♪♪ >>> IT WAS BUILT WITH SIMPLE BRICK AND STONE.

BUT TODAY, IT'S THE CROWN JEWEL IN THE CITY'S RING OF HISTORIC NEIGHBORHOODS.

>> IT IS A CLASSIC EXAMPLE OF SUCCESSFUL PRIVATE RENOVATION.

>> WALK ITS STREETS, AND EVERY STEP, EVERY GLANCE IS A REMINDER THAT YOU ARE IN A SPECIAL PLACE, ONE OF THE NATION'S BEST PRESERVED AND RE-IMAGINED NEIGHBORHOODS.

>> IT'S NOT BEEN DEVELOPED.

IT'S BEEN ENHANCED.

>> IMMIGRANTS BUILT IT.

>> IT USED TO BE THE TIME EVERYBODY WANT TO GO TO AMERICA.

THEY THINK MONEY GROWS ON TREES IN AMERICA.

>> PROGRESS THREATENED IT.

AND A VISION SAVED IT.

IT'S A NEIGHBORHOOD THAT'S LIVING PROOF THAT POSSIBILITY, HOPE AND HARD WORK CAN SAVE THE BEST PARTS OF OUR PAST.

IT'S THE NEIGHBORHOOD THE GERMANS BUILT.

IT'S GERMAN VILLAGE.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ >>> SUPPORT FOR "COLUMBUS NEIGHBORHOODS" IS PROVIDED BY -- SINCE 1921 THE STATE AUTO GROUP HAS CALLED COLUMBUS NEIGHBORHOODS HOME.

OFFERING PERSONAL AND BUSINESS INSURANCE THROUGH INDEPENDENT INSURANCE AGENTS -- FOR YOUR CAR, HOME AND BUSINESS, THE STATE AUTO GROUP.

AS WE'VE GROWN AND CHANGED WITH COLUMBUS, WE'VE NEVER LOST SIGHT OF ONE THING -- WE ARE NEIGHBORS SERVING NEIGHBORS.

CHASE AND IT'S MORE THAN 15,000 CENTRAL OHIO ASSOCIATES ARE PROUD TO CELEBRATE THE HISTORIC NEIGHBORHOODS OF COLUMBUS.

AEP OHIO, CONNECTED TO YOUR LIFE.

MORE AT AEPOHIO.COM.

THE LAW FIRM OF BAILEY CAVALIERI, A LOCAL FIRM WITH A NATIONAL PRESENCE.

BAILEYCAVALIERI.COM AND BY THESE AND OTHER LOCAL FOUNDATIONS AND FAMILIES.

AND VIEWERS LIKE YOU.

THANK YOU!

♪♪ ♪♪ >>> WHEN THE GERMANS CAME TO COLUMBUS, THIS IS WHAT THEY FOUND AT THE SOUTH END.

A FOREST SO THICK THAT WHEN ROADS WERE EVENTUALLY CARVED OUT, TREE STUMPS WERE EVERYWHERE AND POSED A HAZARD TO HORSES AND CARRIAGE DRIVERS.

THE CITY OF COLUMBUS WAS YOUNG AND GROWING.

IMMIGRATION FROM GERMANY WAS, AT FIRST, JUST A TRICKLE.

THE GERMANS LEFT THE FAMILIARITY AND POLITICAL OPPRESSION OF THE OLD WORLD FOR A BETTER LIFE.

THEIR EXPERIENCES ARE ECHOED BY THOSE WHO CAME MUCH, MUCH LATER.

>> AND WE CAME FROM GERMANY IN 1955.

WE ARRIVED IN COLUMBUS 5:00 IN THE MORNING.

I THINK THAT DAY IT WAS 100 DEGREES.

AND WE WAS DRESSED FOR WINTERTIME, AND IT WAS COLD ON THE BOAT.

IT WAS ROUGH, ROUGH SEA ALL THE TIME.

OUR SPONSOR WAS FROM COLUMBUS, SO WE CAME HERE TO COLUMBUS.

OUR DESIRE WAS TO GO TO EUREKA, CALIFORNIA, BUT WHEN WE CAME TO COLUMBUS TOWN, WE RUN OUT OF MONEY.

IT USED TO BE A TIME EVERYBODY WANT TO GO TO AMERICA.

THEY THINK, "MONEY GROWS ON TREES IN AMERICA!"

EVERYBODY HAD THAT DESIRE TO GO TO THE STATES AND GET RICH.

WELL AFTER THEY CAME, IT REALLY WAS NOT THAT WAY.

THEY HAD TO START SMALLER, YOU KNOW.

♪♪ ♪ I WALK ALONG THE OHIO RIVER ♪ >> IT WAS SIX WEEKS CROSSING THE ATLANTIC IN THE EARLY 1800s, AND HUNDREDS MORE MILES STILL ACROSS A RUGGED COUNTRY TO THE YOUNG CITY OF COLUMBUS.

SO REMOTE THAT IT WOULD BE 1825 BEFORE GROUND WAS BROKEN FOR THE OHIO CANAL NEAR NEWARK.

SO DISTANT THAT THE NATIONAL ROAD WOULDN'T REACH COLUMBUS UNTIL THE EARLY 1830s.

IN 1832, WHEN THE NATIONAL ROAD FIRST ARRIVED IN COLUMBUS, THE POPULATION IS ABOUT 2,400 PEOPLE.

>> BY 1834, THE COMBINATION OF THE NATIONAL ROAD WITH THE CANAL HAS BOOSTED THE POPULATION TO 5,000 PEOPLE.

JUST LIKE THAT.

A LOT OF PEOPLE COMING TO COLUMBUS, LOOKING AROUND, POSSIBLY WITH THE IDEA OF GOING ON FURTHER, DISCOVER THAT THE NATIONAL ROAD, WHICH THEY HAVE BEEN TRAVELING ON, DOESN'T GO ANY FARTHER.

AND IT WON'T FOR SEVERAL YEARS.

AND SO SOME PEOPLE WHO HADN'T REALLY PLANNED ON LIVING HERE AT ALL, MAKES IT THIS FAR, HEARS THAT BASICALLY THERE MIGHT BE CHOLERA A LITTLE FARTHER AHEAD OVER IN INDIANA, AND DECIDES TO STAY HERE.

NOW THE QUESTION MIGHT ARISE, "WELL, WHY IS GERMAN VILLAGE SITTING WHERE IT IS?"

AND THE KEY TO THAT IS TO REMEMBER THAT LIVINGSTON AVENUE WAS ORIGINALLY SOUTH PUBLIC LANE, WHICH WAS THE SOUTHERN BOUNDARY OF THE CITY.

MANY PEOPLE MOVING DOWN TO THIS PART OF THE WORLD WERE BASICALLY BUYING LAND DOWN HERE BECAUSE IT WAS CHEAP, BECAUSE IT WAS OUTSIDE THE CITY LIMITS, PURE AND SIMPLE.

♪♪ >> WHEN THE GERMANS FINALLY STARTED TO ARRIVE IN SIGNIFICANT NUMBERS AROUND 1840, THIS WAS TYPICAL OF THEIR FIRST, MORE PERMANENT HOMES.

STORY AND A HALF HOUSES, SHOULDER TO SHOULDER.

>> AND YOU COULD SHOOT A SHOTGUN RIGHT THROUGH, BECAUSE THE KITCHEN DOOR WAS IN LINE WITH THE FRONT DOOR, AND THAT'S WHY THEY CALL THEM SHOTGUN HOUSES.

>> THE COMMON THEME IS THAT THESE PEOPLE WERE VERY MODEST, VERY SIMPLE.

THEY WEREN'T SHOWY.

THEY WEREN'T TRYING TO IMPRESS THEIR NEIGHBORS.

THEY JUST WANTED A VERY SIMPLE, CLEAN HOME FOR THEIR FAMILY.

>> THE GERMANS, BEING AS FRUGAL AS THEY WERE, WOULD BUILD THEIR HOUSES RIGHT ON THE SIDEWALK, AND THEN THE IDEA WAS TO LEAVE ENOUGH BACKYARD, BECAUSE THESE WERE ALL SMALL LOTS, FOR A FLOWER GARDEN, A VEGETABLE GARDEN, AND FOR AN OUTDOOR PRIVY.

>> BY 1850, OVER HALF OF NEW CONSTRUCTION IN COLUMBUS WAS IN THE GERMAN-SPEAKING DISTRICT.

>> THIS HOME IS CALLED THE BROTHER'S HOUSE.

TWO BROTHERS, ANDREW AND THURMAN DEBOIS, BOUGHT THE PROPERTY TO BUILD A HOME FOR BOTH THEIR FAMILIES.

WELL, DURING THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE HOME, BOTH BROTHERS GOT INTO SOME SORT OF DISPUTE AND BECAME VERY ANGRY AT EACH OTHER.

SO AS A RESULT, YOU HAVE A BUILDING THAT HAS TWO DISTINCT STYLES.

DURING THE CIVIL WAR, THEY BOTH WENT OFF TO WAR, AND THEY LEFT THEIR WIVES BEHIND.

THE WIVES DECIDED ENOUGH IS ENOUGH, SO THEY BROKE THROUGH THE COMMON WALL AND BUILT A DOOR SO THEY COULD VISIT EACH OTHER AND BE ONE FAMILY.

WELL, AFTER THE WAR, THE BROTHERS CAME BACK.

THEY STILL DID NOT LIKE EACH OTHER.

THEY BRICKED UP THE WALL, AND THAT WAS THE END OF THAT.

>> WHEN THE CIVIL WAR CAME, THE LARGEST ETHNIC GROUP TO SERVE FOR THE UNION WAS GERMAN-BORN AMERICANS.

THE STATES PROVIDING THE MOST GERMAN BORN SOLDIERS?

NEW YORK, MISSOURI AND OHIO.

>> AND THEN, DURING THE CIVIL WAR, THERE WERE QUITE A FEW OF THOSE THAT SERVED IN THE ARMY FOR THE NORTH, SO THAT KIND OF BOUGHT THEIR WAY INTO ACCEPTANCE, YOU KNOW.

>> YOU TAKE A LOOK AT WHEN MANY OF THESE HOUSES ARE BUILT, I THINK YOU'RE GOING TO FIND THAT MOST OF THEM ARE BUILT IN THE YEARS AFTER THE CIVIL WAR TO THE TURN OF THE 20th CENTURY.

>> MY GREAT-GRANDFATHER, PETER WACKER, BUILT THIS HOUSE.

HE WAS A BRICK MASON.

HE CAME OVER FROM GERMANY IN 1867.

MARRIED MY GREAT-GRANDMOTHER MARIA IN 1872.

HE DID THE BRICK LAYING.

I ASSUME HE HAD SOME HELP, BUT THIS WAS THE HOUSE THAT PETER MADE.

>> THE GERMANS BROUGHT A LITTLE BIT OF THEIR HOME COUNTRY TO COLUMBUS.

REINHARD STREET IS NAMED AFTER JACOB REINHARD, A WORKER ON THE NATIONAL ROAD WHO SETTLED HERE AND PRINTED COLUMBUS' MOST SUCCESSFUL GERMAN-LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER.

KOSSUTH STREET WAS NAMED FOR LOUIS KOSSUTH, A FUGITIVE OF HUNGARY WHO WAS A CHAMPION OF CIVIL LIBERTIES, A CAUSE CLOSE TO THE HEARTS OF GERMANS WHO FLED POLITICAL OPPRESSION.

STATUES OF KOSSUTH ARE FOUND IN GERMAN SETTLEMENTS THROUGHOUT THE U.S.

THE GERMANS BROUGHT MUSIC.

♪♪ SMALL BRASS BANDS THAT WOULD DEVELOP LATER INTO MILITARY-STYLE MARCHING BANDS.

♪♪ >> IMMIGRANTS THAT WERE COMING OVER DURING THE 1840s WERE PEOPLE WHO WERE LOOKING FOR A BETTER LIFE.

BUT THEY WERE MISSING WHAT WE CALL "GEMUTLICHKEIT" -- FRIENDSHIP, FELLOWSHIP.

SO ONE NIGHT LATE IN 1848, A JUSTICE OF THE PEACE BY THE NAME OF BROOKE, LIVING HERE ON HIGH STREET, DECIDED HE WOULD INVITE SOME OVER TO HIS HOUSE.

SO 12 MEN CAME.

THEY HAD SEVEN CANDLES, AND THEY JUST STARTED SINGING AND ENJOYING THE TUNES FROM THE OLD COUNTRY.

AND EVER SINCE THAT TIME, THE COLUMBUS MAENNERCHOR HAS BEEN IN EXISTENCE.

>> WE ALWAYS FELT THAT PERHAPS THE MAENNERCHOR WAS MORE THE PROFESSIONAL PEOPLE, WHEREAS THE GERMANIA WAS MORE THE CRAFTSMEN AND THE PEOPLE LIKE THAT, I THINK.

♪♪ >> AND OF COURSE, THE GERMANS BROUGHT BEER.

♪♪ [ BEER POURING ] ♪♪ IN 1834, LOUIS HOSTER WAS ONE OF THE FIRST BREWERS IN COLUMBUS.

>> HE FOUNDED IT RIGHT WHERE THERE'S A DIP IN FRONT STREET.

THAT WAS THE RAVINE FROM WHICH AN ARTESIAN WELL CAME AND FLOWED DOWN TO THE SCIOTO RIVER.

THE WATER WAS DEEMED SO PURE AND FRESH THAT HE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE PERFECT FOR BREWING BEER.

NOT SHORTLY THEREAFTER, HE WAS JOINED BY FOUR OTHER COMPETITORS.

>> I THINK THAT THE BUILDING WAS LOCATED HERE BECAUSE THIS HAPPENED TO BE OPEN LAND AND OPEN PROPERTY, AND THAT THEY KNEW THAT THE WATER SOURCE WAS NEARBY.

THAT THE SPRING SOURCE WAS PROBABLY NEARBY.

AND THAT THEY JUST TUNNELED DOWN AND BUILT SOME KIND OF WELL TO ACCESS THE SOURCE UNDERNEATH THE BUILDING.

>> AUGUST WAGNER, TO USE THE GERMAN PRONUNCIATION, WAS A VERY ROBUST MAN.

IT IS SAID THAT THE STATUE OF KING GAMBRINUS, WHICH STANDS CLOSE TO THE CORNER OF LIBERTY AND FRONT, IS MODELED AFTER HIM.

HE'S QUITE A HEROIC PROPORTION PERSON.

HE PROMOTED HIS BEER BY, FOR EXAMPLE, HAVING PEOPLE BREAK GIANT STONES ON HIS STOMACH WITH A SLEDGEHAMMER.

ONE DAY, SOMEBODY SAID THAT THE PEOPLE IN THE WAGNER BREWERY WERE GETTING TOO DRUNK ON BEER.

AND HE WENT IN AND DRANK A WHOLE KEG OF BEER HIMSELF AND DIDN'T SHOW ANY EFFECTS OF IT, JUST TO PROVE THAT THEY WERE WRONG.

>> I ALWAYS LIKE TO SAY THAT THERE WOULD REALLY NOT BE WHAT WE CALL GERMAN VILLAGE IF IT HADN'T BEEN FOR THE FACT THAT WE HAD THE BREWERY DISTRICT.

>> IN ESSENCE, GERMAN VILLAGE AND THE BREWERY DISTRICT WERE REALLY ONE BIG NEIGHBORHOOD.

THE GERMAN NEIGHBORHOOD.

IN FACT, THE WORKERS LIVED IN GERMAN VILLAGE AND THE HOTSY-TOTSY PEOPLE LIVED IN THE BREWERY DISTRICT.

PARTICULARLY AS THE SMELL OF THE BREWERIES GREW, THEY TENDED TO MOVE DOWN HIGH STREET.

SO YOU SEE A NUMBER OF RATHER LARGE HOUSES ON HIGH STREET, WHICH WERE BUILT BY THE BREWERS TO SHOW OFF THEIR WEALTH AND TO GET AWAY FROM THE FUMES OF THE STABLES AND HOPS.

>> THE BREWERIES ARE A MAJOR EMPLOYER.

I DON'T WANT TO OVERRATE THE BREWERIES, BECAUSE THERE ARE OTHER MAJOR BUSINESSES THAT THE GERMAN COMMUNITY GETS INVOLVED WITH OTHER THAN BREWING BEER.

AND FRANKLY, THE BREWERIES AREN'T GOING TO EMPLOY MORE THAN A FEW HUNDRED PEOPLE AT PEAK.

WHERE THE CARRIAGE INDUSTRY IN THIS TOWN, BY THE END OF THE 19th CENTURY, IS EMPLOYING THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE AT PEAK.

>> ONE CARRIAGE THAT WAS A WELCOME SIGHT WAS FULL OF SAUSAGES.

IN 1886, FRED SCHMIDT CONCOCTED A RECIPE THAT CALLED FOR A SECRET BLEND OF SPICES AND THE BEST CUTS OF MEAT SMOKED OVER HICKORY WOOD.

>> WHEN I WAS A KID, I USED TO COME DOWN AND VISIT MY GRANDMOTHER AND GRANDFATHER WHO LIVED NEXT DOOR TO THE PACKING COMPANY.

WE WOULD KILL ABOUT A HUNDRED HOGS A DAY AT THAT PARTICULAR TIME.

YOU'RE UNLOADING FROM THE TRUCK -- SOME OF THEM WOULD GET LOOSE.

WE HAD TO CHASE THEM AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD TO GET THEM BACK IN.

>> AND DON'T FORGET THE CHURCHES.

GERMANS BUILT A NUMBER OF CHURCHES.

SOME LUTHERAN AND SOME CATHOLIC.

TRINITY EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH IS BELIEVED TO BE ONE OF THE OLDEST PROTESTANT CHURCH BUILDING IN COLUMBUS.

AND THEN THERE'S ST.

MARY'S.

>> 1863 IS WHEN THEY ESTABLISHED THIS PARISH TO MEET THE NEEDS OF THE PEOPLE IN THIS AREA.

AND THAT'S HOW THE GERMANS HAVE ALWAYS LOOKED AT THIS CHURCH, AS GRAND OLD ST.

MARY'S.

IT'S BEEN VERY IMPORTANT TO THEM OVER THE YEARS, AND ONE OF THE BIGGEST IMPACTS WAS NOT ONLY A SPIRITUAL CENTER FOR THE GERMANS ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF COLUMBUS, BUT IT ALSO WAS PROVIDING AN EDUCATION FOR THEIR CHILDREN.

AND OF COURSE THEY WANTED THEM TO LEARN ENGLISH, TO ASSIMILATE THEM INTO THE AMERICAN LIFE, ESSENTIALLY.

>> GERMAN IMMIGRANTS WERE SERIOUS ABOUT EDUCATION.

SO MUCH SO THAT THEY BUILT AND MANAGED MANY SCHOOLS.

COLUMBUS RESIDENTS WERE IMPRESSED AND SENT THEIR CHILDREN TO THE GERMAN SCHOOLS.

FOR THE VERY YOUNG, THERE WAS KINDERGARTEN, A NEW CONCEPT BROUGHT TO COLUMBUS BY LOUISA FRANKENBURG, A FORMER STUDENT OF FRIEDRICH FROBEL, THE MAN WHO INVENTED IT.

FOR THOSE WISHING TO PURSUE A PROFESSION, THERE WAS CAPITAL UNIVERSITY, WHICH WOULD BECOME ONE OF THE OLDEST AND LARGEST LUTHERAN AFFILIATED UNIVERSITIES IN NORTH AMERICA.

>> AT THE END OF THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR, THE GERMAN COMMUNITY IS EMERGING AS A MAJOR POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, AND SOCIAL POWER WITHIN A CITY ITSELF THAT IS ON THE GROW.

>> BY THE LATE 1800s, THERE WERE THREE DISTINCT AREAS OF GERMAN VILLAGE.

THE BREWERY DISTRICT THAT PUMPED OUT 1.3 MILLION OF GALLONS OF BEER EVERY YEAR.

THEN THERE WAS CENTRAL MARKET, ONE OF FOUR MAJOR MARKET AREAS IN COLUMBUS.

IT SAT BETWEEN LIVINGSTON AND DOWNTOWN.

HERE YOU COULD GET FIVE DIFFERENT KINDS OF HORSERADISH, AND LATER, EGGS FROM THE COLUMBUS EGG LADY.

THE AREA ALSO INCLUDED A NEW HOTEL.

>> THE GREAT SOUTHERN HOTEL WAS BUILT BY GERMAN INTERESTS ESSENTIALLY TO TRY TO BRING MORE TRADE TO THE SOUTHERN AND THAT IS GERMAN END OF DOWNTOWN.

>> AND THEN THE RESIDENTIAL AREA.

WITH BRICK HOMES AND BRICK STREETS.

BUT IT DIDN'T ALWAYS LOOK LIKE THIS.

FOR A TIME, SMOKEHOUSES, BAKERIES, OUTHOUSES AND SLAUGHTERHOUSES DOTTED THE NEIGHBORHOOD.

IT SMELLED.

THERE WERE SALOONS AND HAY SHEDS, A STOCKING FACTORY, UNDERTAKERS AND TAILORS.

THE LARGEST MANUFACTURER ON THE SOUTH SIDE, THE COLUMBUS WATCH COMPANY, MADE TIMEPIECES THAT STILL RUN TODAY.

♪♪ AND TAKE NOTE.

JUST BECAUSE IT WAS GERMAN BUILT, DOESN'T MEAN THE HOMES IN THE VILLAGE ARE BUILT IN A GERMAN STYLE.

THE TYPES OF HOMES YOU'LL FIND IN THE VILLAGE WERE SIMPLY POPULAR ARCHITECTURE OF THE TIME.

♪♪ >> SO THEY BUILT THE SMALL STORY AND A HALF COTTAGES, AND THEN, AS THEY BECAME MORE PROSPEROUS, OR AS MORE PROSPEROUS GERMANS CAME HERE, THEY WERE ABLE TO BUILD THE LARGER ITALIANATE AND QUEEN ANNE HOMES THAT WE SEE TODAY HERE, TOO.

>> ITALIANATE HAS AN EMPHASIS ON -- THEY'RE OFTEN BRICK HOMES, THERE ARE ITALIANATE HOMES THAT ARE ALSO FRAME CONSTRUCTION.

THEY ARE MORE VERTICAL IN NATURE, THE WINDOWS ARE ATTENUATED OR TALLER AND THE EMPHASIS IS ON THE CORNICE ON AN ITALIANATE HOUSE WHETHER IT'S BRACKETED, WHETHER IT HAS WINDOWS UNDERNEATH THE CORNICE LINE UNDERNEATH THE ROOFLINE.

THEY USUALLY HAVE A HIP ROOF, WHICH MEANS THAT WHEN YOU'RE STANDING AT SIDEWALK LEVEL, THAT ROOF IS ESSENTIALLY INVISIBLE.

AND THEY'RE OFTEN MUCH MORE SYMMETRICAL.

QUEEN ANN, ON THE OTHER HAND, IS ASYMMETRICAL, VERY BUSY PLAN, MULTIPLE ROOF LINES AND ROOF TYPES, MULTIPLE MATERIALS.

SO DIFFERENT TEXTURES, DIFFERENT COLORS, DIFFERENT WINDOW SHAPES AND SIZES, TOWERS, TURRETS, ORNAMENTAL IRON CRESTING, MUCH MORE FLAMBOYANT IN APPEARANCE.

>> GERMAN VILLAGE IS ALSO KNOWN FOR ITS GHOSTS.

>> OH, SCHWARTZ CASTLE IS PROBABLY THE MOST KNOWN LANDMARK HERE IN GERMAN VILLAGE.

FREDRICK SCHWARTZ WAS A DRUGGIST, AND HE AND HIS SISTERS CAME OVER FROM GERMANY IN THE MID-1800s.

HE DID VERY WELL AND BUILT THIS MAGNIFICENT BUILDING.

ON THE TOP OF THE BUILDING IS A TURRET, A SIX-SIDED TURRET, WITH WINDOWS ON EACH SIDE.

AND IT WAS SAID THAT HE USED TO GO UP THERE AND WAIT FOR HIS BRIDE TO COME FROM GERMANY.

BUT SHE NEVER ARRIVED.

>> IN HIS LATER YEARS, FREDRICK SCHWARTZ WAS KNOWN TO DRINK ONLY RAINWATER, JOG BAREFOOT YEAR ROUND, AND WORE ONLY WOOL CLOTHING.

>> HE LOVED TO SUNBATHE IN THE NUDE.

HE WOULD GO UP TO THE TURRET, AND YOU SEE THE STAIRCASE, THE WINDING STAIRCASE, HE WOULD GO UP THERE IN THE NUDE TO SUNBATHE.

>> CROWDS GATHERED ACROSS THE STREET EVERY AFTERNOON TO CATCH A GLIMPSE.

>> AFTER HE DIED, PEOPLE SAID THAT SCHWARTZ ROAMED THE CASTLE, AND IT BECAME KNOWN AS THE HAUNTED SCHWARTZ CASTLE AFTER THAT.

♪♪ >> YOU CAN'T PICK VERY MANY PARTICULAR GERMAN VILLAGE BUILDINGS AND SAY THAT THEY ARE ARCHITECTURAL GEMS.

THERE ARE SOME THAT ARE VERY DISTINCTIVE, VERY UNUSUAL.

BUT WHAT REALLY MAKES THE PLACE WORK IS HOW ALL THE BUILDINGS AND THE SPACES BETWEEN THEM FIT TOGETHER.

IT'S NOT A CLUSTER OF MAJOR LANDMARKS, BUT IN ITSELF AS A HISTORIC DISTRICT, IT'S A MAJOR LANDMARK.

AND IT'S ALL THOSE LITTLE COMPONENTS, THE HOUSES, THE COTTAGES, EVERYTHING ELSE, THAT FIT TOGETHER THAT MAKE IT WORK.

>> THE STOOPS ARE INTERESTING, BECAUSE REALLY, THEY'RE VERY UNIQUE.

THE CRAFTSMEN WHO WOULD MAKE THE STOOP WOULD SORT OF MAKE HIS MARK ON IT, AND YEAH, IT WAS A HALLMARK OF THE HOME.

AND THEY'RE VERY IMPRESSIVE.

THEY'RE LIMESTONE STOOPS.

AND THE BEST ONES HAVE WHAT WE CALL CHEEKS ON EITHER SIDE.

IT'S NOT JUST A SET OF STEPS, BUT THEY'RE THE WALLS THAT HOLD THE STEPS IN PLACE.

AND THEY REALLY ARE VERY UNIQUE TO EACH PROPERTY.

>> I THINK THAT'S WHAT PEOPLE RESPOND TO.

WHEN THEY GO TO A PLACE LIKE GERMAN VILLAGE, THEY UNDERSTAND IT'S NOT JUST THE BUILDINGS.

IT'S THE GARDENS, IT'S THE FENCES, THE BRICK SIDEWALKS, THE BRICK STREETS, THE STONE CURBS.

>> YOU CAN'T FLY DOWN THESE STREETS GOING 40 OR 50 MILES AN HOUR.

YOU CAN FLY DOWN THEM GOING 20 OR 25 MILES AN HOUR LIKE MY WIFE AND I DO IN OUR ELECTRIC CAR.

THAT QUAINTNESS, I THINK, WILL ALWAYS REFLECT GERMAN VILLAGE, AND IT WILL ALWAYS MAKE IT ATTRACTIVE.

>> ANOTHER ELEMENT THAT MAKES THIS PLACE SO ATTRACTIVE IS THE PARK.

♪♪ >> NOW ORIGINALLY CALLED STEWART'S GROVE, IT WAS OWNED BY A MAN NAMED STEWART WHO LIVED NEARBY AND GAVE HIS NAME TO A STREET OVER HERE AS WELL.

AND IT WAS ESSENTIALLY HIS WOODS, LOCATED ON THE SOUTH END OF AN EMERGING GERMAN COMMUNITY.

AND OVER THE COURSE OF A COUPLE OF GENERATIONS, THE GERMAN COMMUNITY PRETTY MUCH MADE STEWART'S GROVE ITS OWN PARK.

>> STEWART SOLD IT TO THE DESHLER AND THURMAN FAMILY, WHICH ARE WELL KNOWN NAMES HERE IN GERMAN VILLAGE IN 1867 WITH THE STIPULATION THAT IT BECOME A CITY, PUBLIC PARK.

>> IN 1871, A STATUE OF HEBE, THE GODDESS OF YOUTH, WAS INSTALLED AT THE PARK.

IT WAS A DRINKING FOUNTAIN.

TIN CUPS WERE PROVIDED SO THAT VISITORS COULD HAVE THEIR FILL OF THE ELIXIR OF YOUTH AND VIRTUE.

THE UMBRELLA CAME MUCH LATER, AS DID HER NICKNAME.

>> AND THEN, RIGHT AFTER THEY DEDICATED THE SCHILLER STATUE IN 1891, THEY CHANGED IT TO SCHILLER PARK.

FRIEDRICH SCHILLER WAS A PLAYWRIGHT IN GERMANY, AND HE WAS AS WELL KNOWN IN MIDDLE EASTERN EUROPE AS SHAKESPEARE.

ONE OF SCHILLER'S MORE PROMINENT WORKS WAS "ODE TO JOY," AND IT WAS SET TO MUSIC BY BEETHOVEN, WHICH WE KNOW AS THE "9th SYMPHONY."

♪♪ >> SCHILLER PARK WAS A SPOT FOR PICNICS AND CONCERTS.

AND IN THE MID TO LATE 1800s, IT WAS A GREAT PLACE TO LISTEN TO A NEW INSTRUMENT THAT WOULD CHANGE GERMAN-AMERICAN MUSIC FOREVER.

THE ACCORDION.

♪♪ AND HERE, JUST A STONE'S THROW AWAY FROM SCHILLER PARK, WAS RECREATION PARK.

MOST FOLKS KNOW IT AS THE FIRST HOME OF OSU FOOTBALL.

>> IT'S NOW KNOWN AS THE HOME OF THE VERY FIRST OHIO STATE BUCKEYE FOOTBALL GAME, BUT REALLY, IT WAS A MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL STADIUM LONG BEFORE THAT.

THAT'S WHAT IT WAS BUILT FOR.

WE HAD A MAJOR LEAGUE CLUB THERE FROM 1889 TO 1891.

ANOTHER INTERESTING FIRST IS THE FIRST GREAT LEFTHANDER EVER TO PLAY IN THE MAJOR LEAGUES WAS EDDIE CANNONBALL MORRIS, A COLUMBUS BUCKEYE PITCHER.

AND HE WAS THE FIRST PITCHER TO EVER THROW OVERHANDED.

AND ALBERT SPALDING SAID THAT HE WAS GOING TO RUIN THE GAME WITH HIS NEW-FANGLED STYLE OF PITCHING.

'CAUSE UP TO THAT TIME, ALL PITCHERS THREW UNDERHANDED LIKE GIRL'S FAST PITCH SOFTBALL DO.

EDDIE READ THE RULE BOOK AND IT DIDN'T SAY HE COULDN'T THROW OVERHANDED, SO HE DID IT.

WHEN HE STOOD ON THE MOUND AT RECREATION PARK, HIS LEFT ARM FACED SOUTH, AND HENCE, EVER SINCE THEN, ALL LEFT-HANDED PITCHERS HAVE BEEN KNOWN AS SOUTHPAWS.

ONE OF THE REAL UNIQUE THINGS ABOUT THE REC-Y IS THE VERY FIRST CONCESSION STAND IN BASEBALL WAS INVENTED THERE BY HARRY STEVENS IN 1887.

AND NOT ONLY DID IT SELL BEER AND POP AND ALL THE UNIQUE THINGS, BUT HE ALSO SOLD THINGS LIKE WHOLE VIDALIA ONIONS AND TRIPE.

BUT WHAT HE'S MOST KNOWN FOR, WHAT HE BECAME A MILLIONAIRE OVER, IS HE WAS THE MAN WHO INVENTED THE HOT DOG.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ >> GERMAN VILLAGE IS IN TRANSITION BY THE EARLY 20th CENTURY.

IT IS NO LONGER JUST A GERMAN COMMUNITY.

IT IS A WORKING CLASS COMMUNITY.

WITH A GERMAN HISTORY, THE SURVIVAL OF A GERMAN CULTURE, IN ITS CHURCHES, IN SOME OF ITS SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS, BUT IT IS NO LONGER COMPLETELY A GERMAN COMMUNITY.

PART OF THE WAY TO UNDERSTAND THIS IS REMEMBER THAT CITIES HAD EXPANDED IN THE UNITED STATES, NOT JUST IN COLUMBUS, BUT ACROSS THE COUNTRY BECAUSE OF THE ADVENT OF THE ELECTRIFIED STREET CAR, WHICH CAME IN THE 1890s AND TRANSFORMED AMERICAN CITIES, PROVIDING A NEW SET NEIGHBORHOODS, USUALLY LOCATED A MILE OR TWO AWAY FROM THE DOWNTOWN, NOW IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT TO THE DOWNTOWN BECAUSE OF THE ELECTRIFIED STREETCAR.

♪♪ >> THE HOSTER BREWERY GREW TO BE LARGEST, AND WAS REALLY THE MOST PROGRESSIVE.

THE YOUNGER HOSTER WENT ABROAD AND WENT TO DIFFERENT BEER EXPOSITIONS AND STUDIED NEW TECHNIQUES.

HE WAS THE FIRST ONE TO INTRODUCE ICE AS A REFRIGERANT FOR BEER.

HE WAS THE FIRST TO INTRODUCE ARTIFICIAL REFRIGERATION AS A WAY TO KEEP BEER COOL.

AND SOMEWHERE ALONG THE LINE, SOMEBODY GOT THE IDEA THAT BEER COULD BE BOTTLED.

DESPITE ALL THESE INNOVATIONS AND ADVANCES, PASTEURIZATION AND REFRIGERATED RAIL CARS CAME INTO BEING, AND SUDDENLY YOU HAD ABOUT 20-SOME BREWERIES IN CINCINNATI SHIPPING THEIR PRODUCT UP HERE.

YOU HAD BREWERIES AS FAR AWAY AS ST.

LOUIS, AND WE KNOW WHO'S THERE, SHIPPING THEIR BEER HERE.

AND THE COMPETITION WAS INTENSE.

THE OTHER FACTOR WAS THE WOMEN'S CHRISTIAN TEMPERANCE UNION WAS FOUNDED.

THE FIVE BREWERIES CONSOLIDATED, BUT THEY WERE STRUGGLING.

I WOULD SAY THEY WERE IN THE RED, LOSING MONEY, PROBABLY FROM 1902, 1903 ON.

AND STARTED REALLY DISINTEGRATING.

>> THE DEATH KNELL FOR BREWING IN COLUMBUS AND ACTUALLY ACROSS THE COUNTRY OCCURRED BEFORE PROHIBITION WAS SET IN.

AFTER THE UNITED STATES GOT INTO WORLD WAR I IN 1917, PARTLY DUE TO POLITICAL PRESSURES AND PARTLY DUE TO THE PRESSURE OF PROHIBITION, CONGRESS PASSED A LAW FORBIDDING BREWING UNDER THE GUISE THAT IT WAS ACTUALLY A WAR CONSERVATION MEASURE.

THEY TRIED TO SAVE GRAIN FOR THE WAR EFFORT, SUPPOSEDLY, BUT THEY SHUT DOWN ALL BREWERIES IN 1917.

OF COURSE, PROHIBITION DIDN'T SET IN FOR OTHER ALCOHOL UNTIL 1919.

♪♪ >> WORLD WAR I BROUGHT A WAVE OF ANTI-GERMAN SENTIMENT.

PEOPLE OF GERMAN ANCESTRY WERE CONSIDERED SUSPECT.

EVEN FLYING ACE AND COLUMBUS NATIVE EDDIE RICKENBACKER CHANGED THE SPELLING OF HIS NAME BECAUSE FRENCH AND BRITISH OFFICIALS WERE SUSPICIOUS OF WHAT THEY SAW AS A GERMAN FLIER IN AN AMERICAN UNIFORM.

>> THE BEST WAY TO UNDERSTAND WHAT HAPPENS DURING WORLD WAR I WHEN GERMAN SCHOOLS ARE CLOSED, WHEN STREET NAMES ARE CHANGED IN THE GERMAN COMMUNITY, WHEN GERMAN BOOKS ARE BURNED AT BROAD AND HIGH, IS TO RECOGNIZE THAT THE GERMAN POPULATION IS QUITE SMALL COMPARED TO THE TOTALITY OF THE POPULATION OF THE TOWN.

IN SHORT, THAT POPULATION HAS ACCULTURATED.

AND THAT IS WHY THERE IS NOT MORE OPPOSITION TO THOSE ACTIONS TAKEN AGAINST THE GERMAN COMMUNITY AT THAT MOMENT IN TIME.

>> THERE WERE A FEW BRIGHT SPOTS BETWEEN THE WARS.

ONE WAS THE MAKING OF AN URBAN LEGEND.

>> AH, IT WAS BUILT BY A GERMAN SAILOR.

HIM AND HIS FRIENDS BUILT IT BY HAND.

AND LIKE I SAID, IT WAS A STORE AND A SALOON.

AND THEN WHEN PROHIBITION CAME, IT BECAME A BROTHEL AND A SPEAKEASY.

APPARENTLY, YES -- APPARENTLY, YOU KNOW, COMING THROUGH WITH HIS LOAD OF LIQUOR WHEREVER FROM CANADA OR WHEREVER THEY COME AND GET IT FROM -- OCCASIONALLY, HE WOULD COME THROUGH HERE AND STOP HERE AND, YOU KNOW, ENJOY WHATEVER HE WANTED TO DO.

HAVE A DRINK OR GO UPSTAIRS WITH THE GIRLS OR WHATEVER.

APPARENTLY, I HEARD THAT THERE'D BE LINES OF, YOU KNOW, THE OLD CARS, THE BIG OLD CARS OUT FRONT, WHEN HE WOULD COME THROUGH.

SO APPARENTLY, YES.

I MEAN, DOCUMENTED -- I COULDN'T TELL YOU FOR SURE, BUT THAT'S THE LEGEND.

>> WHILE THERE IS LITTLE EVIDENCE THAT AL CAPONE EVER VISITED THE MOHAWK, THERE IS PLENTY OF EVIDENCE THAT A NEW TYPE OF DANCE PARTY WAS TAKING THE NATION BY STORM.

WITH THE INCLUSION OF THE NEW PORTABLE DRUM SET, POLKA TRAVELED OUT OF THE BEER HOUSES AND INTO POPULAR CULTURE.

♪♪ ♪♪ >> ALLIED HEAVY BOMBERS CONTINUE TO STRIKE AT MARSHALING YARDS.

ESSON WAS BOMBED IN SPITE OF BAD WEATHER WITH DEVASTATING -- >> BUT RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER WAS ANOTHER WAR, WITH A BIGGER WAVE OF ANTI- GERMAN SENTIMENT.

>> ALLIED AIR OPERATION CLARION WAS CARRIED OUT AGAINST ALL SMALL AND MEDIUM RAIL POINTS IN GERMANY.

>> I THINK WORLD WAR II EVEN HAD A WORSE EFFECT THAN WORLD WAR I.

>> -- WHICH RESULTED IN THE SATURATION OF REPAIR OF THE GERMAN RAILROAD.

>> ANTI-GERMAN ATTITUDE, I THINK, WAS STRONGER, I THINK, IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR.

>> KIND OF THE OPPOSITE OF DURING THE CIVIL WAR HERE.

RATHER THAN THE COMMUNITY STRENGTHENING, GERMANS IN COLUMBUS AND IN OTHER MIDWESTERN CITIES REALLY TOOK A HIT.

IT WAS NOT POPULAR TO BE GERMAN.

A LOT OF FAMILIES CHANGED THEIR LAST NAMES TO SOUND MORE AMERICAN.

AND THIS PART OF COLUMBUS, IT WAS STILL REFERRED TO AS THE SOUTH END THEN, WAS KNOWN FOR BEING GERMAN.

AND SO A LOT OF PEOPLE LEFT.

>> STILL, THERE WERE SOME WHO STAYED.

AND THEY MARKED EACH YEAR'S PASSING AT SCHILLER PARK.

THERE WERE EASTER EGG HUNTS.

AND BATHING BEAUTY PAGEANTS.

AND IN 1959, THE GERMANIA CLUB STARTED THE FIRST OKTOBERFEST.

♪♪ >> THERE ARE PROBABLY LIVING TODAY MORE PEOPLE WHO ATTENDED THAT OKTOBERFEST THAN ATTENDED THE SNOW BOWL AT OHIO STATE IN THE EARLY '50s.

>> THEY THOUGHT IT WOULD BE GREAT TO HAVE IT IN SCHILLER PARK, RIGHT IN THE HEART OF THE GERMAN VILLAGE, AND IT WAS A GREAT IDEA.

COURSE, THEY GO TO THE CITY OF COLUMBUS, AND YOU CANNOT SERVE BEER IN A PARK.

ANYWHERE.

AROUND THE EDGES, MOSTLY ON THIRD STREET, THERE WAS A COUPLE VENDORS WHO SOLD BEER.

AND IT WAS REALLY GREAT THAT THEY DID, BECAUSE IT WAS PRETTY SUCCESSFUL.

BUT AFTER THAT OKTOBERFEST, THE PEOPLE WHO WERE DRINKING THERE ON THEIR WAY HOME -- THEY PUT EMPTY CANS OF BEERS ON ALL THE WROUGHT IRON FENCES.

EVERY SPINDLE HAD A BEER CAN PUT ON IT.

SO IT PERTURBED A LOT OF THE PEOPLE WHO LIVED CLOSE BY, AND THAT RAN IT OUT OF GERMAN VILLAGE FOR A LONG, LONG TIME.

♪♪ >> IN THE LATE '50s, MORE RESIDENTS LEFT, LURED BY NEWER HOUSING AND MODERN FURNISHINGS.

THE OLD SOUTH END FELL INTO DECLINE.

THE BREWERY DISTRICT, ABANDONED SINCE PROHIBITION, FARED NO BETTER.

>> THERE WERE A LOT OF HOMELESS PEOPLE LIVING HERE.

THERE WERE VACANT BUILDINGS.

AND IT WAS PRETTY DEPRESSED.

>> MUCH OF THE INCENTIVE TO RESTORE GERMAN VILLAGE CAME FROM THIS -- THE CONSTRUCTION OF INTERSTATE 70 THROUGH DOWNTOWN COLUMBUS.

LIKE A GIANT KNIFE, IT SLICED OFF A THIRD OF THE OLD GERMAN NEIGHBORHOOD.

>> THE URBAN RENEWAL FREEWAYS -- EVERYBODY WAS DOING IT, SO, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN'T POINT TO COLUMBUS AND SAY, "GEE, WE WERE UNENLIGHTENED."

THAT WAS ENLIGHTENED THINKING AT THE TIME.

>> AND PARTS OF THE AREA HAD DETERIORATED MORE THAN OTHERS.

THE AREA NORTH OF INTERSTATE 70 IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT TO THE DOWNTOWN CORE HAD SEEN MUCH HEAVIER DETERIORATION, TO THE POINT WHERE CIVIC LEADERS HAD COME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT A 60-PLUS ACRE AREA COULD ONLY BE SAVED BY REMOVING IT.

IT WAS CALLED MARKET MOHAWK.

IT TOOK OUT THE OLD CENTRAL MARKET AND THE AREA IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT TO IT.

PEOPLE SOMETIMES WONDER WHAT DID MUCH OF THAT AREA LOOK LIKE BEFORE IT WAS REMOVED IN THE 1950s AND 1960s.

THE SHORT ANSWER IS, IT LOOKED A LOT LIKE GERMAN VILLAGE.

>> EVEN UMBRELLA GIRL LEFT.

SOMETIME IN THE 1950s, SHE DISAPPEARED FROM SCHILLER PARK, A MYSTERY THAT WAS NEVER SOLVED.

IN THE '60s, SCHMIDT'S PACKING HOUSE CLOSED ITS DOORS.

THE TRINITY EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH SURVIVED, BUT WAS ULTIMATELY SEPARATED FROM GERMAN VILLAGE BY THE INTERSTATE CONSTRUCTION.

♪♪ >> FRANK FETCH AND A NUMBER OF OTHER PEOPLE COME TOGETHER AROUND 1960 AND CONCLUDE THAT THIS AREA NOT ONLY CAN BE SAVED, THAT IT SHOULD BE SAVED.

>> WHEN THE PROGRAM WAS FIRST STARTED, THE HISTORICAL DISTRICT -- WE FELT AS THOUGH THERE SHOULD BE LITTLE SHOPS, RESTAURANTS, WHAT NOT, SCATTERED THROUGHOUT THE VILLAGE RATHER THAN A CONCENTRATION OF ACTIVITIES.

>> IN 1959, FRANK FETCH BOUGHT THIS HOUSE AND RENOVATED IT.

IT HAS OFTEN BEEN CREDITED AS THE FIRST HOUSE TO START THE GERMAN VILLAGE MOVEMENT.

>> DURING THE RESTORATION, THERE WAS A NEWSPAPER PERSON WALKING DOWN THE STREET, STOPPED AND STARTED TALKING WITH HIM.

AND THE NEWSPAPER GUY, WITHIN A COUPLE OF WEEKS, HAD AN ARTICLE IN THE PAPER, AND THAT CREATED A LOT OF INTEREST.

PEOPLE WERE GOING AND COMING DOWN PURPOSELY TO SEE THAT.

>> FRANK FETCH KNEW HOW TO PROMOTE.

HE HAD HIS SUPPORTERS AND HIS DETRACTORS.

BUT LOOKING BACK, NO ONE DISAGREES WITH VISION OR DENIES HIS SUCCESS.

>> HE COULD BE VERY STUBBORN, VERY ARGUMENTATIVE.

AT THE SAME TIME, HE HAD AN UNBELIEVABLE PASSION AND ENERGY, AND COULD CONVINCE A LOT OF PEOPLE.

>> HE WAS A LITTLE DOUR.

BUT HE HAD OUR BEST INTERESTS IN MIND.

>> HE CALLED A MEETING, AN OPEN MEETING, IN 1960 IN SCHILLER PARK.

200 PEOPLE SHOWED UP THAT WERE AS CONCERNED AS HE WAS ABOUT SAVING THE NEIGHBORHOOD.

DIDN'T EXPECT THAT.

AND 183 OF THEM SIGNED UP TO BE CHARTER MEMBERS OF THE GERMAN VILLAGE SOCIETY.

>> AND WHAT THEY BEGIN TO DO IS ACQUIRE HOUSES IN THIS GENERAL AREA, BEGIN TO FIX THEM UP, EXTERIORS ONLY, MOSTLY SO THAT THEY CAN BE RESOLD IN RELATIVELY SHORT ORDER.

>> BANKS SIMPLY WERE NOT GIVING LOANS.

IT WAS JUST UNHEARD OF TO BEING BUYING PROPERTY DOWN HERE.

PEOPLE WERE MOVING OUT.

THE CITY WAS TRYING TO DEMOLISH.

IT WAS JUST UNHEARD OF FOR THESE PEOPLE TO BE BUYING PROPERTY WITH THE THOUGHT OF IMPROVING IT.

SO I THINK THE BANKS JUST KIND OF THOUGHT THEY WERE CRAZY.

>> I CAN REMEMBER ONE PARTICULAR DEAL I HAD TO GET MONEY TO MAKE UP A 15%, 20% LOAN, AND I WENT TO A LOAN SHARK IN COLUMBUS.

IT WAS WORTH IT TO DO IT BECAUSE I WANTED THAT PROPERTY.

>> TO FIX THEM UP ACTUALLY COST A GREAT DEAL MORE THAN WHAT ONE COULD PURCHASE THEM FOR.

AND THE WHOLE GAMBIT WAS, COULD ONE EVEN RECOVER ONE'S INVESTMENT?

OTHER PERSONS SIMPLY MOVED DOWN HERE BECAUSE THEY SAW A PRESERVATION COMMUNITY THAT WAS BECOMING INCREASINGLY SUCCESSFUL, AND RE-ESTABLISHING A SENSE OF COMMUNITY WITHIN THE INNER CITY.

>> IT WAS VERY EVIDENT THAT THE THING WAS GOING TO GO EVEN A LOT BETTER THAN A LOT OF PEOPLE REALIZED.

AND THEN THEY BEGAN TO COME IN FROM EVERYWHERE AND STARTED TO WANT TO BUY UP THESE SMALL HOUSES.

>> I COULDN'T KEEP AWAY FROM IT.

THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO LOSE MY JOB BECAUSE I WAS SPENDING TOO MUCH TIME THERE.

AND I JUST HAD TO BE THERE.

>> FRANK FETCH, GERMAN VILLAGE PATRIOT, COME OVER ONE DAY AT THE PACKING HOUSE AND TOLD ME ABOUT GOING INTO THE GERMAN VILLAGE THEME, YOU KNOW.

>> THE WHOLE AREA STARTED TO DO A LITTLE RUMBLINGS OF A RESTORATION.

AND IT WAS A UNIQUE RESTORATION, BECAUSE IT WAS DONE BY PRIVATE INDIVIDUALS.

DAD SAW THAT AND KNEW HE OWNED THIS BUILDING, SO HE OPENED UP THE RESTAURANT IN '67, THE SUMMER OF '67.

FROM THAT POINT ON, IT JUST STARTED TO GAIN MOMENTUM, MORE PEOPLE STARTED TO WORK TO RESTORE THEIR AREAS, THEIR SIDEWALKS, THEIR STREETS.

>> WE'VE LEARNED A LOT ABOUT BUILDINGS IN THIS COUNTRY.

AND WE'VE LEARNED THAT WE CAN TAKE THESE OLD COAL SOOT-COVERED BUILDINGS WHERE THEY ALL LOOK DARK GRAY, AND WE COULD PEEL THAT CARBON OFF THE BUILDINGS, AND WE COULD SEE THE BEAUTY OF THE BRICKS.

AND WE COULD PAINT THEM.

WE'VE FOUND SIDINGS AND MATERIALS THAT RETAIN THEIR LUSTER, SO TO SPEAK.

AND SO, YOU HAVE THINGS OF BEAUTY.

>> OH, WE DID THINK ABOUT IT.

WE THOUGHT THAT, "SOMEDAY, THESE HOUSES WILL ALL BE WORTH SO MUCH NOBODY CAN AFFORD THEM."

AND THAT'S THE GROWTH.

THAT'S THE NATURAL GROWTH OF A HISTORICAL PRESERVATION AREA.

>> TO PROMOTE THE NEW GERMAN VILLAGE, THE HAUS AND GARDEN TOUR, A TOUR THAT SOON REQUESTED "NO SPIKE HEELS, PLEASE," BECAME A PRIME PUBLIC RELATIONS EVENT, FUND-RAISER AND SALES TOOL ALL IN ONE.

>> THE HAUS AND GARDEN TOUR SHOWCASES GERMAN VILLAGE AND SHOWS THE RESTORATION PROCESS AND THE COMMUNITY ITSELF, AND SO WE CONSIDERED THAT OUR PREMIERE EVENT.

>> RESTORATION AND, INCREASINGLY, PRESERVATION HAVE BEEN THE HALLMARKS OF GERMAN VILLAGE.

HOUSES AND BUILDINGS HAVE HAD A WAY OF TAKING ON A SECOND, SOMETIMES EVEN A THIRD, FOURTH OR FIFTH LIFE.

AT 165 EAST BECK STREET, FOR INSTANCE, THE ROSE GARDEN RESTAURANT BECAME THE LINDENHAUF, ALBERT P. GRUBS, BERNIES, THE PALMER HOUSE, AND IN 1981, LINDEY'S.

>> AND I WANTED TO DO AN UPPER EAST SIDE NEW YORK CAFE WITH HARDWOOD FLOORS AND CANE-BACK CHAIRS AND JUST HAVE IT ELEGANTLY CAUSAL.

AND THAT'S HOW IT'S TURNED OUT.

>> ACROSS WHITTIER, THIS COMBINATION OF BUILDINGS.

ONCE A BOWLING ALLEY, A PHARMACY -- IN 1961, IT BECAME A POPULAR RESTAURANT AND BAR.

>> GERMAN VILLAGE STILL HAD A LOT OF ROUGH SPOTS.

BUT THERE WAS ENOUGH GOING ON.

PLANKS DID VERY WELL, I KNOW.

THE MOHAWK DID VERY WELL.

AND SCHMIDT'S DID EXTREMELY WELL.

I KNOW THAT BECAUSE THE WAY WE KIND OF KEEP UP WITH ONE ANOTHER, KEEP COUNT SO TO SPEAK, WE'D DRIVE AROUND.

IN THOSE DAYS, YOU COULD PILE THE EMPTY BEER BARRELS OUT THE BACK AND JUST COUNT THE BEER BARRELS.

>> WELL, IT WAS FORTUNATE THE WAY IT HAPPENED, BECAUSE WE DIDN'T HAVE THE MONEY TO EXPAND AT THAT TIME ANYWAY.

SO AS ONE SHOP LEFT, WE -- AND THE LANDLORD WE HAD AT THE TIME WAS A BUILDER, SO HE WOULD COME IN HERE AND PREPARE THIS STUFF AND CONNECT US TO THE SHOP THAT HAD LEFT SO THAT WE COULD HAVE THAT SPACE.

AND WE JUST ADDED TO THE SPACE SEVERAL DIFFERENT TIMES -- PROBABLY SEVEN OR EIGHT DIFFERENT EXPANSIONS.

WE'RE ACTUALLY THE ONLY FULL-SERVICE INDEPENDENT IN COLUMBUS LEFT.

I COULD NOT EVEN TELL YOU HOW MANY VOLUMES.

IT'S A LOT.

YOU KNOW, WE HAVE 32 ROOMS.

>> WHILE THE MAIN RESIDENTIAL AREA OF GERMAN VILLAGE HAS BEEN A NATIONAL MODEL FOR SUCCESS, THE GAINS IN THE BREWERY DISTRICT HAVE BEEN MORE MODEST.

BUT THE AREA STILL HOLDS A CHARM ALL ITS OWN.

>> WHEN WE MOVED DOWN HERE IN '66, PROBABLY HALF THE BUILDINGS WERE VACANT OR UNDERUTILIZED VERY SIGNIFICANTLY, AND IT WAS PRETTY DEPRESSED.

GERMAN VILLAGE WAS COMING UP AT THE TIME, BUT THERE WAS NO REALLY COMMERCIAL RENOVATION OF THE AREA UNTIL INTO THE EARLY '90s, WHERE IT REALLY STARTED TO EVOLVE.

IF IT WOULD'VE NOT BEEN, I THINK, FOR THE CITY RECOGNIZING THE HISTORIC CHARACTER OF THIS AREA, I'M SURE A LOT OF THE CHARACTER WOULD HAVE BEEN TORN DOWN, WHICH WOULD HAVE BEEN A TREMENDOUS LOSS FOR THE CITY, BECAUSE THIS IS PART OF THE HISTORY, THE ATTITUDE, THE -- IT REFLECTS WHAT THIS CITY IS AND HOW IT GOT TO WHERE IT IS TODAY.

>> IT HAS A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT FEEL TO IT, BECAUSE THE BREWERIES WERE BASICALLY INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS.

THEY'VE BEEN REDONE FOR RESIDENTIAL USES, AND I THINK THAT'S GREAT.

BUT IT HAS A DIFFERENT SCALE AND A DIFFERENT CHARACTER.

IT HAS A LOT MORE NEW INFILL CONSTRUCTION.

BUT I THINK, YOU KNOW, IT'S AN INTERESTING NEIGHBORHOOD AS WELL.

IT'S JUST DIFFERENT.

BUT THERE ARE CLEARLY HISTORICAL TIES.

♪♪ >> IN RECENT YEARS, THE ARTS COMMUNITY HAS BEEN CENTERED IN THE ARENA DISTRICT AND ESPECIALLY AROUND THE SHORT NORTH.

OVER THE YEARS, COLUMBUS HAS HAD A NUMBER OF ARTS COMMUNITIES.

AND THE ARTS COMMUNITIES MOVE FROM PLACE TO PLACE FROM TIME TO TIME.

BY THE 1950s AND EARLY 1960s, THE ARTS COMMUNITY WAS IN GERMAN VILLAGE.

>> ONCE AGAIN, EVERYONE GATHERED AT SCHILLER PARK.

IN THE 1980s, EVEN THE BARD SHOWED UP.

>> SO MY HUSBAND AND I LIVED HERE IN GERMAN VILLAGE ON REINHARD, JUST ON THAT SIDE OF THE PARK, AND ONE SPRING, I SAID TO HIM, "YOU KNOW, SOMEBODY SHOULD DO A SHOW IN THAT PARK, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S THAT STAGE THERE AND NO ONE USES IT.

WHY DON'T WE DO SHAKESPEARE?"

AND HE SAID, "GREAT.

GREAT IDEA.

LET'S DO IT."

SO I CALLED THE PARKS AND REC DEPARTMENT AND TALKED TO THE HEAD OF THE PARKS AND REC DEPARTMENT, WHICH AT THAT TIME WAS MEL DODGE, AND SAID, "I WANT TO DO FREE SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARK."

HE SAID, "WELL, OKAY, BUT NOBODY'S GOING TO COME."

SO WE STORED THE SET IN OUR LIVING ROOM OF OUR APARTMENT.

THE ACTORS CHANGED IN THE DINING ROOM AND DID THEIR MAKEUP ON THE DINING ROOM TABLE.

THE PROPS WERE, I THINK, IN A BEDROOM.

SO WE KEPT EVERYTHING IN THE APARTMENT.

EVERY DAY BEFORE THE SHOW, THE ACTORS WOULD ALL MEET AT OUR PLACE, GET INTO COSTUME, PICK UP THE SET, AND WE'D WALK THROUGH THE PARK, PUT THE SET UP AND DO THE SHOW.

WE PRINTED, I THINK -- I CAN'T REMEMBER EXACTLY, MAYBE 1,000 PROGRAMS AND WENT THROUGH THEM THE FIRST NIGHT.

SO WE GOT A GRANT FROM THE GREATER COLUMBUS ARTS COUNCIL, PRINTED A WHOLE BUNCH MORE PROGRAMS, AND THAT FIRST SEASON, WE PLAYED TO 5,000 PEOPLE WITH THAT ONE SHOW.

WE HAD A SAYING THAT YOU HAVEN'T REALLY EARNED YOUR CREDENTIALS AS AN OUTDOOR ACTOR UNLESS YOU'VE SWALLOWED AT LEAST THREE BUGS, BECAUSE WHEN YOU'RE ON STAGE AND, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE TALKING AND A BUG FLIES IN YOUR MOUTH, YOU JUST KEEP GOING.

>> THERE WAS ONE MORE GATHERING PLACE TO NOTE.

THIS ONE, ONLY A FEW OUTSIDE THE NEIGHBORHOOD KNEW ABOUT.

>> THE NAME OF THIS SHOP IS HAUSFRAU HAVEN, AND IT'S A NEIGHBORHOOD GENERAL STORE AND, REALLY, A COMMUNITY CENTER HERE IN GERMAN VILLAGE.

IT WAS CREATED BY FRED HOLDRIDGE AND HOWARD BURNS, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS FRED AND HOWARD.

IT WAS ALWAYS FRED AND HOWARD, A UNIT.

AND IT WAS THE FIRST PLACE WHERE YOU'D WANT TO COME WHEN YOU MOVED TO THE VILLAGE.

IT WAS A PLACE WHERE YOU COULD GET, YOU KNOW, KIND OF THE LAY OF THE LAND, AND WHAT WAS GOING ON, AND MEET YOUR NEIGHBORS, AND PICK UP A BOTTLE OF WINE AND JUST KIND OF GET RIGHT INTO THE NEIGHBORHOOD RIGHT AWAY.

NOT ONLY DID THEY HAVE JUST GREAT PARTIES, THEY PRESENTED PARTIES TO THE ENTIRE VILLAGE.

FRED ACTUALLY WAS THE CHAIR OF WHAT WAS CALLED THE FUN COMMITTEE.

OUR PET PARADE -- WE HAVE AN ANNUAL PET PARADE AND PET BLESSING IN THE PARK.

THEY WERE THE FOLKS WHO INSTITUTED OUR FAMILY PORTRAIT, WHERE WE ALL GO TO THE PARK AND STAND IN FRONT OF THE STATUE OF SCHILLER AND HAVE A BIG GROUP PICTURE TAKEN.

>> AND FRED HOLDRIDGE IS RIGHT.

MASTER OF GATHERINGS IS ONE OF OUR GUYS WHO KEEPS A LOT OF THE STUFF ALIVE, AND WE OWE IT TO HIM FOR A LOT OF THE PARTIES THAT WE STILL CONTINUE TO HAVE.

>> HERE IN THE STORE, THEY USED TO SELL SHIRTS THAT SAID, "NO, I DON'T KNOW THE WAY TO SCHMIDT'S!"

BECAUSE WHEN YOU LIVE IN GERMAN VILLAGE, YOU GIVE A LOT OF DIRECTIONS TO SCHMIDT'S.

FRED AND HOWARD NEVER LIKED TO FLAUNT THEIR HOMOSEXUALITY.

THEY JUST WERE.

THEY WERE FRED AND HOWARD, EVERYBODY KNEW THEY WERE A COUPLE, BUT THEY BELIEVED SO MUCH MORE IN JUST BEING WHO YOU ARE.

AND I THINK, IN THAT WAY, THEY SERVED AS A REALLY POWERFUL ROLE MODEL FOR A LOT OF THE GAY COMMUNITY HERE IN COLUMBUS.

AND I REALLY THINK THAT THEY SHAPED THE GAY COMMUNITY HERE IN COLUMBUS.

WE'RE A LIVE AND LET LIVE KIND OF COMMUNITY, I BELIEVE, AND VERY ACCEPTING, HERE IN THE VILLAGE ESPECIALLY, BUT THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY.

AND I REALLY THINK THEY HAD A LOT TO DO WITH SETTING THE TONE.

THEY WERE TOGETHER FOR 50 YEARS.

SO THEY WERE A GAY COUPLE WHEN THERE WERE SOME SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES TO BEING A GAY COUPLE.

♪♪ >> WE ASKED THE CITY NOT TO PUT ANY MORE BLACKTOP DOWN AFTER WE GOT STARTED.

AND THEY SAID OKAY, AND THAT WAS FINE.

BUT THEY DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING ABOUT FIXING THE STREETS.

SO WE KEPT ASKING THEM TO FIX THE STREETS.

AND THEY WOULDN'T.

SO ONE LUNCH TIME, WE WENT TO 166 EAST BLENKNER, ACROSS THE STREET FROM LINDEY'S, THERE WAS A HUGE POTHOLE.

AND WE PLANTED A TREE IN IT AT NOON, WHEN LINDEY'S WAS BUSY, WHEN WE MANAGED TO HAVE THE PRESS THERE AND TV CAMERAS.

AND SO IT WAS A GREAT PUBLIC EVENT.

>> YEAH, FRED WAS ON THE BOARD OF THE GERMAN VILLAGE SOCIETY FOR PROBABLY TWO DECADES AND SERVED AS PRESIDENT FOR A LONG, LONG TIME.

HE REALLY WAS THE GUY WHO WAS THE IMPETUS TO BRING OKTOBERFEST BACK TO GERMAN VILLAGE IN THE '80s.

AND IT RAISED WAY MORE MONEY THAN ANYBODY HAD ANTICIPATED.

AND THAT MONEY MADE A LOT OF CHANGES HERE IN THE VILLAGE.

WE WERE ABLE TO HIRE OUR FIRST HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICER, HAVE ON STAFF HERE.

WE WERE ABLE TO BUY THE GERMAN VILLAGE MEETING HAUS.

GERMAN VILLAGE SOCIETY DECIDED TO CREATE AN AWARD, AND IT WAS FOR AMBASSADORSHIP, ESSENTIALLY.

IT WAS FOR SOMEONE WHO HAD DONE, YOU KNOW, GREAT WORK IN PROMOTING THE IMAGE OF GERMAN VILLAGE REALLY OUTSIDE THE COMMUNITY.

IT WAS, APPROPRIATELY, NAMED AFTER FRED AND HOWARD, CALLED THE FRED AND HOWARD AWARD.

SO IT'S AWARDED EVERY YEAR TO SOMEONE WHO HAS HAD A GREAT IMPACT ON SPREADING THE WORD ABOUT GERMAN VILLAGE.

>> FRED AND HOWARD.

I ALWAYS LOOKED UP TO THEM WHEN THEY HAD THE HAUSFRAU HAVEN OVER THERE.

AND YOU KNOW, IT'S KIND OF NEAT, BECAUSE I FELL INTO MY OWN SHOES, AND NOW I HAVE A BUSINESS HERE AS THE FUDGE HAUS.

AND IT'S UNIQUE, 'CAUSE I REMEMBER GOING IN THERE IN THEIR BUSINESS AND HOW THEY GREETED PEOPLE AND THE RESPONSE THEY GOT BACK.

>> THIS IS A WALKING COMMUNITY.

AND ONE OF THE REAL PLUSES IS THE ABILITY TO WALK AROUND TO RESTAURANTS, TO NEIGHBORS TO VISIT, TO ENJOY THE RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY THAT'S AROUND HERE, THE STORES.

>> YOU FEEL CONNECTED TO DOWNTOWN.

YOU KNOW YOU'RE STILL A PART OF IT, BUT YOU CAN TELL IMMEDIATELY THAT YOU'RE SOMEWHERE DIFFERENT, AND THAT YOU'RE IN A UNIQUE PLACE IN THE CITY.

>> GERMAN VILLAGE HAS A WAY OF CHARMING PEOPLE TO COME AND STAY.

EVEN THE UMBRELLA GIRL CAME HOME WHEN SCULPTOR JOAN WOBST MADE THE CURRENT STATUE AND DONATED IT TO THE VILLAGE.

>> WHAT DO YOU GOT THERE?

>> SCHMIDT'S BEER.

CRAFTED BY SCHMIDT'S -- [ SPEAKING IN GERMAN ] -- BEER DRINK.

>> CERTAINLY, WE DO NOT HAVE THE ETHNIC COMMUNITY WHO ONCE GAVE THIS AREA ITS NAME.

BUT MORE SO THAN IN MANY PLACES IN THE UNITED STATES, COLUMBUS HAS MANAGED TO RETAIN A SMALL CORNER OF ITSELF AS A REMINDER OF WHO IT'S BEEN.

♪♪ >> IT'S JUST SUCH A NEAT PLACE.

IT'S CLOSE TO DOWNTOWN.

IT'S GOT GREAT BUILDINGS.

IT'S GOT GREAT ATMOSPHERE.

IT'S GOT GREAT PEOPLE LIVING HERE.

IT'S A NEAT PLACE TO COME AND SEE.

I THINK IT'S THE JEWEL -- I THINK IT'S THE JEWEL OF COLUMBUS.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ >>> SUPPORT FOR COLUMBUS NEIGHBORHOODS IS PROVIDED BY -- SINCE 1921, THE STATE AUTO GROUP HAS CALLED COLUMBUS NEIGHBORHOODS HOME, OFFERING PERSONAL AND BUSINESS INSURANCE THROUGH INDEPENDENT INSURANCE AGENTS.

FOR YOUR CAR, HOME AND BUSINESS, THE STATE AUTO GROUP.

AS WE'VE GROWN AND CHANGED WITH COLUMBUS, WE'VE NEVER LOST SIGHT OF ONE THING -- WE ARE NEIGHBORS SERVING NEIGHBORS.

CHASE AND ITS MORE THAN 15,000 CENTRAL OHIO ASSOCIATES ARE PROUD TO CELEBRATE THE HISTORIC NEIGHBORHOODS OF COLUMBUS.

AEP OHIO, CONNECTED TO YOUR LIFE.

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>>> "COLUMBUS NEIGHBORHOODS: GERMAN VILLAGE" IS AVAILABLE ON DVD FOR $24.95.

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