: the Columbus Transfer Company from 1882 to 1932, and the Carr Plumbing Supply Company from 1936 to around 1979. I’m forced to conclude that Aler’s company occupied the building from some point before 1900 until some point after that date.
1983 photo of the exterior. Carr’s signage remains, but they had vacated by this time. (NRHP listing)
The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983, and it was renovated that year. This must be when the period-correct storefronts were added. Interestingly, the owner at the time objected to its listing, but he withdrew the objection a few months later.
See what I mean about its context? Cheap, crappy contemporary designs mixed with more honest and detailed brick construction.
A straight-on view of the facades:
Detail of the vaulted windows with simple stone capitals:
I think those are original windows, too.
Brick ornamentation above:
I have my opinions about planned developments like the Arena District, but some of its buildings are pretty interesting, even the more recently constructed ones.
Sources:
https://cloud.3dissue.com/100706/101106/119582/NRIADHistoryVol1/index.html?r=87
https://cloud.3dissue.com/100706/101106/119582/NRIADHistoryBook/index.html?r=86
https://www.hok.com/projects/view/nationwide-arena-district-columbus/
https://digital-collections.columbuslibrary.org/digital/collection/ohio/id/25053/
http://www.melecallc.com/portfolio_page/191-west-nationwide-boulevard
https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/83001969.pdf
https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/83001966.pdf
https://digital-collections.columbuslibrary.org/digital/collection/ohio/id/22115
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nationwide_Arena
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huntington_Park_(Columbus,_Ohio)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbus_Buggy_Company
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