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Columbus is the capital of the U.S. state of Ohio. Founded in 1812 at the confluence of the Scioto and Olentangy rivers, it assumed the functions of state capital in 1816.
According to the 2000 census, Columbus has a population of 711,470 residents, making it the largest city in Ohio and the 15th largest in the United States. The population increased to an estimated 730,657 in 2005. The greater Columbus metropolitan area has a population of 1,708,625 as of 2005, ranking it third in Ohio (behind Cleveland and Cincinnati) and 31st in the United States of America. With regard to the Combined Statistical Area (which includes Chillicothe and Marion), Columbus ranks 24th in the country with approximately 1.84 million residents.
Located near the geographic center of the state, Columbus is the county seat of Franklin County, though parts of the city also extend into Delaware and Fairfield counties.
Culture
Landmarks and museums
Columbus is home to several world-class buildings, including the Greek-Revival State Capitol and the Peter Eisenman-designed Wexner Center and Columbus Convention Center.
The Ohio Statehouse construction began in 1839 on a 10-acre (40,000-m˛) plot of land donated by four prominent Columbus landowners. This plot formed Capitol Square, which was not part of the original layout of the city. Built of Columbus limestone from the Marble Cliff Quarry Co., the Statehouse stands on foundations 18 feet (5 m) deep, laid by prison labor gangs rumored to have been comprised largely of masons jailed for minor infractions. The Statehouse features a central recessed porch with a colonnade of a forthright and primitive Greek Doric mode. A broad and low central pediment supports the windowed astylar drum under an invisibly low saucer dome that lights the interior rotunda. Unlike many U.S. state capitol buildings, the Ohio State Capitol owes little to the architecture of the national Capitol. During the long course of the Statehouse's 22 years of construction, seven architects were employed. Relations between the legislature and the architects were not always cordial: Nathan B. Kelly, who introduced heating and an ingenious system of natural forced ventilation, was dismissed because the commissioners found his designs too lavish for the original intentions of the committee. The Statehouse was opened to the legislature and the public in 1857 and finally completed in 1861. It is located at the intersection of Broad and High Streets in downtown Columbus.
The Columbus Museum of Art opened in 1931, with a collection focusing on European and American art up to early modernism. Franklin Park Conservatory, which was also home to AmeriFlora '92, and a to-scale replica of the Santa Maria on the Scioto River front that was installed to commemorate the 500-year anniversary of the discovery of America by Columbus' namesake.
COSI-Columbus, a notable science museum, as well as the museum of the Ohio Historical Society.
Wexner Center for the Arts, a contemporary art gallery and research facility located on the OSU campus, and the Ohio State University Athletics Hall of Fame, located in the Jerome Schottenstein Center (home of the OSU basketball and men's ice hockey teams). The Chadwick Arboretum is nearby.
The Ohio Historical Society is headquartered in Columbus, with its flagship museum, the 250,000-square-foot (23,000-m˛) Ohio Historical Center, located just four miles (6 km) north of downtown.
The Columbus Metropolitan Library is arguably the nation's top-ranked library system (Hennens American Public Library Ratings).
The Franklin Park Conservatory is an excellent Victorian-era conservatory.
The Columbus Zoo is world renowned, and its director emeritus, Jack Hanna, frequently appears on national television, including on The Tonight Show and The Late Show with David Letterman.
Founded in 1975, The Jefferson Center for Learning and the Arts is a campus of nonprofit organizations and a center for research, publications, and seminars on nonprofit leadership and governance. Located at the eastern edge of downtown Columbus, Ohio, The Jefferson Center has restored eleven turn-of-the-century homes as locations for nonprofits in human services, education and the arts and recently obtained a twelfth property to renovate.
Established in 1848, Greenlawn Cemetery is one of the largest cemeteries in the Midwestern United States.
The famous painting Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte is represented in topiary at Columbus's Old Deaf School Park.
Columbus was once home to the largest amusement park in the country. The 100-acre Olentangy Park existed from 1899 to 1938 in Clintonville and once had four Roller Coasters, a zoo, a dance pavilion, a theatre, and what was then the largest swimming pool in the world.
Fairs and festivals
Annual festivities in Columbus include the Ohio State Fair—one of the largest state fairs in the country—and the Columbus Arts Festival and the Jazz and Ribs Festival, both of which occur on the downtown waterfront. ComFest (short for "community festival") is an immense three-day gathering in Goodale Park (just north of downtown Columbus) with art vendors and live music on multiple stages, hundreds of local social and political organizations, body painting and beer. Coinciding with the weekend of ComFest is the large Gay Pride Parade, reflective of the sizeable gay population in Columbus. Around the Fourth of July, Columbus hosts Red, White, and Boom, the largest fireworks display in the midwest on the riverfront downtown to crowds of over 500,000 people, as well as the popular "Doo Dah Parade", a nonsensical satire of ordinary parades. Each June the Park of Roses in Clintonville holds its annual "Rose Festival" featuring 13 acres of blooming roses. The Origins International Game Expo is held around the first week of July. The Short North is host to the monthly "Gallery Hop", which attracts hundreds to the neighborhood's art galleries (which all open their doors to the public until late at night) and street musicians. Each September, German Village throws an annual Oktoberfest celebration that features authentic German food, beer, music, and crafts. The Hilltop Bean Dinner is an annual event held on Columbus' West Side that celebrates the city's Civil War heritage near the historic Camp Chase Cemetery. Festival Latino is held in June and celebrates Latino culture with music, food and activities. This free event is held downtown and draws over 300,000. The Jazz and Rib Fest is a free downtown event held each July featuring jazz artists and rib vendors from around the country. In either late May or early June, Columbus holds the Asian Festival in Franklin Park. Hundreds of restaurants, vendors, and companies open up booths, traditional music and martial arts are performed, and cultural exhibits are set up.
Columbus also hosts many conventions in the Greater Columbus Convention Center, a pastel-colored building on the north edge of downtown that resembles jumbled blocks, or a train yard from overhead. The convention center was designed by famed architect Peter Eisenman, who also designed the renowned Wexner Center, also located in Columbus at the campus of The Ohio State University. Completed in 1993, the convention center spanned nearly 600,000 square feet (56,000 m˛) at the time, and has recently been expanded.
Sports
Columbus is home to the Ohio State Buckeyes college football team. The team is a member of the NCAA's Big Ten Conference, and plays home games at Ohio Stadium. The OSU-Michigan football game is the final game of the regular season and is played in November each year, alternating between Columbus and Ann Arbor, Michigan. ESPN has recognized the OSU-Michigan rivalry as the greatest rivalry in all of sports. Moreover, "Buckeye fever" permeates Columbus culture year-round and forms a major part of Columbus's cultural identity. During the winter months, the Buckeyes basketball team is also a major sporting attraction.
Columbus is home to several professional sports teams, as well as one minor league baseball team. The Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League and Columbus Destroyers of the Arena Football League both play at Nationwide Arena, while the Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer play at their own stadium, Columbus Crew Stadium. The Columbus Clippers, a Triple A baseball team, are the farm team of the New York Yankees.
Since 1976, the Columbus suburb of Dublin is the location of the PGA Tour's Memorial Tournament at the Muirfield Village golf course, which is closely associated with Jack Nicklaus. In 1987, the course hosted the Ryder Cup.
From 1985 to 1988, Columbus hosted major league auto racing, with the IMSA Columbus Ford Dealers 500. Rahal Letterman Racing has a home in the west suburb of Hilliard and races in the Indy Racing League. Intersport Racing has a home in the northwest suburb of Dublin and races in the American Le Mans Series. Kilisport has a home in the northwest suburb of Powell and competes in the Champ Car Atlantic Series. TrueSports, owners of the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, has a home in the northwest suburb of Dublin.
Columbus hosts the annual Arnold Classic weightlifting and fitness exposition in late February, as well as the annual Quarterhorse Congress. Both of these conventions are very large tourist draws to the city.
Sorry, no tips were foundAccording to the 2000 census, Columbus has a population of 711,470 residents, making it the largest city in Ohio and the 15th largest in the United States. The population increased to an estimated 730,657 in 2005. The greater Columbus metropolitan area has a population of 1,708,625 as of 2005, ranking it third in Ohio (behind Cleveland and Cincinnati) and 31st in the United States of America. With regard to the Combined Statistical Area (which includes Chillicothe and Marion), Columbus ranks 24th in the country with approximately 1.84 million residents.
Located near the geographic center of the state, Columbus is the county seat of Franklin County, though parts of the city also extend into Delaware and Fairfield counties.
Culture
Landmarks and museums
Columbus is home to several world-class buildings, including the Greek-Revival State Capitol and the Peter Eisenman-designed Wexner Center and Columbus Convention Center.
The Ohio Statehouse construction began in 1839 on a 10-acre (40,000-m˛) plot of land donated by four prominent Columbus landowners. This plot formed Capitol Square, which was not part of the original layout of the city. Built of Columbus limestone from the Marble Cliff Quarry Co., the Statehouse stands on foundations 18 feet (5 m) deep, laid by prison labor gangs rumored to have been comprised largely of masons jailed for minor infractions. The Statehouse features a central recessed porch with a colonnade of a forthright and primitive Greek Doric mode. A broad and low central pediment supports the windowed astylar drum under an invisibly low saucer dome that lights the interior rotunda. Unlike many U.S. state capitol buildings, the Ohio State Capitol owes little to the architecture of the national Capitol. During the long course of the Statehouse's 22 years of construction, seven architects were employed. Relations between the legislature and the architects were not always cordial: Nathan B. Kelly, who introduced heating and an ingenious system of natural forced ventilation, was dismissed because the commissioners found his designs too lavish for the original intentions of the committee. The Statehouse was opened to the legislature and the public in 1857 and finally completed in 1861. It is located at the intersection of Broad and High Streets in downtown Columbus.
The Columbus Museum of Art opened in 1931, with a collection focusing on European and American art up to early modernism. Franklin Park Conservatory, which was also home to AmeriFlora '92, and a to-scale replica of the Santa Maria on the Scioto River front that was installed to commemorate the 500-year anniversary of the discovery of America by Columbus' namesake.
COSI-Columbus, a notable science museum, as well as the museum of the Ohio Historical Society.
Wexner Center for the Arts, a contemporary art gallery and research facility located on the OSU campus, and the Ohio State University Athletics Hall of Fame, located in the Jerome Schottenstein Center (home of the OSU basketball and men's ice hockey teams). The Chadwick Arboretum is nearby.
The Ohio Historical Society is headquartered in Columbus, with its flagship museum, the 250,000-square-foot (23,000-m˛) Ohio Historical Center, located just four miles (6 km) north of downtown.
The Columbus Metropolitan Library is arguably the nation's top-ranked library system (Hennens American Public Library Ratings).
The Franklin Park Conservatory is an excellent Victorian-era conservatory.
The Columbus Zoo is world renowned, and its director emeritus, Jack Hanna, frequently appears on national television, including on The Tonight Show and The Late Show with David Letterman.
Founded in 1975, The Jefferson Center for Learning and the Arts is a campus of nonprofit organizations and a center for research, publications, and seminars on nonprofit leadership and governance. Located at the eastern edge of downtown Columbus, Ohio, The Jefferson Center has restored eleven turn-of-the-century homes as locations for nonprofits in human services, education and the arts and recently obtained a twelfth property to renovate.
Established in 1848, Greenlawn Cemetery is one of the largest cemeteries in the Midwestern United States.
The famous painting Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte is represented in topiary at Columbus's Old Deaf School Park.
Columbus was once home to the largest amusement park in the country. The 100-acre Olentangy Park existed from 1899 to 1938 in Clintonville and once had four Roller Coasters, a zoo, a dance pavilion, a theatre, and what was then the largest swimming pool in the world.
Fairs and festivals
Annual festivities in Columbus include the Ohio State Fair—one of the largest state fairs in the country—and the Columbus Arts Festival and the Jazz and Ribs Festival, both of which occur on the downtown waterfront. ComFest (short for "community festival") is an immense three-day gathering in Goodale Park (just north of downtown Columbus) with art vendors and live music on multiple stages, hundreds of local social and political organizations, body painting and beer. Coinciding with the weekend of ComFest is the large Gay Pride Parade, reflective of the sizeable gay population in Columbus. Around the Fourth of July, Columbus hosts Red, White, and Boom, the largest fireworks display in the midwest on the riverfront downtown to crowds of over 500,000 people, as well as the popular "Doo Dah Parade", a nonsensical satire of ordinary parades. Each June the Park of Roses in Clintonville holds its annual "Rose Festival" featuring 13 acres of blooming roses. The Origins International Game Expo is held around the first week of July. The Short North is host to the monthly "Gallery Hop", which attracts hundreds to the neighborhood's art galleries (which all open their doors to the public until late at night) and street musicians. Each September, German Village throws an annual Oktoberfest celebration that features authentic German food, beer, music, and crafts. The Hilltop Bean Dinner is an annual event held on Columbus' West Side that celebrates the city's Civil War heritage near the historic Camp Chase Cemetery. Festival Latino is held in June and celebrates Latino culture with music, food and activities. This free event is held downtown and draws over 300,000. The Jazz and Rib Fest is a free downtown event held each July featuring jazz artists and rib vendors from around the country. In either late May or early June, Columbus holds the Asian Festival in Franklin Park. Hundreds of restaurants, vendors, and companies open up booths, traditional music and martial arts are performed, and cultural exhibits are set up.
Columbus also hosts many conventions in the Greater Columbus Convention Center, a pastel-colored building on the north edge of downtown that resembles jumbled blocks, or a train yard from overhead. The convention center was designed by famed architect Peter Eisenman, who also designed the renowned Wexner Center, also located in Columbus at the campus of The Ohio State University. Completed in 1993, the convention center spanned nearly 600,000 square feet (56,000 m˛) at the time, and has recently been expanded.
Sports
Columbus is home to the Ohio State Buckeyes college football team. The team is a member of the NCAA's Big Ten Conference, and plays home games at Ohio Stadium. The OSU-Michigan football game is the final game of the regular season and is played in November each year, alternating between Columbus and Ann Arbor, Michigan. ESPN has recognized the OSU-Michigan rivalry as the greatest rivalry in all of sports. Moreover, "Buckeye fever" permeates Columbus culture year-round and forms a major part of Columbus's cultural identity. During the winter months, the Buckeyes basketball team is also a major sporting attraction.
Columbus is home to several professional sports teams, as well as one minor league baseball team. The Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League and Columbus Destroyers of the Arena Football League both play at Nationwide Arena, while the Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer play at their own stadium, Columbus Crew Stadium. The Columbus Clippers, a Triple A baseball team, are the farm team of the New York Yankees.
Since 1976, the Columbus suburb of Dublin is the location of the PGA Tour's Memorial Tournament at the Muirfield Village golf course, which is closely associated with Jack Nicklaus. In 1987, the course hosted the Ryder Cup.
From 1985 to 1988, Columbus hosted major league auto racing, with the IMSA Columbus Ford Dealers 500. Rahal Letterman Racing has a home in the west suburb of Hilliard and races in the Indy Racing League. Intersport Racing has a home in the northwest suburb of Dublin and races in the American Le Mans Series. Kilisport has a home in the northwest suburb of Powell and competes in the Champ Car Atlantic Series. TrueSports, owners of the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, has a home in the northwest suburb of Dublin.
Columbus hosts the annual Arnold Classic weightlifting and fitness exposition in late February, as well as the annual Quarterhorse Congress. Both of these conventions are very large tourist draws to the city.
Last edited by Anna (1:41, 10 August 2006)
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