ARP 2 final version

ARP 2

English 1110.01

Zachary LaValley

Due date: 04/24/2019

 

The unique beauty present in Granvilles appearance

 

Granville is a small town founded in 1805 (HistoricHomes). It occupies only 4.71mil^2 and has a small population of only 5,773 (DataUSA). Although small, Granvilles average income is very high sitting at over 92,000 dollars (DataUSA). Granville has a lack of large restaurant operations. Some of the few large restaurant chains that are present in Granville include 1 Subway, 1 Wendy’s, and 1 Donatos. The change in infrastructure is low. A map of Granville Seen in Denison University depicts the town of Granville in the year 1938. Many of the prehistoric structures shown on the map still remain today in the exact spot shown on the map (David). When looking at the financial department of Granville, the obvious conclusion made is the amount of expenses going towards non-profit recreational activities. Funds include the Opera House Park improvement, Bryn Du mansion, Pathway reserve, parkland reserve, and Municipal Building reserve fund. A total budget of $385,794.00 goes towards these funds on average each year (Finance). The Municipal Building reserve fund had a budget of $120,037.00 (Finance). The purpose of this fund is to have set balance of revenue saved for future renovations for the Town Hall (Finance). Granvilles effort in maintaining the appearance of a unique look is very prominent in the structures that remain in downtown Granville today. Why does Granville place such importance on the appearance of its current stature? Through an aggressive preservation of a frozen society, Granville displays a unique beauty.   

  When looking beyond the facts, the importance that Granville places on its appearance can be seen in places that an individual would never expect. The unique beauty of Granville can be seen through the Opera House Park. At first glance of the park, an outsider would assume it to be an open lot. A closer look at the park transforms it into a message of improvement. Flowers and trees blow in the wind as the cars pass by. Families are often seen having picnics surrounded by honeybees as they pollinate the plants. A moss covered bell lies in the grass with the name Opera House Park. The Opera House Park is dedicated to the great fire of the old Opera House in 1982 (GranvilleHistory). The Opera House Park doesn’t even take up an acre of land. The location of the park is almost directly in the center of the town. With libraries and suburb buildings this location is very unusual for a park. The way the neon green lawn and newly planted flowers each year contradicts the dull grey buildings, which almost puts an emphasis that granville wants people to notice this small park. This does raise the question to why Granville built the park in the first place? Granville could have easily built a museum, but instead they built a park. This park only emphasizes the existence of an Opera house once on a bell that lies in the grass of the park. The rest of the space is dedicated towards community based projects such a planting new flowers each year. This could raise the assumption that Granville values appearance over the information of past history. Maybe Granville did this as a way of attracting more people to the park, thus having more people learn about what once remained. That would mean that Granvilles appearance is implemented rather than coincidental.

Another park that is seen depicting a unique appearance is the Wildwood park. resting a few miles away from Opera House park, Wildwood stands on roughly 20 acres of land. Much larger than The Opera House park Wildwood holds the fourth of july fireworks every year. Everyone in the town gathers in the field to watch to the fireworks. As a child all the children would watch the fireworks in the playground. At the end of the night all of the kids would end up with splinters from the old wood. Just recently in 2018 the park was rebuilt. The new park in place is colored a dull brown. Many parks today have a very vibrant color that matches the children’s energy levels. Granville had built a park that is not visually stimulating and is boring to look at, knowing that Wildwood would be seen by the entire town and more during the fourth of July. Granville used its dull brown color as a way of imitating the old wood that the park was once built of. This could raise the question that Granville is resisting to change its appearance. Granville is maintaining this unique beauty in its parks aggressively.                   

 

When taking a closer look at the buildings of Granville, one will realize that buildings is another way that Granville expresses its unique beauty. The age of houses in Granville are relatively older and do not follow the current trends of modern houses. Houses covered in old moss and plates on the front porches seems to be common trend that Granville has to offer. When looking at the roofs of each house a common trend become relevant. The roofs of each house has a swirly design; a style that dates back to the 1800s. The colors of each house are very dull and worn out. The color is not faded, but purposely made a lighter shade. The main street way that runs through Granville depicts an old western town. Each building parallel in height with old western style window. Granville maintains a posture that is rural and festive. This unique look is what makes Granville pop from other towns. A writer in the Granville advocate speaks about the inspired artists upcoming in the show impression of Granville and states “Granville’s historic ambiance is admired by many who live outside the community, including artists. Gahanna painter Anastasia Horowitz’s attraction to Granville resulted in her exhibiting in last year’s show” (Impressions). Artists are seen adoring the unique look that Granville has to offer. Although Granville is depicted as a festive historic ambiance is, is Granville attempting to preserve the history of Granville for a reason? Looking at the average age of Granville, one will find that most of the buildings were built before and after WW2. In the Granvilles Bicentennial, building age range can be seen from 1800 and 1900. Most of the buildings remain in the same spot today in perfect condition. Buildings such as Bryn Du mansion, which was built in 1865 by Henry D. is still being renovated and used today (HistoricHomes).

Another aspect of Granville that portrays its unique beauty is the brick road that runs between two old churches. The old brick road is a small piece of land that once remained in the 1800s. The bricks are chipped and worn down to the core. When driving over the road one would get the sensation that they were in a horse and buggy. The old red color of the brick fades more each year. Granville could have easily removed this street and placed in a modern street, but the old street has remained. The street provides Granville with a unique perspective on its display of beauty. Another colleague of mine; Baker Poling, refers to a photo of a church that lies directly next to the brick road in Granville. In his paper he states “church is white painted with black shingles, and with the red brick building beside it and the bright green trees in front of it, the color of these would take away from the focus of the photo, the church”. In this photo Baker is talking about how the photos are displayed in black in white as a way of directing the audience towards what actually matters. I believe that this brick road is using the same type of directive technique. I believe that Granville placed this visual in Granville as a way of embracing the unique beauty of history.

A factual representation of Granvilles aggressiveness towards maintaining its unique beauty can be seen in the budget plan. In the year 2018, Granvilles preservation of its appearance can be seen in the statistics but also appears as an aggressive behavior. Over $400,000.00 is set aside for non-profit subscriptions. If put in a percentage that’s nearly 20% of Granvilles budget plan (Finances). Granville has set aside the same budget for the last decade and more. If the pattern continues the strive for appearance is a necessary element that will forever operate in Granville.

A contradiction to maintaining an old appearance can be found in the Scioto river in Columbus Ohio. In particular the efforts to maintain an appealing appearance in the Scioto river are currently implemented. In Stephen Gunzelman video he explains the future for the health of the Scioto river. He explains that the efforts of cleaning up the river have been ineffective due to the large usage of the river. His overall solution included abandoning the activities held at the river and to restrict access to the river. In doing this it will stop the pollution and improve the appearance. The effects on maintaining the Scioto river were terminated due to the overuse of the river. Granville is able maintain the unique appearance of Granville without complications. Maybe it’s due the lack of population in Granville? Maybe Granville implemented its preservation plans better?

A second contradiction can be found in the town of Old Pickerington. In my colleague; Isabel Arauco, she talks about the evolution of the town. She states that Over the past year Old Pickerington has expanded in technology and infrastructure. She continues on how Old pickerington unique beauty comes from the evolution of the town. This is an exact opposite to Granvilles view of beauty. Granville beauty is seen through the old stature of the town while Old Pickeringtons beauty is seen through evolution. The main focus of Granville is as little change as possible. Granville obtains its beauty through the frozen society that engulfs it’s town.                   

The importance of appearance is widely discussed phenomenon in today’s society. A simple appealing look can make or break a persons liking of its given topic. When choosing a location for your family to live, the number one question is whether it’s appealing to you. While sound and smell are aspects, the most prominent deciding factor is the appealing sight that a place gives you. Just like a fish, humans are attracted to unique variety of appearances. Some enjoy a plane habitat while others enjoy a exciting habitat. Using this people are able to create a technique of luers in order to shift the current of revenue. Just recently in 2018 Granville passed an income tax that goes directly to schools. The income tax is 1.25 % tax on the your houses total value (Tax).  For some that have smaller houses, that tax has no impact on the user. But for most Granville citizens who own a house on average $323,400.00, it becomes a big deal (Tax). Teachers are now benefiting off the average higher wage citizens of Granville. Indirectly the amount appealing buildings that comprise of Granville were reasons why richer individuals moved to Granville. Without its appealing appearance Granville would not be able to tax as much as they do, as a result Granville would not be a successful town like today.

When looking at one college major in particular, a connection can be made with Granville. The major that I am pursuing is air transportation. In air transportation flying is your passion. The beauty of the sky is brought to your eyes every day. One question that I ask myself is how air transportation can benefit the unique beauty of Granville? I believe that most of the beauty experienced in Granville is from ground level view. It’s very rare when one can experience the beauty from above. In my major I believe that this aspect can be brought to reality. A small airport can be developed in the back fields of wildwood. This airplane will fly above Granville once a day and broadcast across Granville through the internet. The airplane can also provide free flight tours of Granville for low cost. All the revenue created from these will be directly given to preservation organizations in Granville. I believe that in doing this people will start to truly realize how unique Granville is to other towns.       

The appealing appearance of Granville is a prominent aspect that brings in people from around the world. Granville preservation towards its town is present in a variety of forms. Granville is very aggressive towards maintaining its appearance. Granville is truly a unique place in the world and is loved by many. This pattern of preservation has continued and will continue for many generations to come. The beauty that engulfs Granville is like no other place in the world, and will always be a unique town.  

 

Work Cited

Burchard, D, and D. Michell. Denison University, Granville Ohio. 1938, David Rumsey Historical Map Collection. https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~292113~90063958:Denison-University,-Granville-Ohio

 

McDonald, Craig. “Granville Schools Weigh 2018 Tax Options.” The Advocate, Oct 02, 2017. ProQuest, http://proxy.lib.ohio-state.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.proxy.lib.ohio-state.edu/docview/1947681767?accountid=9783.

 

Miller, Brian. “Granville Impressions.” The Advocate, Sep 24, 2006. ProQuest, http://proxy.lib.ohio-state.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.proxy.lib.ohio-state.edu/docview/441950752?accountid=9783.

 

McDonald, Craig. “Granville School Plan Targets Lead in Fountains.” The Advocate, Apr 27, 2016. ProQuest, http://proxy.lib.ohio-state.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.proxy.lib.ohio-state.edu/docview/1784561794?accountid=9783.

 

“Granville, OH.” Data USA, https://datausa.io/profile/geo/granville-oh/#intro

 

“Finance Department.” Village of Granville, March 21, 2019. www.granville.oh.us/finance-department.

 

“Historic Homes of Granville.” Granville Bicentennial, 1805-2005.

http://static1.1.sqspcdn.com/static/f/321834/4687650/1257632825507/historic_home_inventory.pdf?token=Mu2xqwcf1iRY3DZYCNYLZrzbM7c=

 

Poling, Baker. “The Resistance to Change of Granville, Ohio.” Unpublished paper, English 1110.01. Spring 2019.

 

Gunzelman, Stephen. “The Scioto River; To preserve or not to preserve.” Unpublished video, English 1110.01. Spring 2019

 

Arauco, Isabel. “Evolution of Old Pickerington.” Unpublished video, English 1110.01. Spring 2019