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From Woody's Couch

Our Playbook on OSU History

Author: mares.12@osu.edu (page 6 of 14)

To old Columbus town: Trustees choose campus location

December 9, 2019 / / Comments Off on To old Columbus town: Trustees choose campus location

It was not always a given that Ohio State would be in Columbus. It’s thanks to the efforts of a few members of OSU’s first Board of Trustees that the campus sits along the banks of the Olentangy River.

At the first meeting of the Board of Trustees on May 11, 1870, the members of the Board presented several different qualities that would be present in the ideal campus location. One member said

University Hall sketch, 1873

that because the school should be academically-oriented, it should be located in a more rural area rather than a city. Another stipulated that, as OSU started off as an agriculture school, it should be built upon a farm of at least 320 acres. Yet another offered that he didn’t think the location should be the most important consideration, but that their choice should be controlled by the amount of the proposed donation. Eventually, they concluded that they would accept bids for the location of the university through the first of September, 1870, and after that, they would begin touring locations.

In early September, 1870, the Board had four main candidates for the location of the university: Clarke county, Champaign county, Franklin county, and Montgomery county. Over the first few weeks of the month, they traveled to each location and toured the proposed properties to determine which was the most suitable for the school. Upon their return, a representative from each of the four counties presented their respective case to the board.

Campus map, 1876

After this presentation, on September 21, 1870, the Board balloted on the proposed locations. Champaign county was dropped first, followed by Montgomery, and finally Clarke, leaving, of course, Franklin county as the winner. The Board followed this vote by resolving that they would stand by this decision if they could find a suitable farm and be guaranteed a $300,000 donation by Franklin county.

In October of the same year, several potential farms were presented to the Board, and after another round of balloting, they decided on the Neil farm, located in Franklin county near the Olentangy River. The campus and the city would continue to grow, eventually overlapping borders thus making the Ohio State and Columbus synonymous.

Written by Hannah Nelson.

Football and Futbol at the ‘Shoe

November 27, 2019 / / Comments Off on Football and Futbol at the ‘Shoe

Ohio Stadium, 1949

While Ohio Stadium may be best known as the home of the Buckeyes football team and the first double-deck football stadium in the nation, it has hosted several non-OSU sporting events and two professional teams based in Columbus, over its almost 100-year history.

The Buckeyes are not the only football team to have called the Horseshoe home over the years. In 1992, the Ohio Glory was based out of Ohio Stadium for their one season of existence in Columbus. As part of the World League of American Football (later renamed NFL Europe League), the Ohio Glory played teams from all across the United States, as well as international teams from Spain and Germany, with their only victory of the season being against the Frankfurt Galaxy in Ohio Stadium. While the team and league have since ceased operations, the Ohio Glory will always hold the mantle of the first professional team to call Ohio Stadium home.

Special Olympics in the stadium, 1987

Another kind of football—or, soccer—has also had some momentous occasions within the ‘Shoe. In 1996, when the first charter member of the newly-established Major League Soccer needed a home, Ohio Stadium answered the call. While the Columbus Crew would eventually get their own purpose-built stadium, Ohio Stadium served them well for the first three years, and provided for some successful seasons in the fledgling league. More recently, Ohio Stadium was the site of the largest-attended soccer match in Ohio history. The 2016 International Champions Cup held a match between European

heavyweights Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid in front of a record-breaking crowd of 86,641, more than doubling the previous state record. While superstar and fan favorite Cristiano Ronaldo did not feature for Real Madrid due to a knee injury, fans still arrived in droves to glean an experience of European football.

Beyond typical spectator sports, the Ohio Stadium has also staged more community-based events through the years. From its founding in 1968, the

Wheelchair Games, 1972

Special Olympics has provided children and adults with learning disabilities the chance to train and compete in sports, and gain a greater sense of accomplishment and self-confidence. Ohio State has been home to the summer games every year since the 4th Annual Ohio Special Olympics in 1972, giving athletes the experience of competing inside the storied stadium. The stadium has also hosted the Wheelchair Games several times, focusing on athletes with mobility disabilities.

Ohio Stadium will always be rightly synonymous with the Buckeyes and their great successes, but through these different kinds of events, athletes of all ages and levels have been able to etch themselves into a bit of the history of the great arena. Hopefully, fans will continue to experience more great games beyond the Scarlet and Gray, continuing the legacy of Ohio Stadium as a world-class venue for all sport in the future.

 

Written by Matt McShane.

100 Years Later and Still Growing

November 20, 2019 / / Comments Off on 100 Years Later and Still Growing

One hundred years ago, Ohio State’s Columbus central campus had a similar footprint to today, with the bulk of central campus occupying the blocks west of High St. between Lane Ave. and 10th Ave. Predictably, there were far fewer buildings on campus and University leadership was in the process of planning what the future of OSU would hold, architecturally. In 1919, University Architect J.N. Bradford drafted a map of the existing campus buildings, and those that were proposed to be developed in the coming years.

The return of students and teachers from World War I and the subsequent increase in enrollment at the University drove, at least in part, the planning of new buildings across campus. While funding issues unfortunately stunted most construction on campus immediately following the war, the planned expansion reflects the growing attendance and influence of universities throughout the country. A century later, it makes for an interesting look at where the University was potentially headed and a comparison to what we have today.

 

Bradford’s proposed campus map, 1919

Central Campus Map, 2019

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Note: contemporary existing buildings on Bradford’s map are filled in black, while the proposed expansions are hatch shaded.

Notable observations:

  • Ohio Stadium, not yet built in 1919, was planned on a fairly undeveloped tract of land near the Olentangy River banks. The RPAC and Physical Activity and Education Services building, on the site of the proposed gymnasium expansion (F on Bradford map), athletic fields, and the Morrill Tower dormitory have brought development right to the stadium.
  • Once occupying Hale Hall, the new Ohio Union building is significantly larger than its initial space. The proposed expansion to Hale adding men’s dormitories did not take place.
  • One of the original and founding focuses of the University, most of the Agricultural and Veterinary colleges’ buildings (8-11 on Bradford map) have since moved west across the Olentangy as OSU has expanded.
  • Starling-Loving Hall, once a sole building (Homeopathic Hospital, 1 on Bradford) has developed into a leading and nationally ranked medical center, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.
  • Lazenby Hall and immediately west formerly contained horticultural sciences and greenhouses (5 and 4 on Bradford); these areas are now occupied by the Psychology and Public Health Departments, and the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion.
  • The Wexner Center for the Arts is built roughly on the site of the campus Armory building (20 on Bradford), and incorporated its medieval turret architecture into part of the design of the building.

Written by Matt McShane.

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