April 2026.
Cristo Rey Columbus High School (Cristo Rey for brevity), today a high school, is the only remaining building of the demolished Ohio Institution for the Deaf & Dumb. It is an uncommon example of Eclectic architecture, where a building borrows from multiple styles freely. This building in particular mixes Gothic Revival and Chateauesque elements, among others.
Cristo Rey is located at 400 East Town Street in the Discovery District neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio. It is bordered by the Columbus Metropolitan Library to the north, Town Street to the south, Topiary Park to the east, and nearby houses to the west.
History
A historic photo of the building from the northeast, including the now-missing towers. (Wikimedia)
The building now known as Cristo Rey Columbus High School was constructed as a larger school wing for the Ohio Institution for the Deaf & Dumb (which still exists today at a different location as the Ohio School for the Deaf), which stood on the site of Topiary Park today. I cover that building’s history in my Topiary Park article, so I’ll trim down the history to focus on the school building itself.
The school and main building circa 1900. (Wikimedia)
Let’s start with some quick context. The Ohio Institution for the Deaf & Dumb was established in 1827, and it first opened in rented space on High Street and Broad Street in October 1829. It moved to the present site that year and built its own purpose-built school and dormitory, which were completed in 1834. George Bellows designed a larger building in 1867, which was completed in 1868 and stood until 1981, though the school had moved to their current Beechwold location in the 1950s.
Cristo Rey was built in 1899 to expand the 1868 headquarters building’s schooling capacity. The institution was facing increasing enrollment; and with the admission of blind children that had mental disabilities, an act of legislation in 1897 required the school to employ a wider variety of teaching methods to accommodate them. The new school building was designed by local firm Richards, McCarty, & Bulford in an eclectic mix of styles. This design was well-received by the public, earning it the description of an “architectural gem” in one account.
1984 photo of the school. (NRHP listing)
In the 1950s, the prominent towers on the east side of the school building had their elaborate cupolas removed. This was around the same time that the Ohio School for the Deaf moved to a larger and more modern complex in Beechwold, which was completed in 1953. The main building and school were then used by the State of Ohio until the 1970s, when they were abandoned.
With the destruction of the main building in 1981, the school was also slated for demolition, but it was saved by preservationists entering and refusing to leave until the demolition company was called off. The school was then leased to the City of Columbus for a time, before being acquired by a developer. The NRHP listing noted that it would be converted to office use. This seems to have been the case, as 2009 and 2011 captures of the building on Google Maps show it with a business directory on the lawn. The remaining buildings, the school and a since-demolished powerhouse, were listed on the National Register of Historic Places and Columbus Register of Historic Properties in 1984.
A photo of the interior prior to renovations. (Wikimedia)
The NRHP listing emphasized the building’s historic integrity. In 1984, when it was written, it claims that the school is the largest building by Richards, McCarty, & Bulford that has not been heavily altered. Aside from the previously mentioned emasculation of the towers, the only other exterior changes were removal of the stained-glass transom windows above the entrance doors and holes punched through the walls during the demolition of the main building. The holes have since been repaired. The interior was apparently unaltered besides the removal of blackboards and the addition of some small walls. However, with the building’s conversion into offices, it seems that heavy alterations took place. This included the addition of drop ceilings, carpeting, and replacement hardware such as doors.
The Cristo Rey Columbus High School was established in 2013. It is part of the Cristo Rey Network, a non-profit that establishes a school model based on the Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in Chicago. Tailored to low-income students, the school uses a college prep education system combined with work at local businesses. This was in tandem with an $18 million renovation to the interior, which seems to have restored some of the original features.
Photos
A view of the south facade from Town Street:
I really love the Flemish gables and the roof’s flaring eaves, these add touches of whimsy to an already very eclectic building.
From across Town (though mostly obscured by trees):
Detail of one of the gables:
These have Gothic Revival detailing and pinnacles, though their form is more Chateauesque. Most of the building is built of brick, as seen here. The facade mostly uses a buff brick, but the corner quoins are a shade of gray.
Window and ornamental flourish above:
These rhombus details are unusual to me. They flank the windows, and I haven’t yet seen a similar design.
One of the two pinnacles on either end:
The parapet between the two gables has a pattern that is clearly representative of Gothic windows and their tracery:
Gothic ornament rising above the hedge:
The Town Street entrance has a very fancy pointed archway, which has lots of stone ornamentation surrounding it. It’s not the main entrance, but since it faces Town Street, the architects gave it copious gingerbread.
An oblique view from the parking lot:
A similar shot, but better lit and more tasteful:
My lens wasn’t wide enough to get the entire east facade from the parking lot. I think my back was pressed against the gate to Topiary Park here:
Bear in mind that any further back would have hopelessly obscured the facade with all of the foliage in Topiary Park. Anyways, the two shortened towers can be seen pretty prominently here, which clash with the more fanciful ornamentation and massing of the rest of the building. It’s so irritating that the towers just terminate abruptly instead of being concluded with the appropriate flourish. These kind of thoughtless mid-century renovations to “modernize” Victorian buildings never really consider the intention of the architect. Towers naturally draw the eye upward, and when the reward at the top is subverted, it defeats the entire architectural purpose.
This central area has pretty regular fenestration, aside from the arched windows on the third floor:
Detail of the vaulted windows and the fancy stone arches above:
The tower entrances are highly elaborate and have very detailed Gothic Revival archways, with shield reliefs and the classic education-related quote centered above the door:
The arch is lined with grotesques, mostly human, but there is a demon of some sort in the corner:
Insert trite commentary about this quote no longer being the case here. It is true, but I hate having to think about it and write it out every time I look at a historic school.
The two Ds stand for what else but…deaf and dumb.
Here is the southern counterpart to the northern entrance I just discussed:
The arch has similar grotesques:
Remember the concept of the euphemism treadmill when you look at this relief--“dumb” was the medically accepted terminology at the time, as was “retarded” later on and “mentally disabled” today. As formerly common medical terms are used as insults, their use is abandoned, and we invent new ones, and the cycle repeats.
The window above has a square hood mold:
One of the side wings:
These have a similar gable and roof design as the rest of the building, just at a smaller scale.
A small alley (Selina Alley) runs on the west side of the school, where I got this view of the south facade from:
The building is more utilitarian back here, and the alley is very cramped. I just got this one shot:
It’s great that Cristo Rey has rehabilitated this historic building and serves as such an asset for the underprivileged children of Columbus. It seems like the school is very successful.
Sources:
Architecture: Columbus by Robert Samuelson
https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71988493
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cristo_Rey_Columbus_High_School
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio_Institution_for_the_Deaf_and_Dumb
No comments:
Post a Comment