April-May 2026.
The Columbus Museum of Art is Columbus’s primary art museum. It reminds me of a pint-sized Art Institute in Chicago, since both have a very similar method and style of architectural design. I found the interior to be very interesting, too, both historic and contemporary.
The Columbus Museum of Art is located at 480 East Broad Street in the Discovery District neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio. It is bordered by Gay Street to the north, Broad Street and Broad Street United Methodist to the south, Washington Avenue and the State Automobile Mutual Building to the east, and 9th Street and First Congregational to the west.
History
The museum’s history can be traced back to 1878, when it was founded as the Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts. It held rotated exhibits at locations such as the library, YMCA, and even “Early’s Piano Parlors.”
Francis Sessions House (left) and William Monypeny House (right), which housed the art museum and school, respectively. (Columbus Metropolitan Library)
In 1892, the gallery moved to the Francis Sessions House at 478 East Broad Street, which was located on the site of the current building. Sessions was a founder of the Columbus Art School (now the Columbus College of Art and Design), and the adjacent William Monypeny House was used by the school in its earlier years, as the two had merged in 1887. The house and land were willed to the art museum by Sessions after his death.
Historic photo of the recently completed building. (Columbus Museum of Art website)
The construction of an art museum was intended to be part of the larger Civic Center project downtown, a result of the Beaux-Arts City Beautiful Movement. However, after a bond to finance this project failed in 1912, the museum was built separately. The existing building on the site was designed in the Renaissance Revival style by Richards, McCarty, & Bulford. The Sessions and Monypeny houses were demolished and construction began in 1929. Some architectural elements were saved and used on the Beaton Hall administration building. The museum was completed in 1931 and opened on January 22 of that year.
A view of the 1974 addition in 1992. (NRHP listing)
The first addition to the 1931 building was a small structure in the rear, which was designed by Van Buren & Firestone and completed in 1974. In 1978, the museum’s centennial, it was renamed to the “Columbus Museum of Art.” The museum was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.
Much of the museum’s current appearance can be attributed to more modern additions, which began as part of a reconstruction and expansion effort in 2007. A larger addition with 18,000 square feet of space was completed on the north side in 2011, which replaced the 1972 addition. Then, in 2015, the 50,000 square foot Margaret M. Walter Wing opened, which was designed by DesignGroup. This bold addition is differentiated by its orthogonal construction and sea green cladding, much different from the vaulting and masonry of the original Beaux-Arts building. As it stands today, the museum is entered through the rear, and some of the original exterior can be viewed from inside the additions.
In 2018, the Pizzuti family gifted a building adjacent to Goodale Park and part of their contemporary art collection to the museum, which allowed the establishment of the Pizzuti Collection annex. This collection is located in the Short North by Goodale Park and serves as the museum’s contemporary exhibits.
Photos
Oblique view from the corner of Broad and 9th:
The building has a simple tripartite composition, two windowless wings set back from a central portion with three prominent arched entrances. This symmetrical form and the stone exterior are classic Renaissance Revival features.
The projecting entrance bay establishes a hierarchy, as do the stairs leading up to it. When looking at the museum, it is immediately clear where to enter. This kind of design is very common on classically-influenced buildings.
Zoomed in more on the central module:
Interestingly, the building lacks columns or pilasters on the exterior, yet it instantly reads as classical. Part of this effect is due to the classical ornamentation, such as these arches and their leafy carved keystones:
The cornice above has modillions set into it, but it is otherwise very simple. The frieze reads “COLUMBUS MUSEUM OF ART.”
Classical light fixture with a green patina (meaning it is probably copper):
These arches formerly led to the entrances, but they are now in practice large windows:
The vestibule inside has groin-vaulted ceilings and small Doric pilasters:
Detail of the vaulting:
I also liked the original metal pattern on the door frames.
Western wing:
The friezes on the wings were designed by sculptor Robert Aitken and depict 68 artists from antiquity to the year 1925, which includes George Bellows Jr., a well-known Columbus artist.
Eastern wing, with a sculpture known as Out of There:
Normally I’m not a fan of additions like this one, but there’s something appealing about it:
On paper, it does several things I typically don’t like. It encroaches past the original building and dominates it at certain angles, it does not respond to the original building in form or material, and it seems to be the thoughtless contemporary architecture that’s everywhere at first glance. However, I think it works because it establishes a duality with the original, serving as a foil to it, making a formerly lone object part of a larger composition. This approach to the design of expansions of historic buildings is difficult to get right.
…at least that’s true if you don’t look at the Washington Avenue side. Form follows function, right? It is an art gallery, after all.
Now you see what nonsense I was yapping about earlier?
I didn’t get anything from the west end other than this Art Nouveau-ish fence:
I also didn’t get any pictures of the north side either, which I regret now. Anyways, I did visit the interior with my girlfriend on a Sunday, as admission is free that day. Here is the atrium beyond the entrance, which shows the difference between the original building and 2015 addition:
I like the contrast between the metal paneling and masonry:
A hanging installation on the other side:
Cornice and sky:
Hallway to the 1931 building and 2011 addition:
I wanted to get a shot of the light and shadow on the wall here, but clouds made the light diffuse the second I walked over.
The interior of the original building uses the common “rooms-off-a-hallway” technique so common in stodgy old art museums. The hallways have groin-vaulted ceilings, which are painted with polychromatic hues:
Detail:
The center of the museum has an atrium, which was formerly open to the elements but enclosed in the 1950s:
These arches have reliefs of an Assyrian king and Egyptian queen between them:
This corner has some contemporary art and some reliefs meant to recall ancient sculpture:
Arches on the opposite end:
These walls have a blind arch set into them, surrounded by Doric pilasters, and with balustrades along the top:
This vestibule was where the original entrance led visitors to first, which repeats the three-arch motif from the exterior:
Keystone and gilded plasterwork:
A better view from the shorter end:
Chandelier:
The ceiling is extremely elaborate and features lots of fun plaster details. It has probably been restored, but it is in excellent repair regardless.
A closer view:
I felt that the main gallery spaces weren’t very distinguished architecturally (I think they had been altered), and they were filled with people anyways. Regardless, the art museum is a unique gem of Columbus and definitely worth checking out if you have the time.
Sources:
Architecture: Columbus by Robert Samuelson
https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71988565
https://digital-collections.columbuslibrary.org/digital/collection/ohio/id/2666/
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