Olde Towne East

Olde Towne East
Neighborhood of Columbus
A home in Olde Town East
Olde Towne East Show map of Ohio Olde Towne East Show map of the US
Coordinates: 39°57′29″N 82°58′40″W / 39.957998°N 82.97766°W / 39.957998; -82.97766Coordinates: 39°57′29″N 82°58′40″W / 39.957998°N 82.97766°W / 39.957998; -82.97766
Country	United States
State	Ohio
County	Franklin
City	Columbus
ZIP Code	43205
Area code(s)	614

Olde Towne East is a neighborhood located in the historical Near East Side of Columbus, Ohio and is one of Columbus' oldest neighborhoods. The area has over 1,000 homes, some as old as the 1830s, and more than 50 architectural styles as a result of its history. These homes were built by many of the famous individuals of Columbus including industrialists, lawyers, judges, teachers, architects, mayors, governors, and legislators, many of whom shaped the city.

The site had long been a way point between the Scioto and Muskingum Rivers. By the fifth century, the area had a mound-building culture whose influence lasted into the twentieth century. The only remaining testament to this past is the mound currently located at the corner of Bryden road and Champion Avenue. In later years COSI would discover sites showing the neighborhood to have been occupied for at least ten thousand years.

The Town of Columbus was laid out in 1812 by Joel Wright, with today's Olde Towne East being directly east of it on a high ridge. A massive population boom followed the Civil War leading to growth along Broad, Long and Main streets. The major transportation was foot, horse, and horse-drawn buggy until the rise of the street car. The area evolved from farmhouses to a subdivision in the 1870s with a few houses remaining, but the majority being gutted in favor of new store frontage. This allowed people to leave the city and live in streetcar suburbs, causing further growth along Main, Long and Broad streets, and Mount Vernon Avenue. From this period comes the unique architectural style of Olde Towne East, there was a social mixing of rich and poor because residents were in close proximity to each other. It was common for wealthy individuals to live up the street from those of middle to lower class and in some instances bosses lived near their own employees.

After World War I the area was diverse and encouraged interaction among social classes. At this time, the whole Near East had begun to develop identities within its neighborhoods. Following World War II along with the emerging commonality of the car, and the rise of suburbia, the whole Near East changed. By the 50's much of the housing abandoned by wealthy owners began to deteriorate, while houses that were much older and bigger were divided into apartments and rooming houses. The construction of the interstates and the Model Cities Program cleared sections of the Near East reducing housing stock, forcing residents to move, some believe that this results in the relative isolation of the Near East. Following the trend and emergence of the 60's American Preservation movement, and further spurred by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 which established preservation legislative, the neighborhood association of the 1970s emerged to lead the recovery of Olde Towne East and the rest of the Near East community.