Columbus To-Do List Part 2

Location 2–Park of Roses

On going to this park, I did not have  the highest of expectations. In my mind, a park in the middle of a city simply can’t be comparable to something like, for instance, Hocking Hills. That assumption was correct, but that does not mean this park is not gorgeous; it is arguably the most picturesque park I’ve ever been to, even in the death of late-Autumn the park retained a sense of beauty. While it isn’t the wild, untamed park that I usually prefer, it is a gorgeous scenic point. Jeremy and I came here with the intention of taking a picture, maybe having a poke around, and leaving, all in the name of necessity for this very post. But before we knew it, we had lost the day. By the time we actually got around to taking a proper photo, the sun had already began to set. If that doesn’t reveal the majesty of this place, I’m not sure what would.

 

 

 

Location 3–Walhalla Ravine/Hollow

Our next stop (now past sundown) was a genuinely pleasant 40 minute walk from Park of Roses, and after being thoroughly mislead by Jeremy’s Apple Maps, we arrived in near total-darkness at the street. While the camera illustrates a depressing picture, this stop hit an artistic note in me–the unique modernist architecture that blended the angles of the ravine into the construction of homes created some wonderfully created homes. Personally, my favorite was toward the top of the ravine by Indianola Avenue, a smaller home had an open-air, single-car garage on its ‘roof,’ with a staircase leading down to the front door and the rest of the time. Homes like this, and others, really provide a sense of beauty that the efficiency-minded construction on most blocks in a concrete jungle such as Columbus that cannot be found elsewhere

Location 4–Studio 35 

To be honest, this stop was more of a curiosity into the building itself rather than the fact it played movies. We were both interested in the revival of a lost piece of American heritage–the local movie theater. We were not let down either, the building itself maintains a classic feeling, of what I would describe as a blast into the 1950’s; like I was in Hill Valley of the 1950’s, from Back to the Future. When we entered it was also a very clean, trendy place, with all modern pieces of luxury, and a beautiful dark-wood theme that gave it a warmth that typical black-and-blue carpet theaters such as AMC fails to provide. It felt clean, not like a gross, sticky mess. The Gateway is closer, so I will likely be attending there for most of my theater visits on campus, but Studio 35 is definitely a treasure worth seeing.

 

 

 

Location 5–Clintonville Outfitters

If I am to be entirely candid, I am not a fan of shopping, I have the philosophy that if I go to the store, I am very seldom there for the long haul; get-in and get-out. This place does represent something I care much more for though; the return of local business, small shops. Clearly, this store fills the niche that big box-stores like Dick’s Sporting Goods or Bass Pro Shops would usually satisfy. Much akin to my thoughts of Lucky’s Market, it is representative of a positive trend toward a stronger community, smaller businesses, and more compassionate companies. While the store itself isn’t not spectacular, I would definitely go there before I would visit a larger, multinational company. There is truly something more special about contributing to local economy and real people, rather than to faceless corporations.

 

From this assignment, I learned that Columbus is much more alive than I previously believed. It also helped me leave my comfort bubble within campus, growing up in the middle of nowhere, walking at night wasn’t anymore dangerous than walking around during the day, either way there was a 50% of getting attacked by a herd of angry geese. I had always been told that cities were scary at night, and upstanding citizens shouldn’t leave their homes after the sun sets, but this journey really helped dispel that assumption. Since most of our trip was done in the dark of night, we got plenty of experience, and what we saw was nothing out of the ordinary, and while I won’t be walking down unlit alleyways still, I won’t cower and call an Uber at the first sign of darkness. Exploring Walhalla ignited an itch that was dormant for a very long time in me, and that itch is a fascination for architecture and the infinite possibilities of construction, taking every angle of the surroundings and utilizing them instead of plowing them all flat and constructing the same boring house as the rest on the street. If there are any, I would definitely love to explore any places that break typical mold of “tall, rectangular, concrete” in city structures. I would recommend anybody to Walhalla, but they must come with the mindset that what they take out of it is what they put into it. It isn’t a store, nor is it a particularly nice place, nor does it ‘do’ anything. It’s beauty in a very simple form, a form that, in the modern age of over-consumption of luxury and its abundance in any second in every medium, is increasingly seldom.