page_title: History of Columbus, Ohio
section_title: 20th century
hierarchical_section_title: History of Columbus, Ohio / 20th century
context_page_description: Columbus, the capital city of Ohio, was founded on the east bank of the Scioto River in 1812. The city was founded as its capitol, beside the town of Franklinton, since incorporated into Columbus. The city's early history was gradual, as residents dealt with flooding and cholera epidemics, and the city had few direct connections to other cities. This led creation of a feeder canal, and later, freight and passenger railroads. The city became known for its industry and commercial businesses into the 20th century, though it experienced a lull in development in the late 20th century. In the 21st century, Columbus has been increasingly revitalized, led by parks projects, new developments, and efforts to beautify individual neighborhoods.
context_section_description: The Columbus Experiment was an environmental project in 1908 which involved construction of the first water plant in the world to apply filtration and softening, designed and invented by two brothers, Clarence and Charles Hoover. Those working to construct the project included Jeremiah O'Shaughnessy, name-bearer of the Columbus metropolitan area's O'Shaughnessy Dam. This invention helped drastically reduce typhoid deaths. The essential design is still used today.
  Columbus earned one of its nicknames, The Arch City, because of the dozens of wooden arches that spanned High Street at the turn of the 20th century. The arches illuminated the thoroughfare and eventually became the means by which electric power was provided to the new streetcars. The city tore down the arches and replaced them with cluster lights in 1914 but reconstructed them from metal in the Short North district in 2002 for their unique historical interest.
  On March 25, 1913, the Great Flood of 1913 devastated the neighborhood of Franklinton, leaving over ninety people dead and thousands of West Side residents homeless. To prevent flooding, the Army Corps of Engineers recommended widening the Scioto River through downtown, constructing new bridges, and building a retaining wall along its banks. With the strength of the post-World War I economy, a construction boom occurred in the 1920s, resulting in a new Civic center, the Ohio Theatre, the American Insurance Union Citadel, and, to the north, a massive new Ohio Stadium. Although the American Professional Football Association was founded in Canton in 1920, its head offices moved to Columbus in 1921 to the New Hayden Building and remained in the city until 1941. In 1922, the association's name was changed to the National Football League. A decade later, in 1931, at a convention in the city, the Jehovah's Witnesses took that name by which they are known today.
  The effects of the Great Depression were less severe in Columbus, as the city's diversified economy helped it fare better than its Rust Belt neighbors. World War II brought many new jobs and another population surge. This time, most new arrivals were migrants from the "extraordinarily depressed rural areas" of Appalachia, who would soon account for more than a third of Columbus's growing population. In 1948, the Town and Country Shopping Center opened in suburban Whitehall, and it is now regarded as one of the first modern shopping centers in the United States.
  The construction of the Interstate Highway System signaled the arrival of rapid suburb development in central Ohio. To protect the city's tax base from this suburbanization, Columbus adopted a policy of linking sewer and water hookups to annexation to the city. 
  In December 1977, Warner Cable transformed cable TV service in thousands of Columbus households with QUBE, which utilized a remote control device that was intended to change television into an interactive experience with audiences. The service launched amidst considerable national and international press coverage.
  By the early 1990s, Columbus had grown to become Ohio's largest city in land area and in population. Efforts to revitalize downtown Columbus have had some success in recent decades, though like most major American cities, some architectural heritage was lost in the process. In the 1970s, landmarks such as Union Station and the Neil House hotel were razed to construct high-rise offices and big retail space. The PNC Bank building was constructed in 1977, as well as the Nationwide Plaza buildings and other towers that sprouted during this period. The construction of the Greater Columbus Convention Center has brought major conventions and trade shows to the city.
  AmeriFlora '92 was held in the city in 1992, part of the Christopher Columbus Quincentennial Jubilee, celebrating the 500th anniversary of Columbus's first voyage. Its organizers spent $95 million on it. The organizers also planned to create a replica Native American village, among other attractions. Local and national native leaders protested the event with a day of mourning
caption: The city c. 1924
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