Yet Columbus is a city that almost wasn't. When Ohio gained statehood in 1803, it hadn't yet chosen a permanent capital. Political maneuvering almost landed the state government in Zanesville and Chillicothe. In 1812, however, the residents of Franklinton, a county seat in the heart of Ohio along the Scioto River, tempted the state with 1,200 acres of land and a commitment to spend $50,000 to construct a capitol building and a penitentiary. Within a matter of days the general assembly accepted the offer, and Columbus was born on the opposite bank of the river.
The Civil War initiated a wave of unprecedented growth; the population soared and manufacturing and government became the city's primary industries.
The opening in 1873 of Ohio Agriculture and Mechanical College, later renamed The Ohio State University, spawned a new outlook for the city. Education was thrust to the forefront, and the intellectual atmosphere helped contribute to the forerunner of the computer, the development of the xerography process and numerous advancements in the medical treatment of the physically impaired.
Today the phrase “state of the art” is synonymous with Columbus, which ranks with Silicon Valley as a center for scientific and technological information. Ohio's capital built its solid reputation over several decades; it was one of the first cities in the country to offer citywide cable television and introduced such technology as the 24-hour banking machine, interactive cable television and the electronic newspaper. Thousands of high-tech companies, including Battelle Memorial Institute, Mettler-Toledo International and Vertiv, now call Columbus home.
Besides its well-deserved reputation in the high-tech world, the city houses the headquarters of several Fortune 1000 companies, including Big Lots, Express, L Brands and Nationwide Insurance. Columbus also is known for retail banking, insurance and real estate, and has emerged as a leading convention city.
Modern-day Columbus continually earns top accolades from highly regarded sources. In 2024, CIO Magazine named it one of America's 10 “fastest growing tech hubs by salary” for IT, and Forbes cited it as one of the best places for young professionals to live.
The state of the city's visual arts deserves equally high praise. Ohio's capital offers an assortment of art-centered attractions, including the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum and the Columbus Museum of Art. The Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens cleverly displays thousands of otherworldly glass pieces by artist Dale Chihuly in artfully presented gardens. And the Topiary Park in Old Deaf School Park interprets the 1884 oil painting “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte” by Georges Seurat with larger-than-life topiary bushes snipped into the shapes of Parisians at leisure near the Seine River.
In addition, colorful murals clothe many of the city's brick walls. A majority of these are in the thriving SoHo-like Short North Arts District, a once-blighted area now filled with independently owned boutiques, many local places to eat and pubs that owes its present-day popularity to citywide revitalization projects begun in the 1980s.
The same efforts resulted in the urban renewal of downtown's Arena District, transformed from its former neglected state to an area brimming with restaurants, shops and nightspots as well as Nationwide Arena, home to the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets.
The city's proud residents have lovingly preserved a host of 19th-century homes in Victorian Village and German Village. More examples of Columbus's exquisite architecture include the Greek Revival Ohio Statehouse along with an array of churches, office buildings and homes in Art Deco, Gothic, Italianate and Queen Anne styles.