The automobile had yet to arrive in Columbus and push its boundaries far beyond the limits of what a 19th-century resident could imagine. Today, after a century of urban expansion, government and business leaders would like to restore many of the attributes of Downtown 100 years ago. Foot traffic once again is prized, and seas of parking lots are frowned upon. The Pen fell to make way for Nationwide Arena and the development district around it, one of several projects to create more activity Downtown. Others include Miranova, the luxury condominium tower under construction on the Scioto River, and the newly opened Ohio's Center of Science and Industry and the Scioto Peninsula improvements around it.
Planners hope to lure more residential development to the center city.
In 1899, however, Downtown was the city. The High Street and Broad Street roof lines were unbroken. No tax abatements or other incentives were needed to coax developers into the central business district. Columbus was then dependent on the trolley car as the one means of transportation. Columbus wasn't spread out like it is today.