{"nrhp_refnum":"82001459","name":"Jefferson Avenue Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Roughly bounded by I-71, E. Broad, 11th, and Long Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Columbus","county":"Franklin County","state":"OH","lat":39.965517534500066,"lon":-82.9850752141931,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-12-02","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Literature","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A small residential historic district of about nine late nineteenth-century brick buildings along one block of Jefferson Avenue, on the east edge of downtown Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio. The street is divided by an elliptical public green space and was platted in 1870 as part of the East Park Place Addition.","why_significant":"The district is significant as a compact, planned group of late nineteenth-century residences next to downtown, where few such neighborhoods remain. Its boulevard plan with a central elliptical park was unique in the city. The buildings share scale, massing, style and materials, and 77 Jefferson Avenue was the home of writer James Thurber from 1913 to 1915.","narrative":"Jefferson Avenue Historic District is a single block of late nineteenth-century brick houses on the eastern edge of downtown Columbus, Ohio. About nine structures line both sides of a street divided by an elliptical green space with mature shade trees, which gives the avenue a boulevard effect. The street was platted in 1870 as part of the East Park Place Addition, and development was complete by 1900. Most buildings are two or two-and-a-half-story brick residences in the Italianate manner, with stone lintels, stained or art glass, interior woodwork and iron fencing. Many have been stuccoed, altered or added to, and some are deteriorated, yet the group keeps a cohesive feel. Interstate 71 destroyed the neighboring Lexington Avenue, leaving Jefferson Avenue as a rare downtown remnant of its kind. The district is also tied to humorist James Thurber, who lived at 77 Jefferson Avenue from 1913 to 1915 and set a well-known short story there.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899 (specific dates 1870, 1880s-1900)","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Italianate, residential in character","criteria":[],"status_note":"Buildings are somewhat deteriorated and altered, with some west-side structures lost. Most are owned by a non-profit educational organization planning rehabilitation; one building is in use as a church and under rehabilitation.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:14.318712-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/82001459.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82001459/18ac1a9fbf-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82001459/18ac1a9fbf-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jefferson_Avenue_Historic_District_in_Columbus.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jefferson_Avenue_Historic_District_in_Columbus.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71988525","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefferson_Avenue_Historic_District_(Columbus,_Ohio)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q97354809"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/franklin-county/jefferson-avenue-historic-district-82001459/"}