Columbus is number one on a best places list: 10 things to do within walking distance from downtown.

by Jamie Rhein on

My friend over at Wallet Pop, Tom Barlow has outlined several reasons why Columbus is the number one spot on Forbes list of best places to retire. As he noted, that’s great news for those of us who already live here. It will save moving expenses later in the golden years.

Along with being a great place to retire, I have to say, Columbus is one of the best cities to visit if you are looking for variety whether its edgy or sedate, ethnic or traditional, outdoors or indoors.

Like Tom mentioned, having a car would make a visit easier because COTA, the public transportation system has issues, but even for backpackers, Columbus would be a good few days stop on a cross-country itinerary. There are many places within walking distance of the Greyhound bus station and the main arteries of the city bus.

With the person arriving by bus in mind, if I were heading to Columbus, here are places not to miss, all near the downtown and in a walkable distance. Although, the COTA buses that go along Broad St. and High Street would save time. The interest range covers the arts, history, famous people, science and nature. With the list I’ve given, you’ll be busy.

  • Ohio Statehouse. Because Columbus is the state capital of Ohio, the capitol building has a prominent place downtown. There are free daily tours. The tour is an interesting way to find out about the history of the state and learn about the architecture of the times. Plus, it really is a gorgeous building. The statehouse lawn is used for concerts, art exhibits, rallies and Civil War reenactments.
  • Across from the Statehouse is the Verne Riffe Center where the Ohio Arts’ Council’s, Riffe Center Gallery and the Studios in the Riffe Center Theatre Complex are located. The gallery offers creative and unusual exhibits on a rotating basis and the theatre complex offers a variety of performances ranging from modern dance to children’s’ theater to experimental type plays.
  • Columbus Museum of Art. This museum has exhibits that change regularly. The most recent is Objects of Wonder from the Ohio State University. Of the permanent collection, artwork is consistently rotated. (Eat lunch here.)
  • Franklin Park Conservatory. An elegant greenhouse that adds lush greenery and vibrant color to life any time of the year. The houses around the conservatory are grand, although a couple of blocks off you’re in territory that shows what happens when people with money head for the suburbs. The gift shop is superb. Each night, the glass Palm House is illuminated by a light show installation by artist James Terrell.
  • King Arts Complex offers exhibits and performances that highlight African American contributions to the arts. There is an important mural called Middle Passage that was created to evoke the feeling of being on a slave ship. The mural was painted in a connecting passage between two sections of the center.
  • Ohio Theatre, Palace Theatre and Southern Theatre, offer a theatre trifecta of historic gorgeous buildings built during the time period when ornamentation and rich fabrics were key. Between them, you can see the top notch performances. In this past year, I’ve seen The Lion King, Avenue Q, the Columbus Symphony, the Nutcracker Ballet, David Sedaris, John Prine, Ralph Stanely and the Stanely Brothers, and Promusica, among others. Each theatre and others can be accessed through CAPA,Columbus.
  • Topiary Garden in back of the Main Library (Columbus’s library system is number 1 in the U.S. as well.) In addition to the lovely flower beds, bushes are trimmed to represent Seraut’s painting “In the Park.” Stop in the Main Library for coffee and a cookie at the snack bar. The library is a gorgeous, stately building–one of my favorites.
  • James Thurber’s house. James Thurber, the humorist who penned “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” grew up in Columbus. Now his house is a museum as well as a literary center that hosts several author readings year round.
  • Kelton House. Another house museum. This Victorian house was inhabited by members of the same family for 125 years and was a stop on the Underground Railroad.
  • BOMA (Bar of Modern Art) Here’s a place to finish of the evening. Originally a statuesque Methodist church, the original stained glass windows and building details have been adapted for dancing, music, art and fine food.

One place you might stay if you have some cool cash, is the Westin Great Southern Hotel. Connected to the Southern Theatre, this is where Thurber hung out in the bar.

For extensive information about other parts of Columbus and more things to do, head to Experience Columbus, the city’s Convention and Visitor’s Bureau. Of course, there’s more to do. I haven’t even touched on places away from downtown except for Franklin Park Conservatory.

The first photo at the beginning of this post by Nutsy Fagan was taken from COSI, the science museum, another worthwhile stop. While you’re walking here, check out the replica of the Santa Maria, Columbus’s ship–Columbus the explorer–where Columbus got its name. How? Why? Not sure.

Remember, these are downtown, I didn’t cover German Village, the Short North, the Brewery District or the Arena District. Those are also close to downtown and within walking distance if you have a good pair of shoes, or hop on COTA.

How to choose an atlas

by Karen Walrond on

When my husband and I got married, we were also on the verge of moving from London to the United States. As a wedding present, a number of our friends chipped in and bought us a huge world atlas. It seemed like a somewhat strange gift at the time, but it’s surprising how much we’ve used our atlas, even in these times of Google Maps and other internet resources. There’s just something so nostalgic about pulling out the giant atlas, flipping over its huge papers and pouring over the maps, and inadvertently learning something new (the GDP of Singapore is $168.7 billion, who knew?). And nowadays, we often pull out the huge book to teach our daughter about the various countries of the world, as well.

If owning an atlas (or giving one as an unusual gift) sounds good to you, you’re in luck: Ben Keene, editor of Oxford University Press, has just posted his handy guide on how to pick an atlas. His tips include focusing on what you’ll be using your atlas for, determining whether an atlas is outdated or not (or a collector’s gem), and describes how an atlas’ index is much like a search engine. He even gives a compelling argument about why atlases are still relevant in a GPS world.

Undiscovered New York: Take the 7 train to Latin America

by Jeremy Kressmann on

A traveler could spend years exploring the vast region of the globe known as “Latin America.” From the picturesque colonial villages and indigenous cultures of Mexico, to the caipirinhas and Amazon rainforest in Brazil, to gauchos and cosmopolitan Buenos Aires in Argentina, Latin America is a region that defies easy categorization. But what if I told you that with a 30 minute subway ride from Midtown Manhattan, you could visit all of Latin America in a single afternoon?

OK, maybe I’m exaggerating (slightly). But the fact of the matter is that immigration from Latin America to the Big Apple is thriving, and visitors can reap the benefits by taking a mini-tour of Latin America in the Jackson Heights neighborhood of Queens. In just two hours along a strip of Roosevelt Avenue, one of the borough’s main thoroughfares, I had the chance to sample delicious Mexican street tacos, visit the shop of an indigenous Amazonian fortune teller and gorge myself on some Argentine sweets at a local bakery.

Tired of New York City pizza? Looking to get some Latin flavor during your trip and save you that flight down to Bogota? Join Undiscovered New York as we tour Roosevelt Avenue, New York’s “mini Latin America.”
What’s to Eat?
Perhaps the biggest attraction along Roosevelt Avenue is the authentic food. What all can you eat? There’s no simple way to answer this question – the amount of food and the countries it comes from is simply mind-boggling. Within a single block you are confronted with street trucks selling Ecuadorian specialties, Cuban lunch counters, cheesy arepas, and Mexican pastries among others. Particularly well-represented are the cuisines of Ecuador and Colombia, with numerous spots selling favorites like seafood stews with hominy, encebollado and fried plantains.

I quickly located a nearby taco stand and ordered myself a soft tortilla stuffed with spicy chorizo. After topping it with some lime and chili sauce I was enjoying some south-of-the-border snacking bliss. But no meal is complete without dessert, right? I stopped in B’Aires, an Argentine-style bakery, where I picked up some pastries stuffed with dulce de leche. Next I visited Vallecito Bakery, a Mexican pastry shop where I sipped on a bottle of lime Jarritos. I’m going to have to go back some other time for the Peruvian ceviche and Uruguayan morcilla. I was too stuffed!

What Else is There to Do?
After you’ve finished polishing off a few authentic tacos or that cup of seafood stew, you’ll probably be looking for something to do. What I found most interesting about this stretch of Roosevelt Avenue was browsing the various shops offering regional crafts and services. Day of the Dead is nearly upon us, and many of the Mexican vendors were selling brightly colored candy skulls, decorations and Pan de Muerto, the holiday’s special bread. I also discovered several shops advertising “Amazonian shaman” fortune tellers. The stores are filled with ritual indigenous trinkets and totems as well as “authentic” Amazon shamans who can tell your future. If shopping or fortune telliing isn’t really your thing, there’s plenty of bars along the strip offering nightly live music from their country of origin.

How to Get There
Though it may seem far away, making your way to Jackson Heights is not as hard as it may seem. Visitors near Times Square or Grand Central Terminal are only a short train ride away. Just grab a purple 7 train heading towards Flushing Main Street in Queens. You’ll be getting off at the 82 St – Jackson Heights. The strip of Roosevelt that runs from 80th to 90th streets is pretty much ground zero, with great restaurants, shops and bars branching off in all directions from the main drag.

Are you ready for some authentic Latin American culture? Vamos!

Tony Hillerman’s Four Corners region of the U.S. and an encounter

by Jamie Rhein on

“An author knows his landscape best; he can stand around, smell the wind, get a feel for his place.” –Tony Hillerman

Yesterday, when I read that Tony Hillerman died, I flashed back to one afternoon when I went as a guest to a writer’s group meeting at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico. As I introduced myself, was I surprised when I shook one man’s hand, and his warm voice said, “My name’s Tony Hillerman.” I had no idea that this was the writers’ group he attended.

What struck me about Hillerman was his unassuming aura. He was generous and thoughtful with his comments to the other writers, and not any more important than the others in the room.

Like anyone else who lives in Albuquerque, I was aware of Hillerman’s work as a mystery writer whose stories center around the Southwest. A person cannot live in that city without being aware of how he brought weight to the region. Plus, his books are everywhere. I recall racks of them.

I’m in awe of writers who are able to attach themselves to a place and dive deep into its nuances. Reading a Hillerman novel is a trip to the Four Corners region of the Southwest. His version is not the one that requires putting one foot in New Mexico, one foot in Arizona, one hand in Utah and the other in Colorado before buying a Navajo taco from one of the food vendors.

If you go to Four Corners with Hillerman’s eye, you look for the person behind the scenery. Who is the person who is selling you that turquoise bracelet? Who lives in the houses far flung at the edge of the hills? What about life matters most to them?

Although tourists may visit the various pueblos and Native American reservations across the Southwest, those experiences are merely glimpses of these cultures. Hillerman wrote about people here by getting under their skin.

As he said, “I always have one or two, sometimes more, Navajo or other tribes’ cultural elements in mind when I start a plot. In Thief of Time, I wanted to make readers aware of Navajo attitude toward the dead, respect for burial sites.” [Brainy Quotes]

Considering that Halloween is coming up this week, here’s a Hillerman title for you: Dance of the Dead. The novel is the second one in his series featuring protagonist Lt. Joe Leaphorn. It won the Edgar Award for best novel.

For an interview with Hillerman in Book Page, click here, and for yesterday’s NPR All Things Considered segment on Hillerman, click here.

Photo of the Day (10.28.08)

by Grant Martin on

Usually I pick a Photo of the Day that’s somehow reflects on my current situation or feeling as I shop around for photos. But sifting through some of the pictures during my weekly duties last week, I stumbled across the picture of a mosuqe taken by flickr user flicts in Istanbul.

I’m a sucker for mosque and cathedral photos, probably because I’m always in awe of the architecture and silence in the structures, and this photo was no exception. Great shot, flicts.

Have any cool photos you’d like to share with the world? Add them to the Gadling Pool on Flickr, and it might be chosen as our Photo of the Day.