Socratic

 February 2026.

3rd Street School, formerly known as Public School No. 6, is the oldest school building in Columbus that continues to operate as a school today. Completed in 1866, it is an example of the earlier Italianate public schools in the city.

3rd Street School is located at 630 South 3rd Street in the German Village neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio. It is bordered by houses to the north, Sycamore Street to the south, Lazelle Street to the east, and 3rd Street to the west.

History

As is pretty common with the lesser-known schools in Columbus, there isn’t much history online about the 3rd Street School. It was built in 1866 as the German-American School and designed in the Italianate style. Since the school is located in German Village, its original function was to teach English to children of German immigrants. When it opened, the school had eight rooms and 287 students. The school was one of four in Columbus that taught exclusively in German beginning in the late 19th century until World War I, when it became an elective.

1929 photo of Smith’s design. (Columbus Metropolitan Library)

In 1925, architect Howard Dwight Smith designed a Beaux-Arts entrance to the school as part of a program to modernize older schools in the district. It has a cast-iron balustrade and an engraved quote.

By 1937, the school became the 3rd Street School for Crippled Children. In the 1940s and 1950s, it was a school for girls with developmental disabilities. The building closed as a school in 1976 and was renovated by Schooley Caldwell that year.

A photo of the school after it was painted. (Facebook)

The brick building was later painted white, and it housed the Greater Columbus Arts Council and Ohio Foundation of the Arts for a period. It was ultimately sold by the school district, and it was acquired by the park district and used as the Golden Age Hobby Shop until 2020. The school is now St. Mary’s middle school, and according to Google Maps, it is also used by “German School Columbus.”

Photos

Seen from 3rd Street:

West facade:

The south, principal facade:

It has a simple and symmetrical Italianate design. Window openings are large and appear to have their original wooden sashes. The roof’s eaves are supported by distantly-spaced corbels, and a gable rises above the entrance. Along with the gable, the entrance is emphasized through the portal and window above.

Howard Dwight Smith’s new entrance design, itself already a century old, with a quote from Socrates:

Detail of the engraved quote and balconnette above:

Out-of-focus view of the vaulted windows above, which have a massive keystone between:

There is some subtle brickwork beneath the eaves:

Also note the discolored brick circle in the middle, which once held a stone medallion with the building’s name. It remains on-site, but I missed it.

Nice oblique view from the southeast:

Again, the symmetry of the Italianate style is obvious from this angle, which itself is a product of classical architecture. The east facade in particular, with its angled roof and pilasters, resembles a classical temple front:

The brickwork here is simple, but it achieves subtle textural effects:

This is a solid example of Italianate architecture at a smaller scale and has been restored excellently. Hopefully it will continue to stand in the years to come.

Sources:

AIA Guide to Columbus by Jeffrey Darbee

Columbus Neighborhoods by Tom Betti

https://www.facebook.com/groups/youknowyourefromcolumbusohif/posts/23904003525866838/

https://digital-collections.columbuslibrary.org/digital/collection/memory/id/162341/

https://digital-collections.columbuslibrary.org/digital/collection/ccs/id/638