Amusement Parks

The Columbus Street Railway Company opened Minerva Park (1895-1902) named after Minerva Shipherd, the wife of the first president of the company, John J. Shipherd. The city’s first amusement park was northeast of the city and was reached by the rail line from Columbus to Westerville. Olentangy Park (1896-1938) started a summer resort containing a bath house, a boat house and picnic areas. The property changed ownership and management a few times over the next decade and gained a bad reputation with the community as a place of debauchery with gambling and drinking, particularly on Sundays when saloons were closed within Columbus city limits. The Columbus Street Railway Company eventually purchased the property, made renovations, and reopened it to the public in the summer of 1896 as Olentangy Park. The park closed in 1937 when the L. L. LeVeque Company purchased it and turned it into the Olentangy Village Apartment Community.

The Indianola Park (1905-1937) Company incorporated in 1904 and began selling stock to build Columbus’ newest amusement park. The park was located at North 4th St. and 19th Ave. in the University District. Indianola Park opened the summer of 1905 with a dance pavilion and a large swimming pool as its main features. The park also had a roller coaster, a carousel, a shooting gallery, a picnic area, and more. Charles Miles managed Indianola Park until 1922 when B.J. Steele and E.P. McKinley purchased the property. In 1937, the park closed permanently due to financial hardship. Today, there is a city park called Indianola Park, but it is in a different location and not connected to the old amusement park.