Battelle Riverfront Park
| Battelle Riverfront Park | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Interactive map of the park among others on the Scioto Mile | |
| Coordinates | 39°57′46.688″N 83°0′19.217″W / 39.96296889°N 83.00533806°W |
| Opened | 1983 |
| Administered by | Columbus Recreation and Parks Department |
| Public transit access |   4, 5, 7, 10, 11, 12 CoGo |
| Website | Official website |
Battelle Riverfront Park is a 4.1-acre (1.7 ha) park in downtown Columbus, Ohio, United States, near Columbus City Hall. The park was established in 1983.[1] It is named after Gordon Battelle and was funded by the Battelle Memorial Institute.
Features
The park features the James W. Barney Pickaweekee Story Grove and several monuments and memorials,[2] including the Columbus Firefighters Memorial (1958), Spanish–American War Memorial (1937), Their Spirits Circle the Earth (1987), and To Honor the Immigrants (1992).[3] Alfred Tibor's sculpture Freedom (1985) is also installed in the park.[4][5]
The Santa Maria Ship & Museum, a replica of Christopher Columbus's Santa María, was docked on the Scioto River by the park beginning in 1991, as part of the city's 1992 Christopher Columbus Quincentennial Jubilee, celebrating the 500th anniversary of Columbus's voyage to the Americas. The ship's presence was aimed to draw people to the Columbus riverfront, though it had limited success, and attendance dropped over the years.[1] The nonprofit tourist organization that operated it closed in 2011, and the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department inherited it. $5-6 million was estimated for its repairs, and with the extensive renovation of the Scioto's riverfront, the ship had to be relocated. It was removed in 2014, and remains in a city-owned lot in the South Side, in ten pieces. Environmental Protection Agency rules no longer permit it back on the Scioto River, and nobody has expressed interest in restoring the ship given the expense.[6]
Gallery
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Park sign -
The park's James W. Barney Pickaweekee Story Grove -
The park and the Santa Maria Ship & Museum in 2008 -
Santa María replica, 2008
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See also
References
- ^ a b "Scioto Mile: City banks on river in waterfront makeover". The Columbus Dispatch. July 7, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
- ^ Darbee, Jeff. "City Quotient: The Scioto's Storybook Statues". Columbus Monthly. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
- ^ "Battelle Riverfront Park". City of Columbus, Ohio. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
- ^ Woods, Jim. "Sculptures of Holocaust survivor Alfred Tibor live on in central Ohio". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
- ^ Woods, Jim. "Alfred Tibor | 1920-2017: Prolific sculptor shaped by Holocaust". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
- ^ https://www.columbusmonthly.com/lifestyle/20180206/who-wants-santa-maria
External links
