OSU CAMPUS

Months of talking about it and some seven months after I started the great tour of N. High Street way up in the Worthington area and through Clintonville, I took my camera to my old stomping grounds so to speak, one of the most heavily concetrated areas of neon in the city. I though a beautiful Tuesday night, still some two weeks before classes start would be a good time to get down to the OSU campus area. Well I was right. A lot more people hanging around than I thought. I did go to the area in mid July and it was crowded, but that was a Saturday night. Anyway, I got a first in the ten months or so I have had this blog. Some Subway guys thought I was filming their store and didn't approve. I asked them why they thought I was filming inside an empty Subway restaurant when the flaming neon of the tattoo parlor next doot was ohhh, let's say, 50x more interesting? If they put up an installation other than a generic LED "open" sign, maybe they would have had a point. Anyways, I did not take any pictures of the neonless Subway on E. 13th and High. I had a few people notice me snapping pics, and a few people who looked awfully close to my camera which made me walk faster. I walked the length from Oakland Ave down to about Lane, and walked back up, hopped in the car for the somewhat edgier southern half. I did NOT include the Gateway, as that will be part of a new post. All of the following photos were taken last night, 9/9.





These establishments are at the northern edge of what would be considered north campus, near Hudson Street and the start of Clintonville. The Blue Danube was part of when I was in the Clintonville area months ago.


Cool Asian neon. Hard to find neon around Columbus not in the Latin alphabet. Jack, by the way, lives at the Little Bar in what was formery an Asian grocery and an IHOP many many years ago. I wish there were IHOP's around Columbus these days.





Jimmy John's. Your mom told you to eat here. Free smells. Gotta love that!


The Ohio Stater 'mall'. There is/was some sort of Japanese bubble tea place. That was hot stuff back in the early 00's.






Besides an education, The Ohio State University is the place to get the obvious college essentials..beer, cheap greasy food, and tattoos. Many OSU students have spent their evenings visiting those sorts of establishments. And occasionally, all three in one drunk Friday evening. Not necessarily in that order. Well, yeah, in that order. I wouldn't be in the mood for a campus style cheesesteak AFTER having a needle under the skin.












After spending most of your student loan money on Pabst, gyros, and the making the name of that girl you met at the bar last night a permanant part of your right shoulder, I GUESS you should get some books for your classes now, huh? Lindsay? Who the HELL is Lindsay?? And why is her name on my SHOULDER?!?

I get the feeling this shop on E. 13th Avenue just east of High is NOT a plumbing store! The sadly unlit part of the sign reads 'THE BEST GLASS FOR AFTER CLASS'. I mostly stuck to beer..what a lame ass I was back in college!




More food and drink to feed Generation Y's young growing minds!




More places you may find on the OSU version of Monopoly.

The Newport Music Hall. Somewhat small and gritty, many nationally known bands got their start here. And many more ended their starts here too. I had to drive around three times to snap this subpar pic because this incredibly cute Asian girl, probably a groupie of whichever band was playing last night, was standing right at the ticket window and I didn't want her thinking I was some crazy stalker.



More CCN. Cool campus neon.




After a hard night of being a college student, time to refill the wallet, eat a burrito as big as my head, and sober up with a coffee and a donut. La Bamba is VERY good by the way..don't let the characters hanging around the alley behind it scare you. And do NOT park at the McDonald's next door..you WILL BE TOWED!


Our campus tour is almost over. I have bought many used CD's at the Singing Dog, which has some cool neon borderwork.

Varsity Club on Lane. Looks like we're not on High Street anymore, Toto.

I may be in the Grandview area this evening to watch my Sox try to knock the Tampa Bay Rays back down to earth again. Papelbon blew the save and the game last night. I can't imagine that happening again, and with Beckett on the mound, I smell a W. Since I will be in that area, maybe I will get to do that West 5th Avenue stretch I talked about doing back in spring. Also, now that I seem to be back in the swing of things, I see myself and my cameras spending more time on N. High street soon. Stay tuned!

North side neon: Morse, Maize, Indianola

I guess for me, neoning and fall go together. If you notice I start to really feel the neon energy with the re-energizing weather of the fall, and spring to an extent. Neon looks good twelve months a year, but it just takes on a more glowing alluring look on a cool fall or early winter night, or a cool spring early morning. So this past Saturday night, which I seemed to consider either the last summer day or first fall day, some after-work plans fell through. I decided to take a drive around Morse Road, Maize, and Indianola from the north end down to the campus area. It would have been a perfect night to (finally) get to the High street corridor where the neon rivals Vegas in some spots, but..Gallery Hop was going on. And, OSU won a football game earlier in the day. I don't want to get in the way of burning couches!Keep in mind, I was a student back in the days when students actually rioted because we lost to Michigan years and years in a row, there was no 'campus gateway', and I am still a huge OSU fan. I just don't think barely beating a middle of the pack MAC school is all that much to riot over. If we beat USC next week, then maybe I will get in on the action. That being said, since there are only two weekends left before students return, I am thinking a weeknight, possibly a Thursday night, this week, would be perfect to cover the short north and campus areas. Few students have yet arrived on campus, but most of the businesses should be open and aglow with neon.

For now, enjoy what I could find from the north side of Indianola, Morse, Maize..the Beechwold/northland line. I have covered this area on High street before. Indianola isn't neon heaven. but it's not neon hell either. All of the pics were taken the night of Saturday, 9/6.

A psychic reader on Morse, near Maize Rd. Most of these psychics around here are in private residences (roads like Morse and Dublin-Granville used to be two-lane roads with houses and even former farmhouses of which a few remain). I have never seen a psychic but I would love to get a reading and see what kind of neon is in my future..




Furniture Land..a furniture store which was, in it's former life..a furniture store! Most former furniture stores become charter schools or flea markets these days. Nice framing.



McDonald's, at the corner of Morse/Maize. Back in it's early days, McD's was known for it's cool neon signs, and the animated "Speedy" mascot. Once McD's became the global superpower that it is now, genericity ruled the day and those mansard roofs sported flourescent tube lighting with yellow covering. I loved those as a kid, but ya know..time for a change. This is one of few in the area that sports any neon. There are a few 'retro' styles that have Speedy ( I will show some day) and some with the "Playplace" feature neon signage.

Save-A-Lot, in an older strip mall at Morse/Maize. I like this store, but prefer Aldi. If I could find neon in an Aldi, I would be happy.

Tony's Pub, on Maize just south or Morse. Interesting framing work with a generic "OPEN" in the middle.



Comic Town, in the Toy's R Us strip mall at Morse and Maize. I like the Superman logo, but a Batman logo in neon would be a GREAT find! I have never understood things like Dungeons and Dragons, World of Warcraft, and Magic, but I admire the neon artwork.


A hottub/sauna dealer, on Indianola south of MOrse Road. Catch the wave!

Hair Concept, in a strip mall on Indianola near Oakland Park Ave.

A wine and beer store near Indianola and Broadway. I like some Red Stripe, mahnnn!

Body Wisdom. I believe a sort of massage center, on Indianola near Arcadia/Hudson.

Jumbo's Pizza formerly King's. They deliver. Call 'em. When I lived in the area, they saved me from starvation many times!

Glen Echo Service, at Hudson and N.4th street. They fix any and all cars. But their supercool neon sign needs some work. I hope to catch it again soon a litttttle brighter.

James Road area/Bexley, east Columbus

When I first covered the east side areas, specifically the areas of Berwick, Eastmoor, Whitehall, and Bexley in past posts, there were some hidden gems which I somehow overlooked or forgot and meant to return. This is the result. Most of the photos in this set are in the James Road area, between Broad and Livingston. These pics were taken on the cloudy morning of Friday, 9/5.



Franks Restaurant, just west of James Rd. on Broad Street. I am sure it is good. But they advertise 'good food'. Would anyone claim they serve bad food?


Sunny's Café, Broad and James.


I know, I violated one of my rules with these photos. Well, I violated two rules. This was taken around 10:00AM. AND, it is unlit. The sad thing is though, I don't know if it is lit up at night anymore. This is one of the very few surviving pieces of 'classic' neon in the Columbus area, meaning this sign dates to probably the late 1950's or early 60's. I HAVE seen it lit before, but not in quite a while. Or I am just not there at the right time. I took this pic on Friday morning and I went by around 11:00PM last night and it was dark. I really hope this sign has not gone dark permanantly. I seem to recall seeing lit pics of this on flickr sites of other folks. This Super Duper is on the west side of James Rd., between Main and Livingston. It is a beautiful piece of roadside art that just takes anyone back to a simpler time. Even those of us who weren't around in that simpler time.


Pawn shop next to the Super Duper. This was one of the few times I went neoning with my daughter in the car since it was morning. She saw the diamond and wanted me to take a picture of it! Of course! Girls..diamonds..she is learning young ahhhhh!