Goodale Park

Given to the city by Dr. Lincoln Goodale in 1851 as forty acres of woods, Goodale Park evolved over the years from a Civil War military camp to a Victorian park with a lake and boathouse and even a petting zoo with two bears, two wolves, three foxes, and nineteen rabbits. Before air conditioning, nearby residents spent hot summer nights there for relief. After a dramatic decline in the park and surrounding area during the ’70s and ’80s, the Friends of Goodale Park began restoring it in 1987. It is now a major public space in Columbus and the center of the Short North Arts District’s biggest events, including Community Festival (ComFest), the Columbus Pride Festival, the Goodale Park Music Series, weddings, and gatherings around the gazebo, with notable features including the caretaker’s residence, lily pond, open air gazebo, 650 trees of 180 varieties, a bronze bust of Dr. Lincoln Goodale, Shakespeare carvings on the pagoda gate, restored Victorian mansions nearby, and the Goodale Park Fountain created by artist Malcomb Cochran in 2013 as a tribute to the Sells Circus family.

Columbus, Ohio · United States