{"nrhp_refnum":"78002063","name":"Columbus Near East Side District","other_names":["See Also:Columbus Near East Side Historic District-Parsons A"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Roughly bounded by Parsons Ave., Broad and Main Sts., and the railroad tracks","address_restricted":false,"city":"Columbus","county":"Franklin County","state":"OH","lat":39.961294396000056,"lon":-82.96560921994129,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-05-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Literature","Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A historic residential district of roughly 630 acres on the near east side of Columbus, Ohio, close to downtown and centered on Bryden Road and Franklin Park. It contains homes, churches, schools and apartments built mainly from the 1880s through the 1930s.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the district preserves some of the best late 19th and early 20th century architecture in Columbus, in styles from Italianate and Queen Anne to Romanesque, Colonial and Tudor revival. It also illustrates how a once-fashionable, affluent neighborhood declined economically after demographic shifts and freeway construction. Prominent Columbus families and figures are associated with it, including the Deshler, Huntington and Lazarus families and the writer James Thurber's family.","narrative":"Columbus Near East Side District is a large residential area just east of downtown Columbus, covering about 630 acres around Bryden Road and the nearly 100-acre Franklin Park. Its brick and stone houses, churches, schools and apartment buildings date mostly from the 1880s to the 1930s and show Italianate, Queen Anne, Romanesque, Colonial Revival and Tudor styles. Houses in the western half are large for their small lots, while later buildings to the east are more widely spaced. Notable landmarks include the Fair Avenue School, designed by Frank L. Packard, and the Old First Methodist Church, designed by George Bellows Sr. The district was home to wealthy and prominent Columbus families and to the grandfather of writer James Thurber. Freeways and population change brought decline, but the lack of new construction left much of the early architecture intact. It was listed for its architectural quality and its record of the city's eastward growth.","period_of_significance":"1860-1930","architect_builder":"Frank L. Packard (Fair Avenue School; possibly 1330 Bryden Road with partner Yost); George Bellows Sr. (Old First Methodist Church); C.F. Myers (builder of 1330 Bryden Road)","architectural_style":"Range of late 19th and early 20th century styles including Italianate, Queen Anne, Richardsonian Romanesque, Colonial Revival, Tudor Revival and eclectic","criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition listed as good to deteriorated; parts are well maintained, especially homes around Franklin Park, and community restoration efforts were under way. Some carriage houses have been demolished.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:10.49343-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/78002063.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78002063/7642167b75-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78002063/7642167b75-1600.webp","licence":"CC0","author":"w_lemay","credit_html":"w_lemay, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bryden_Road,_Olde_Towne_East,_Columbus,_OH.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71988465","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbus_Near_East_Side_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q96650371"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/franklin-county/columbus-near-east-side-district-78002063/"}