The Short North
Encyclopedia
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, centered on the main strip of High Street immediately north of downtown and extending until just south of the Ohio State University
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
campus
Campus
A campus is traditionally the land on which a college or university and related institutional buildings are situated. Usually a campus includes libraries, lecture halls, residence halls and park-like settings...
area. It is an easy walk from the convention center or Nationwide Arena
Nationwide Arena
Nationwide Arena is a multi-purpose arena, in Columbus, Ohio, USA. It opened in 2000 and is the home of the Columbus Blue Jackets, of the NHL....
district to the north. The Short North is often crowded on weekends, particularly during the monthly "Gallery Hop" and other local and downtown events.
The Short North is heavily populated with art galleries
Art gallery
An art gallery or art museum is a building or space for the exhibition of art, usually visual art.Museums can be public or private, but what distinguishes a museum is the ownership of a collection...
, specialty shops, pubs, nightclub
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
s, and coffee houses. Most of its tightly packed brick buildings date from at least the early 20th century, with traditional storefronts along High Street (often with brightly painted murals on their side walls), and old apartment buildings and rowhouses and newer condominium
Condominium
A condominium, or condo, is the form of housing tenure and other real property where a specified part of a piece of real estate is individually owned while use of and access to common facilities in the piece such as hallways, heating system, elevators, exterior areas is executed under legal rights...
developments in the surrounding blocks. The city installed 17 lighted metal archways extending across High Street throughout the Short North, reminiscent of such arches present in the area in the early 1900s.
The area is also known to be a very gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
and lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
friendly neighborhood and many gay nightclubs and bars are located the area and is the location of the annual Columbus gay pride parade.
History
The name "Short North", in fact, traces its roots back to the vernacular used by police for the area during this period of decomposition, namely as the neighborhood that--from a suburban commuter's perspective--had fallen 'just short' of the central business district's north end--both physically and economically. A reputation for diversity and an artistic, BohemianBohemianism
Bohemianism is the practice of an unconventional lifestyle, often in the company of like-minded people, with few permanent ties, involving musical, artistic or literary pursuits...
atmosphere has marked the Short North, with land prices and local rents rising steadily from the humble beginnings as a squatter’s neighborhood in the 1980s. Prior to this gentrification of the neighborhood which originated from artists, it had suffered prolonged decay and from latent, street-level crime and gang violence as Columbus affluent residents followed the economic bubble outward--into the suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
s--during the 1960s and 1970s.
With full-fledged rebirth and the visual arts community having reached a critical mass, the Short North hosts the "Gallery Hop" every first Saturday of the month, when its numerous art galleries open their doors late into the night to jam-packed streets and sidewalks populated with street musicians and other performers. This tradition dates back to the original event held in 1984.
Since 1983, the Short North has also hosted the annual Doo Dah Parade
Doo Dah Parade
The Pasadena Doo Dah Parade is a popular farcical and flamboyant parade held in Pasadena, California about once a year, usually in the fall or winter...
, a parody of typical Fourth of July
Independence Day (United States)
Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain...
parades that includes politically-slanted paraders and floats as well as absurdities such as the "Marching Fidels," a band of Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
look-a-likes. The parade starts in neighboring Victorian Village
Victorian Village
Victorian Village is a neighborhood located north and near west of downtown Columbus. It is an older area with a fair number of established trees for an urban setting...
, at Goodale Park
Goodale Park
Goodale Park is a public park in the Victorian Village area of Columbus, Ohio. It was donated to the city in 1851 by Lincoln Goodale. During the Civil War, it was a staging area for Union troops...
, and winds north to finish coming south down High Street.