District History

Hudson Street to Tompkins Avenue along Summit Street

As a city located in the heart of the farm belt of Middle America, Columbus has not had the advantages of mountains or seashore that many Americans find attractive. Early settlers realized quickly that in addition to the rivers in central Ohio, the Columbus area was also the location of some rather noteworthy ravines, which ran from the crests of major ridge points to the rivers below.

These ravines were hindrances to be crossed for the earliest settlers. It was not too long before other uses were seen for them as well. In 1867, a British company discovered a relatively rare sort of clay, which has excellent pipemaking qualities in a ravine on the north side of the University District. For many years, the ravine provided a major industry to the area.

By the early twentieth century, the company had moved on and the entire north end of the city began to be developed as fashionable housing for the working people of Columbus. The electrified streetcar was the key to all of this growth. Neighborhoods along the car lines and outside the city limits became the home of the more affluent people who could afford the motor cars needed to live in these areas.

The Glen Echo Ravine, like the Iuka Ravine to the south, emerged in the early twentieth century as such an area. Hudson Street from Indianola to Fourth was a commercial corridor for these neighborhoods, since Hudson was an extension of Mock Road, which ran east to west across most of Clinton Township.

As the city expanded its boundaries in the 1920s and motorcars became more widespread, the Glen Echo area became more of a city neighborhood. The commercial corridor along Summit Street from Hudson to Tompkins came into being to meet the needs of area residents. Most of the structure in this commercial area date from the period between World War I and World War II and are relatively unprepossessing in style and function.

Because of its location further from the campus of the Ohio State University, this commercial area has retained much of the architectural flavor and style of its original development while the uses of the buildings have changed to meet current community needs.