My hometown: Columbus. Part 7: Short North.

[Minneapolisite]

The "Uptown" of Columbus. This used to be overrun by criminals, hustlers, and druggies. You'd just as soon see someone get shot or stabbed here (I know a former resident who saw someone get shot here in daylight and in another incident a guy was killed in a bar's bathroom) not to mention elderly people getting severely beaten for whatever they had on them and the unfortunate women that got raped in the park next door. Nowadays people there think a bad neighborhood is one that has a couple of vacant buildings. I'm going to add more photos once I find them, but here's a nighttime fall/winter tour of the the mile-long Short North: like Uptown if it still had some local businesses.





Snow doesn't stop anyone from getting ice cream at Jeni's. I think it just makes people crave it more.







Anagrams anyone?



Love what's been done with this building. Used to be a windowless fortress.




Most busy patio tonight. The only thing more annoying than the cackling of chatty catty queens would be a patio full of Fran Dreshers. Who I am I kidding, I'll take the Fran Dreshers.









Lost a coffeeshop; gained a coffeeshop.





Happy Holidays from UDF.







The shack on the right sells late night pizza. A godsend for the post-bar crowd.



Even in this weather you still won't be able to make your way to the bar or find a seat. Might have something to do with 50 draught beers and $1 grilled cheese Mondays.





All that walking is making my legs tired. Time for a seat.











The first Saturday of every month is Gallery Hop when all the art galleries and studios stay open late. Sidewalks are packed and suburbanites flock to eat, bar hop, and maybe check out some art.









Starbucks couldn't compete with the local Cup O Joe chain across the street: it's now a chocolate shop.































As a bonus just south of the Short North entrance is this retail cap over a highway. When I walked by before it was built it was like walking along the bridge on Nicollet from Loring Park to reach Eat Street. You actually forget that there's a highway underneath.

[John]

Thanks Minneapolisite for the photos! I have heard so many great things about this area. I really like the lit up archways along the corridor that celebrate the sense of place and character of the neighborhood. It must be a lively place to walk around in the summer. Do they have any street festivals here?

[Minneapolisite]

Found some more pics and they've been added.

One of Columbus' nicknames back in the day was "The Arch City". These new ones are fancy LED lights that can do patterns. Columbus isn't big on closing down its major streets for measly pedestrians, but this is one stretch of High that gets closed for the 4th of July Doo-Dah Parade, Pride, among others in the summer and more recently Halloween Highball in the fall.

[John]

Found some more pics and they've been added.

One of Columbus' nicknames back in the day was "The Arch City". These new ones are fancy LED lights that can do patterns. Columbus isn't big on closing down its major streets for measly pedestrians, but this is one stretch of High that gets closed for the 4th of July Doo-Dah Parade, Pride, among others in the summer and more recently Halloween Highball in the fall.

The fall weather in Columbus is actually warm enough to have a halloween street party? If we could only be so lucky here! High Street actually looks pretty wide. Having those arches connecting both sides of the street gives the district a better sense of cohesion and more intimate feeling. Great idea.