Third Avenue and North High Historic District
Why it's listed
Along North High Street in Columbus's Short North area, this district gathers 33 buildings between East First and East Fourth Avenues, 24 of them contributing. Most are two- to three-story brick buildings from 1900 to 1920, with shops on the ground floor and apartments or offices above. The group includes a row of about 1905 commercial buildings with matching polychromatic brickwork, the Italianate Dennison Hall fraternal building from around 1890, the Craftsman-style Hubbard Apartments, a reinforced concrete warehouse with terra-cotta facing, a Neoclassical branch library, a Gothic Revival Methodist church built in 1922, and early auto dealerships and garages. Commercial growth came late because large residences and slow subdivision limited development before 1900; streetcar electrification and later automobile and truck transport then shaped the area. The district was recognized for its architecture and for illustrating these two phases of commercial development between 1890 and 1940.
Significance in brief: The district is significant under Criteria A and C for its streetcar-era and automobile-era commercial development. Its buildings are excellent examples of their property types, and their massing and density give the district a cohesive character. It is described as the second largest district in the Short North and one of the largest of its kind in Columbus.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 90000585, listed April 19, 1990. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | N. High St. in the vicinity of 2nd and 3rd, Columbus |
|---|---|
| County | Franklin County |
| Listed | April 19, 1990 |
| Reference number | 90000585 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1890-1940 |
| Architectural style | Italianate; Late 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements (including Colonial Revival, Jacobethian Revival, Neo Classical Revival, Craftsman, Late Gothic Revival) |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Commerce, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Most buildings retain integrity; storefronts and upper-story windows have been altered in places, and many buildings have been recently rehabilitated. Current uses include specialty stores, business and multiple dwellings. |
| Acreage | 8 |
| Coordinates | 39.98387, -83.00471 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 90000585.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.