page_title: Columbus, Ohio
section_title: Government offices
hierarchical_section_title: Columbus, Ohio / Government / Government offices
caption_attribution_description: English: The Ohio Statehouse.
context_page_description: Columbus is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a population of 898,553 as of 2019 estimates, it is the 14th-most populous city in the United States, the second-most populous city in the Midwest after Chicago, Illinois, and the third-most populous state capital after Phoenix, Arizona and Austin, Texas. It is the core city of the Columbus, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses ten counties. With a population of 2,106,541, it is Ohio's second-largest metropolitan area.
  Columbus is the county seat of Franklin County. The municipality has also annexed portions of adjoining Delaware and Fairfield counties. Columbus originated as numerous Native American settlements on the banks of the Scioto River. Franklinton, now a city neighborhood, was the first white settlement, laid out in 1797. The city was founded in 1812, at the confluence of the Scioto and Olentangy rivers. It was named for explorer Christopher Columbus. The city assumed the function of state capital in 1816 and county seat in 1824.
context_section_description: As Ohio's capital and the county seat, Columbus hosts numerous federal, state, county, and city government offices and courts.
  Federal offices include the Joseph P. Kinneary U.S. Courthouse, one of several courts for the District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, after moving from 121 E. State St. in 1934. Another federal office, the John W. Bricker Federal Building, has offices for the Internal Revenue Service, Housing & Urban Development, Department of Agriculture, Social Security Administration and U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown.
  The State of Ohio's capitol building, the Ohio Statehouse, is located in the center of downtown on Capitol Square. It houses the Ohio House of Representatives and Ohio Senate. It also contains the ceremonial offices of the governor, lieutenant governor, state treasurer, and state auditor. The Supreme Court, Court of Claims, and Judicial Conference are located in the Thomas J. Moyer Ohio Judicial Center downtown by the Scioto River. The building, built in 1933 to house ten state agencies along with the State Library of Ohio, became the Supreme Court after extensive renovations from 2001 to 2004.
  Franklin County operates the Franklin County Government Center, a complex at the southern end of downtown Columbus. The center includes the county's municipal court, common pleas court, correctional center, juvenile detention center, and sheriff's office.
  Near City Hall, the Michael B. Coleman Government Center holds offices for the departments of building & zoning services, public service, development, and public utilities. Also nearby is 77 North Front St., which holds Columbus's city attorney office, income-tax division, public safety, human resources, civil service, and purchasing departments. The structure, built in 1929, was the police headquarters until 1991, and was then dormant until it was given a $34 million renovation from 2011 to 2013.
caption: The Ohio Statehouse
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