Is Columbus approaching the same level as Cincinnati and Cleveland. (Akron: city hall, unemployment rate)

[jbcmh81]

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

The Wexner Center failed pretty hard in design, in my opinion. It is one of the most unapproachable buildings I've seen. Where exactly do you enter? I don't know, it just seems pretentious to me.

If I remember right, it's from the same guy who built the ugly Columbus Convention Center that has exactly zero pedestrian connection. I guess he was pretty famous and in-demand in the 1980s-early 1990s, but his stuff looks dated today. They need to tear the CCC down and start over. A 2-story expansive building in weird shapes and pastel colors with no ground-floor retail in one of the most prime locations in the city is a huge waste.

[jbcmh81]

Originally Posted by TheCincinnatiSir

Columbus can certainly hold its own, but I have to say that art museum is in desperate need of an expansion. Both the Cincinnati and Cleveland art museums have far larger collections and both have free admission. Overall though I have really enjoyed the time I've spent in Columbus and I look forward to it getting even better.

Columbus Museum of Art « Columbus Underground Messageboard

It is getting an expansion.

[TheCincinnatiSir]

Originally Posted by jbcmh81

Columbus Museum of Art « Columbus Underground Messageboard

It is getting an expansion.

That's fantastic news! Regardless of the size, I was very impressed by a roman mosaic exhibit I saw the last time I was there. Absolutely beautiful.

[TomJones123]

Wow, this thread is tailor made for another three C's nuclear blast. Surprised it's civil thus far.

[motorman]

^ Please be reassured that the Queen City Defense Department has closely monitored this situation and now elevated its level of alert to DEFCON-3. (Predator and Reaper drones are standing by.)

[cbusflyer]

LOL, this thread has slightly gone off course. I guess my point was what is Cbus lacking or not lacking to make it equal to the other two cities? Obviously it will never have the historical impact that the other two do, but in terms of offerings such as jobs, transportation, infrastructure..... Is Cbus still behind?
I believe the metro has just passed the 2 million mark and is closing in on "Cleveland's metro" not NEO.
Will it always be number 3, "biggest small town in America" or do you see it closing the gap?

[Dayton Sux]

^
I dont see Cols a big small town at all. Its much more spread out than that. Economically Cols has performed well vis a vis the other two Cs.

I consider it an equal to Cincy and Cleveland in terms of economy and population and in non-SOB cultural offerings. The place is after all a corporate HQ town as well as the capital and home of the big state u.

The "small town" concept is also a misnomer from the historical senses, since Columbus was more in the Dayton/Toledo size range, and neither of these cities were small towns. They were mid sized industrial cities, which is what Columbus was, too, albeit with OSU and the state govt giving an added spin to the place (historically speaking OSU didnt turn into ESU..Enormous State University...until after WWII).

This Midwest Factory Town aspect of Columbus is obscured since a lot has been demolished and there is also a boosterish "we're not the rustbelt" thing going on there too...but take a look at vintage areils and old photos and you will see otherwise...and a lot of this old economic legacy is still standing, such as that Jeffery Works complex east of Italian Village.

Italian Village is also an example...the city did attract an immigrant population for factory work. The same way Toledo did and perhaps even more than Dayton did.

So a lot of Columbus' past isnt a small town past. It's an industrial city past.

[1watertiger]

Columbus is a fine city and has grown considerably in the past 30 yrs. however in terms of infrastructure,transportation and the sheer number of things to do, its still behind cincy and Cleveland (imo). you see and feel this by just driving around all 3 metros. Columbus is still a much less developed metro with less choices of things to do and see.

[jbcmh81]

Originally Posted by 1watertiger

Columbus is a fine city and has grown considerably in the past 30 yrs. however in terms of infrastructure,transportation and the sheer number of things to do, its still behind cincy and Cleveland (imo). you see and feel this by just driving around all 3 metros. Columbus is still a much less developed metro with less choices of things to do and see.

I'm still not sure how this can be quantified in any way beyond personal opinion. However, it would make sense that Columbus would have less. It continues to peak each year, while the other two peaked decades ago. Hence, Columbus is still building its cultural institutions while the other two gained them years ago. The question is, are Cincinnati and Cleveland still gaining cultural institutions or simply maintaining what has long existed? And at some point, will Columbus gain all that it lacks? Provided it continues to grow and diversify, that question would seem to have an obvious answer.

[motorman]

Originally Posted by jbcmh81

I'm still not sure how this can be quantified in any way beyond personal opinion. However, it would make sense that Columbus would have less. It continues to peak each year, while the other two peaked decades ago. Hence, Columbus is still building its cultural institutions while the other two gained them years ago. The question is, are Cincinnati and Cleveland still gaining cultural institutions or simply maintaining what has long existed? And at some point, will Columbus gain all that it lacks? Provided it continues to grow and diversify, that question would seem to have an obvious answer.

Several outlandish personal observations here by the masterful "Columbus Spin Doctor" simply beg for rebuttal (and laughter)...

First of all, no matter how much Columbus wishes it could become Ohio's "high-cultural epicenter," it will never challenge its two venerable and established counterparts--who both have culturally surpassed it a long time ago.

Second, neither Cleveland nor Cincinnati are "just maintaining" what they possess. Unlike Columbus, both cities are dynamically building on the rich heritages that they've been granted. (cultural lineages that Columbus can only dream of finding)

Culturally, Cbus is trying to run with its two other large Ohio counterparts--both of which have established, maintained, and embellished their own class-acts over many decades, while leaving Cbus fumbling for its own measure of recognition.

After all, when all a city reveres is Woody Hayes, James Thurber, E. Gordon Gee, Les Wexner, Wendy's and John Kasich, it really needs to ponder its own high minded aspirations.