Grandview Heights /Marble Cliff
Grandview Heights was originally part of Marble Cliff, one of the first suburbs of Columbus, which settled as a community in 1890 and incorporated as the "Hamlet of Marble Cliff" in 1901. In 1901 the Hamlet of Marble Cliff briefly extended from the Columbus & Dublin Turnpike (now Dublin Road) on the west all the way over to the Whetstone River (now the Olentangy River). In 1902, Marble Cliff detached itself from all but what is today considered to be Marble Cliff. Grandview Heights became a separate village in 1906, and a city in 1931.
Like Marble Cliff and Upper Arlington, Grandview Heights was built following a comprehensive plan that insured quality residential areas combined with commercial and retail establishments designed to serve their respective neighborhoods. The lots in the city as laid out originally, were to take advantage of the natural beauty of their surrounding topography.
Grandview Heights provided close proximity to Columbus, even a respectable view of the downtown, without the unbearable adversities associated with the tightly compacted streets and shops in the downtown at the beginning of the 20th Century.
Grandview Heights maintains its own police and fire departments and an independent school district. Its neighbor, Marble Cliff, contracts with the city to provide these to its own residents. Grandview Heights is often remarked upon as being a small insulated city very close to downtown Columbus and has one of the smallest school districts in the greater urban area in terms of student population.
Grandview Heights, Marble Cliff and Upper Arlington became the fashionable sections of Columbus in the late 1800s for one reason: location. During this time, factories made up a large section of the downtown area. This was before the EPA or any concerns over pollution other than it was better to live where it didn't smell. Columbus factories belched out almost unbearable smells, smoke, and dirt. Prevailing winds coming from the west, these pollutants could be avoided by homeowners if they lived northwest of the city, which would be upwind, and uphill from the foul-smelling downtown area. With the advent of the streetcar, it made it possible to make the daily commute from these hilly areas without any problem, even in the icy winter months.
Circus Parade comes to Grandview
One of the long standing traditions in Grandview is the arrival of the The Greatest Show on Earth Animal Parade. Each year the elephants and horses disembark their railroad cars just south of Goodale Blvd and east of Grandview for their trek down Goodale to Columbus prior to the big show.
The Tour de Grandview
The Tour de Grandview Cycling Classic is Ohio's premier cycling event, attracting an international field of more than 300 professional cyclists to Grandview each year, as well as hundreds of cycling enthusiasts and spectators. Celebrating its 16th year in 2008, the Tour is organized by the non-profit Grandview Community Association with the support of the City of Grandview Heights and a host of local volunteers and sponsoring businesses. The event is usually the last weekend of June on Saturday and Sunday.
For more information about the Tour de Grandview >>
Marble Cliff and the Bush Family
Samuel Bush, the great grandfather of George H. Bush, 41st President of the United States, built his mansion in Marble Cliff. At the time, Samuel Bush was president of Buckeye Steel Casting, a large railroad parts manufacturing plant. His son, Prescott spent his early childhood in Marble Cliff and attended Douglas Elementary School, but later was sent to the all-boys preparatory school of St. George's in Newport, Rhode Island. Prescott then attended Yale and remained on the east coast. He married Dorothy Walker in 1921 and their first son was George Herbert Walker Bush born in 1922.
Samuel Bush purchased the 2.7-acre site on Roxbury in Marble Cliff for $12,500. Perhaps he was attracted by the larger lot for his impressive gardens, or by the 9 hole golf course virtually across the road from the new house. Samuel Bush later helped form the Scioto Golf Club in Upper Arlington (where later Jack Nicklaus learned to play golf) a few blocks north of his home.
Today the former Bush Mansion is surrounded by the Prescott Place luxury condominiums.
Read also:
