Company Profile
German Village Society
Company Overview
German Village is a historic neighborhood just south of downtown Columbus, Ohio. Initially platted in 1814 in Columbus’s South End, the German Village area primarily developed between 1840 and 1914. It was settled largely by German immigrants in the mid 1800s. German descendants at one time comprised as much as a third of the population of the entire city of Columbus.
At the heart of our special neighborhood is the German Village Society, a non-profit organization that aims to preserve our historic neighborhood while strengthening, enhancing and promoting our community.
Company History
German Village Society’s Early Work
The City of Columbus officially recognized historic preservation activities in its South End in July
of 1960 by renaming the area German Village. Concerned citizens managed to save the neighborhood’s historic architecture from demolition by successfully lobbying in that same year for a local commission. The German Village Commission and the German Village Historic District were established by Ordinance # 976-60 and 1221-60 in 1963. The German Village Commission has power over external changes made to buildings.
In the early 1960s, the German Village Society worked to have the entire area rezoned. It changed from manufacturing and commercial to AR-1, high density residential. This classification eliminated industrial uses and limited commercial uses.
Working together, the Society and the Commission made a positive impact on the Village in a very short time. According to building permit records, in 1962 owners and investors made over $1 million in improvements. At this time, some buildings had price tags under $5,000.
In 1963, the Columbus City Council passed Chapter 3325 of the Columbus Zoning Code, creating the German Village Historic District. (See Appendix D.) This ordinance also gave the German Village Commission design review authority. Thus, the Village became one of the nation’s few historic districts with an architectural review board to preserve its character.
The Society also petitioned and received a listing on the National Register of Historic Places on December 30, 1974. The German Village Society presently has nearly 1,000 preservationist-minded members who are dedicated to maintaining the historic quality of the buildings and neighborhood. As a result, German Village is currently considered one of the most desirable areas to live in the city, if not the premiere place in Columbus to live. More than 1,600 buildings have been restored since 1960, and it is credited as one of the most premiere restoration districts in the world. On November 28, 1980, its boundaries were expanded to the current 233 acre footprint. By the 1980s, restoration efforts were nearly complete.