Expansion of Columbus Parks

In the post-war expansion that occurred as soldiers returned from World War II, Columbus grew and so did its park system. Land for what would become the Whetstone Park and the Park of Roses was acquired in 1944 and the park was dedicated on May 28, 1950. Several names had been considered, but Whetstone was chosen because the white settlers of the area retrieved whetstone from the Olentangy River, which borders the park.

Portman Park is named after Maurice “Maury” D. Portman (1914-2003) who served as a Columbus city councilman for 30 years from 1966-96, and as president of the city council for 12 of those years. Portman was the driving force behind merging the Recreation Division and the Division of Parks & Forestry into the Department of Recreation & Parks under director Mel Dodge in 1973.

The riverfront revitalization of downtown Columbus gained momentum with the opening of Bicentennial Park on Independence Day 1976, but the efforts to beautify the riverfront area began decades earlier. The Plan of the City of Columbus, inspired by the City Beautiful movement, included a park along the riverfront area. Today, Scioto Mile stretches along the riverfront and includes 175 acres of park land.

Fort Hayes Bandstand

A piece of Columbus history was transplanted to Whetstone Park in 1975. A bandstand from Fort Hayes, or the Columbus Barracks, was purchased by the Department of Parks and Forestry in 1969.

Park of Roses

Around the same time that Whetstone Park was opening, the Central Ohio Rose Society and the Columbus Rose Club began to work with the city of Columbus to create a municipal rose garden. As a result of these efforts, the Park of Roses was established within Whetstone Park in 1953.

Westgate Park Pond in 1939

Westgate Park began as a neighborhood park in the Hilltop in 1925. The 46-acre park features a fishing pond dedicated in 1951 to Charles W. Harder, a Hilltop resident who taught children from the neighborhood how to fish at the pond.

Courtesy of Grandview Heights Public Library

Lou Berliner Park Sign

Once Southview Park, Berliner Sports Park is named after the Columbus Dispatch sportswriter Lou Berliner (1911-1984). Berliner wrote about amateur and high school sports for the Dispatch for over 44 years until his retirement in 1975.

Courtesy of Columbus Recreation and Parks Department: Sports

Scioto Mile, 2011

Stretching along the waterfront from the Arena District to the Whittier Peninsula, the Scioto Mile created 173 acres of green space in downtown. In this photograph, LeVeque Tower is in the background.

Topiary Garden Park

The Topiary Garden Park depicts George Seurat’s A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. The park is located in downtown Columbus behind Cristo Rey High School, which is in the 1899 Ohio School for the Deaf building, and behind Columbus Metropolitan Library’s Main Library.

Passing Show Comic Encouraging a Vote for Victory Park

Columbus Dispatch cartoonist Billy Ireland promoted the improvement of the Scioto riverfront area in his April 11, 1920 comic strip, “The Passing Show,” which was published on Sundays in The Columbus Dispatch.

Courtesy of The Ohio State University, Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum