Link to Colonial Hills Historical Designation Study Report
This blog post could be classified in the “better late than never” and “for the record” categories. It recently came to our attention that we never published on the website the 53-page report from the OSU Winter Quarter 2012 City and Regional Planning CRP 510 course study, considering whether Colonial Hills could be listed in the National Register of Historic Places. So, here’s the report.
Some of you will remember reading multiple articles in the 2012 and 2013 Couriers which described the results of the study and the subsequent initiation of a CHCA project to pursue this designation. In particular, the article on page 7 of the March/April, 2012, Courier (which referred to a concurrent linking blog post that was inadvertently omitted from the website), reported the conclusion:
Colonial Hills appears to qualify for historic district status under the NRHP’s Criteria A and C, and it possesses the level of integrity required for National Register listing. Under 2 criteria, only 1 of which is required to be listed as an historic district.
Criterion A: “associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history.”
Criterion C: “embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, or that represent the work of a master, or that possess high artistic values, or that represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction.”
And the August/September, 2013 Courier reported on page 4 that the CHCA initiated this National Register of Historic Places designation project. Unfortunately, sufficient and sustained CH volunteer support did not materialize in the 2013-2014 timeframe to complete the project.
Disclaimer: The CHCA is not responsible if you turn off your phone and go down the rabbit hole of reading the entirety of this report regarding urban and architectural planning, and history involving Worthington and Colonial Hills. And after you emerge, if you wish to volunteer to resurrect the Historic Designation project, please attend a CHCA meeting in person to discuss your particular area of expertise and interests. Thank you!