Clintonville General and Educational Information General Information - The homes in Clintonville date back to the 1920s, lending a charm to this family neighborhood. Located just north of The Ohio State University, Clintonville features a variety of home styles: from brick ranches to elegant two-stories, with plenty of quiet streets for evening walks. Though Clintonville was never established as a municipality, it has an unmistakable sense of community. The Whetstone Park of Roses in Clintonville is a frequent venue for outdoor events and often plays host to weddings, receptions and photo shoots thanks to its natural beauty. Clintonville also offers a multitude of religious congregations with numerous denominations to choose from. An abundance of local businesses and stores cater to the needs of residents who like to claim there is no other place in Central Ohio quite like Clintonville. Clintonville is an unincorporated neighborhood in north-central Columbus, Ohio, with around 28,000 residents. Since Clintonville is an informal neighborhood inside of the city of Columbus, there are no formally recognized borders. The southern border is loosely defined as Arcadia Avenue or the Glen Echo Ravine. To the east, either Interstate 71 or the adjacent railroad tracks are commonly accepted. The western boundary is assumed to be the Olentangy river. The northern border of Clintonville is the most ambiguous, with definitions anywhere in the three-mile (5 km) stretch from Cooke Road to the southern border of Worthington. Changes in the Columbus real estate market have had a great effect on the northern border. As the cachet of the Clintonville neighborhood grew towards the turn of the 21st century, Realtors began to label homes north of Cooke Road as being in Clintonville, leading to the apparent absorption of Beechwold and nearby neighborhoods south of Worthington. It was not uncommon in the booming real estate market around the turn of the century to even find homes outside of the distinct east and west borders being sold as "Clintonville" homes. It should be stressed though, that since Clintonville and Beechwold have no official existence, the boundaries are a matter of opinion. The area also contains the former unincorporated community of Evanston, a name that was used by the Big Four Railroad as a station along its line and US Postal service until the 1920s. Clintonville includes parts of ZIP codes 43202 and 43214. The post offices at the center of each ZIP code are known as Clintonville Station and Beechwold Station, respectively.
Neighborhoods - Clintonville is home to many traditional style neighborhoods featuring mature, tree-lined streets . Many of the homes were built in the 1920's and range in styles from brick ranches to multi -story luxury homes. Clintonville's neighborhoods are made for relaxing walks in the evenings and friendly conversation with neighbors. Clintonville combines small town friendliness with up-town amenities. Clintonville is a desireable housing area that ranges in price from the $150,000 for a small 2 bedroom cape cod to the upper $300's. Most of the homes will be priced between $200,000 and $300,000. The price will mostly depend on size, condition and if the home has been updated but still with the older charm of the area. Topography Clintonville is divided into two distinct regions, with High Street forming the demarcation line. Property west of High Street to the Olentangy River is lower in elevation than property to east of High Street. Five glacial ravines, Glen Echo, Walhalla, Overbrook, Beechwold and Delawanda, cut through the area from east to west, with stream beds feeding into the Olentangy River. Four of the Ravines have been developed, either with public roadbeds and/or private residences, with Glen Echo being the first ravine preserved as a public park in 1913. A portion of Overbrook Ravine is part of Whetstone Park, adjacent to the Park of Roses. Residential districts in Clintonville are divided into three distinct (and unofficial) areas: South Clintonville - South of North Broadway, housing stock is a mix of single and multiple family homes. The majority of these houses were built prior to 1930, and represent a variety of styles from basic American four-square to other types of revival style architecture. The area is also home to many catalogue (Sears, Montgomery Ward, Radford, etc.) kit homes. These neighborhoods were also initially developed as ?streetcar? developments, the intention being that most residents would rely upon the High Street streetcar lines to travel to downtown Columbus. Garages for the earliest developed streets are access via alleys behind the properties. In the early years of the 21st century, this area has increasingly been referred to as "SOBO", as in "South Of North Broadway". This lays in stark contrast to the "NOBB" area or that which is "North Of Big Bear" referencing the current Giant Eagle and former Big Bear store at 2801 N. High St. on the West side of High St. The "NOBB" area extends from Tulane Rd. to North Broadway only on the West side of High Street and is constituted mainly of renters, graduate students and other less affluent types. The "NOBB" Chamber Of Commerce has attempted to publicize the slogan, "The NOBB shines up quite nicely." to little avail. North Clintonville - Immediately north of North Broadway and stretching to the Overbrook Ravine, this central section of Clintonville shows the progression in architectural styles and lifestyle considerations from the 1920s through the late 1950s. Houses in this portion of Clintonville were built as higher end properties, lack alleyways and contain driveways as a nod to the increasing importance to the role of the automobile. Beechwold - Named for the Jeffery family summer estate on North High Street, Beechwold contains the widest variety of housing, from Cape Cod influenced starter homes to high style, high end housing that occupies the land comprising the former Jeffery family estate. The recently refurbished Graceland Shopping Center, just north of Morse Road and west of High Street, could be considered a part of this area, depending upon the definition of the neighborhood's northern boundary.

Educational Information - Clintonville's public education system consists of 5 elementary schools, 3 middle schools, and 1 high school. Eight Private and parochial schools, such as Watterson High School, also serve the community. In addition to these options, many Clintonville residents choose to send their children to alternative schools located throughout Columbus. Alternative schools generally offer different teaching styles and lower student to teacher ratios than their more conventional counterparts. Quality education is a priority in the Clintonville community and offering public and private alternatives is a testament to the dedication of the school systems and city officials.

Contact Information:
Columbus Public Schools
270 East State Street
Columbus, OH 43215
(614) 365-5000
http://www.clintonville.com/school/index.html

Whetstone Park

Whetstone Park in Clintonville is a Columbus landmark. The Park includes bike trails, baseball fields and tennis courts, a pond, ravine, library and recreation facility, as well as the beautiful 13 acre "Park of Roses." Opened in 1952, the Park of Roses is a frequent site for weddings and special events. In June the Park of Roses hosts its annual "Rose Festival." During summer months concerts featuring many of Columbus' brass bands are held every Sunday evening at the Park's gazebo. Originally located at Fort Hayes, the gazebo was relocated to the Park and restored in 1976. Whetstone Park also hosts an annual Fourth Of July fireworks display for the Clintonville community, perhaps the largest in Columbus aside from the downtown display, "Red, White and Boom."

Landmarks

Popular landmarks in Clintonville include the "Welcome to Clintonville" signs at the main entryways of the community, Immaculate Conception church and Hagley Field, on lease from the Columbus City Schools for Bishop Watterson High School to use as its home field, previously utilized as such by Columbus North High School that closed as a normal high school and re-opened as a vocational school before becoming the temporary home of Columbus East High School students as their school is remodeled. One of the curiosities of the community is a plaque in the sidewalk at the corner of Torrence and Brevoort reading "On This Site in 1897 Nothing Happened." A commemorative historical marker for Clinton Township and Clintonville is now at the North High Street entrance driveway to the Clintonville Women's Club, the sign originally having been at the corner of East North Broadway and High Street - a mile south of the present location.

Olentangy Park

At one time Clintonville was home to the largest amusement park in the United States. First opened in 1880 as "The Villa," by 1900 the 100-acre park and picnic ground had become "Olentangy Park." The Park, located along North High Street between North Street and Tulane Road, grew rapidly between 1900 and 1915, and at one time featured four large roller coasters, including a rare looping coaster known as the "Loop-the-Loop", a  zoo,  a dance pavilion, a large "Shoot-the-Chutes" water slide, and a building from which visitors could rent canoes for a day on the Olentangy River. It was also home to the largest theatre in the country, as well as the largest swimming pool in the world at the time. Olentangy Park closed in 1939, and the land was used to build the Olentangy Village apartment complex; scattered remains of the park could still be found in the woods by the river as recently as the late 1980s. The Park's carousel was moved several times and in 1999 it was beautifully restored. The carousel can now be seen at the Columbus Zoo.

History

The community of Clintonville developed as the center of Clinton Township, part of the land grantz given to Continental Army soldiers in lieu of pensions in what used to be Wyandotte Indian territory. For years, the steep hillsides discouraged development, until farmland was purchased by the Bull family and then used for religious services. Clinton Chapel (now a funeral home) was constructed in 1838, and served as a stop on the underground railroad over the next two decades.

In an attempt to draw others to the area and lessen the isolation of their farm, the Bulls built businesses in the center of Clinton Township, along the plank toll road that later became High Street, the main north-south thoroughfare connecting Columbus to Worthington, Ohio to the north. They offered to give these buildings away to any skilled laborers who would stay. A post office designated "Clintonville" opened in the center of this district on September 13th, 1847, and this date is marked by present-day Clintonville residents as the neighborhood's "birthday".

By the early 1900s, downtown Columbus residents and professors from The Ohio State University built summer homes in Clintonville, and the surrounding farmland was developed into housing developments shortly after the extension of the streetcars lines northward from Columbus. A business district developed in Beechwold, separated by nearly a mile of residences from the Clintonville district to the south. Both communities were entirely part of Columbus by the 1950s, after it annexed most of Clinton Township.

Since 2004, residents along the southern ridge of Glen Echo Ravine have been seeking to have their neighborhood represented by the Clintonville Area Commission rather than by the University Area Commission, citing the view that their needs more closely match those of Clintonville residents than those of the University Area. While there currently is not a process for accommodating such requests, their request has caught the attention of city leaders who are examining the whole Area Commission program.