#milo-grogan

[djbcadventures]

DJBC Tumblr Fall & Summer 2022 - 934 Fest

Also on the weekend after Labor Day was the annual 934 Fest, held at 934 Gallery (934 Cleveland Avenue) in Milo-Grogan. A lot of people do not know where this area is on the map, but pass through it along I-71 (which literally cut the neighborhood in half in the early 1960s). But Milo-Grogan is north of the Discovery District, east of Italian Village, northwest of Bronzeville, and south of Linden and the Ohio State Fairgrounds, for those who did not know the answer.

934 Fest gets its name from 934 Gallery, which is at 934 Cleveland Avenue. Inside the Gallery, there were a couple of pop-up vendors, and the current exhibition up in the Gallery (plus restrooms, for those who didn't want to use the Port-a-Potties). Outside the Gallery, there were murals (also along the adjacent buildings, as well), live music (or in the case of our Sunday afternoon stroll, live DJ's).

And yes, that Bloody Mary looked classy enough to qualify as a meal, given the statuesque garnish to add some flare to this tiny little festival.

For more on 934 Gallery, go to http://www.934gallery.org.

[gryphon1911]

Street Art at Milo-Grogan, Columbus, OH

Street Art at Milo-Grogan, Columbus, OH

Yes, the COVID19 pandemic is making life different. Ohio has its stay at home order in effect, but still some are needing to go out, while others still choose to go out.

We chose to go out and look for something low to no-risk to ourselves and others in regards to exposure and adhering to the social distancing guidelines in place. This ends up being, for us – looking for street art, murals…

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[udhcmh]

Sunday, I noticed that the siding that covered this old building in Milo-Grogan had been removed revealing its actual walls for the first time in at least 30 years. I knew the building was the old Fifth Ave. Theater from 1920-48, noticed the painted plaster, and thought it might be some signage from the building’s past.

Instead, I discovered the painted plaster was a fresco with three scenes: a patriotic American eagle, a big flamingo, and a lake scene with a cottage, a cow, and a man in a boat. Nothing to do with the theater.

Did a little research and learned that another building sat side by side with this one, sharing a wall. From 1920 on, the ground floor housed one restaurant or another. Nappi Grill was the longest lived of these, serving beers, fries, bacon and eggs, spaghetti, and sandwiches from 1946-70. Most likely these murals would have greeted patrons of that long-vanished establishment.

Not even a clue who painted them or why those particular choices.

[udhcmh]

Down Milo-Grogan way again

One side effect of the Milo-Grogan neighborhood's hard economic times is that buildings that might have been demolished for new construction elsewhere have instead survived.

The old Milo-Grogan School is one example of this. This massive Romanesque Revival building was constructed back in 1894 by the village of Milo before it became a part of the City of Columbus. It operated until the late 1970s.

Since 1988, the building has been an artist's colony, offering affordable living and working spaces for painters, sculptors, dancers, musicians, and others. The community has persevered through battles with gangs, crime, misguided city bureaucrats, and overreaching developers.

Milo Arts remains active to this day. Check out their site for more on this building and neighborhood.

[udhcmh]

Spectacularly ruinous building in Milo-Grogan

Stepping outside the University District a little bit today...

To the southeast of the University District, south of the state fairgrounds and east of the railroad tracks is a hardscrabble neighborhood known as Milo-Grogan. This building stands in the heart of the neighborhood on Cleveland Ave, south of E. 5th, opposite the abandoned Timken factory site.

Once upon a time, it was a thriving neighborhood with its fortunes tied to the large factories situated there. Deindustrialization and the construction of the interstate dealt the neighborhood blows it's still reeling from.

Not much I can add to the story this building tells. Proud early 20th Century home turned store, turned bar, turned ruin. It's all there to see.