“What a grand view!” Alice Urlin exclaimed to her husband George Cambridge Urlin in 1890 as they stood in the tower of their new home on Urlin Avenue – a spot that is better known today as home of Summit Chase Condominiums.
The sentiment stuck and came to be the name of the town. This story is one that not many people have heard, unless they’ve discovered the Grandview Heights/Marble Cliff Historical Society’s History Walks.
The history walks are immersive walking tours created by the historical society in collaboration with the Grandview Heights Public Library (GHPL). Canaan Faulkner, GHPL public relations manager, says the walking tours launched in 2020 and were a huge hit with the community when they came out during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“(The walking tours are) a safe, easy way for people to continue to be able to engage with primarily the historical society (but also) with their community in a safe way,” Faulkner says.
Tech-forward tours
Karen Riggs, vice president of the historical society, says she wanted to come up with a learning opportunity for residents that was more “technology forward,” since most of the historical society’s record is written and archived in print.
“I wanted to get something in the hands of people and (get them) walking around town enjoying history,” she says.
history walks app
Once Riggs came up with the idea for the tours, she collaborated with Faulkner and the GHPL to build the first tours and concept an app. About a year after inspiration struck, the app was in the hands of Grandview Heights and Marble Cliff residents.
In the app, residents can browse nine walking tours on a range of different topics. Topics cover highlights of history in both Grandview Heights and Marble Cliff, including the recently released Italian Connection, which offers a glimpse into the lives of Italian immigrants in the area in the early 1900s.
Each one-to-three-mile-long tour provides a description in the “About the Tour” section, a tour map, and a list of stops complete with addresses, pictures and directions of how to get there.
Past to present
One of the tours Riggs is most passionate about is Eclectic Abodes, a highlight of historical architectural trends embraced by home developers in Grandview Heights and Marble Cliff. The walk features two loops – each two miles long – of estates demonstrating the progression of local architectural styles.
“When I first bought my home in Grandview Heights, I didn’t have an appreciation for the style of architecture that the home had. It was a beautiful home,” Riggs says. “My original plan was to tear everything out, all of these unique features and replace them with something that was current for the day. Fortunately, I didn’t.”
Educational exercise
Faulkner says architectural inspiration is not the only thing the app offers.
Salzgaber-Farm
“The app encourages people to enjoy the outdoors together, and that’s a positive. At the same time, you get to learn about the library’s, or the community’s fascinating history,” he says. “You can take runs (along the walking tour), you could even drive it, jog it, walk it, make an evening of it, do it with your family or with your friends.”
Riggs received glowing feedback about the tours when connecting with a former colleague when he and his wife moved to Grandview Heights from Upper Arlington.
“She said it’s just been great for us even though we thought we knew Grandview Heights living right next door. To get this information and to be able to find out the details and to get a little exercise along with the history has been great,” Riggs said.
After 1,500 downloads, it’s safe to say History Walks is beloved by Grandview Heights and Marble Cliff residents. Riggs encourages users to keep an eye out for future tours.
UA Historic Homes Tour
The Upper Arlington Historical Society hosts a Homes of History event, which is a month-long celebration of homes in Upper Arlington that are at least a century old.
During the month, homeowners are given signs to place in their yards indicating that their home is a “century home.” In the 2023 Homes of History celebration, 230 homeowners in Upper Arlington proudly displayed their signs.
These homes are an important historical artifact, as many of them retain much of the original exterior facade. Read more about historical Upper Arlington homes in the November/December 2023 issue of Tri-Village Magazine online at www.cityscenecolumbus.com.
Ava Huelskamp is a contributing writer at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com
