First Entry: Goodale Park

Ok, so here's my first real blog entry. I'm new to this, so please bear with me! I decided to start with Goodale Park, since it is central to the Short North community and my own personal history. Growing up, Goodale Park was only a few block away. The above picture is me hanging from the monkey bars with two of my preschool classmates circa 1988 (I'm the one in the middle with the charming facial expression and velcro shoes). The playground has since been replaced with less splinter-inducing equipment.



Close to the playground, there was a spraying-water fountains that we would run through in the summer. Long gone, I searched for a photo of the fountains but couldn't find one anywhere. Lucky for us, I have an incredibly accurate artistic rendering by my 5-year old self:



Columbus' first park has a long and interesting history, which you can find here: http://friendsofgoodalepark.org. Apparently the park used to have stables, a large lake, a boathouse, and even a menagerie with BEARS. I'm glad that there are still some historic gems to be found in the park. Starting with the shelter house, built in 1912:



I swear I've heard this referred to as the "caretaker's cottage", which means that the park's caretaker used to live here onsite. Walking through the park today, I was surprised to find this new gate at the south entrance:



I was a little freaked out that they had torn down the old gate, until I found this a few yards over:



This is what it used to look like, I hope the reason half of it is missing now is because it's being restored(photo from http://friendsofgoodalepark.org):



One of the few remaining historic structures in the park is the pagoda on the Northwest entrance:



I always found the carved faces scary. After some research today I found out that the carvings depict the seven ages of man from Shakespeare's play "As You Like It". Nothing like being reminded of your own mortality on a Sunday afternoon stroll through the park :) Below is a photograph from 1899 of the pagoda. What I love about Victorian village is that you can close your eyes and imagine the modern cars and sidewalks replaced with the original dirt streets and horse-drawn carriages-to imagine what life was like back then (photo from http://www.friendsofgoodalepark.org).



Close to the pagoda, on the other side of the street is one of the best houses in Columbus. The Circus house, or Sells Mansion, built in 1895 by the owner of the Sell's Brothers Circus (later sold to the Ringling Brothers/Barnum and Bailey). The circus big top inspired house and matching carriage house always get an appreciative glance from me as I walk by:



This weekend I was surprised to find that the park pond was undergoing renovations:



In lieu of a photograph of the pond pre-renovation, I'll share another historically accurate artistic rendering by my 5-year old self from the pages of my preschool scrapbook:



Goodale Park will always be a special place to me, and I love that I've been there for so many different stages of my life. From hanging from the monkey bars in velcro shoes to hanging out with an extra-large beer listening to live music at Comfest. I just hope that I won't be the only summer festival reveler who stops to take a moment and appreciate the history around us.