East Broad Street
"On Broad Street...had been set out four rows of trees which now give it the appearance of a beautiful grove, through
which is a rounded roadway In the center, forty-three feet wide; a carriage-way on each side, twenty feet wide; and
neatly paved sidewalks-making the street a handsome avenue, one hundred and twenty feet wide." -Jacob Studer, Columbus, Ohio; its History, Resources, and Progress (1873)
In 1857, Mr. William G. Deshler, a local banker returned from a trip to Havana captivated by the tree-lined boulevards of that city. He offered to purchase the trees to create a multi-laned boulevard along Broad Street if the city would provide land for planted median strips. In 1872, the city appropriated funds to create the tree-Iined median strips which were planted
between Fourth Street and Parsons Avenue.
A major change along East Broad Street in land-use and building type came with the inexpensive motor car in the 1920s which permitted the construction of whole new residential areas. By this time, the early twentieth century residential suburbs such as Upper Arlington, Bexley and Grandview had eclipsed East Broad Street as the wealthy hub of single family residences. The medians and trees that gave East Broad Street it's unique charm for fifty years were removed about 1928 to accommodate increased automobile traffic.
which is a rounded roadway In the center, forty-three feet wide; a carriage-way on each side, twenty feet wide; and
neatly paved sidewalks-making the street a handsome avenue, one hundred and twenty feet wide." -Jacob Studer, Columbus, Ohio; its History, Resources, and Progress (1873)
In 1857, Mr. William G. Deshler, a local banker returned from a trip to Havana captivated by the tree-lined boulevards of that city. He offered to purchase the trees to create a multi-laned boulevard along Broad Street if the city would provide land for planted median strips. In 1872, the city appropriated funds to create the tree-Iined median strips which were planted
between Fourth Street and Parsons Avenue.
A major change along East Broad Street in land-use and building type came with the inexpensive motor car in the 1920s which permitted the construction of whole new residential areas. By this time, the early twentieth century residential suburbs such as Upper Arlington, Bexley and Grandview had eclipsed East Broad Street as the wealthy hub of single family residences. The medians and trees that gave East Broad Street it's unique charm for fifty years were removed about 1928 to accommodate increased automobile traffic.
