Driving Park is an urban residential area on the Near East Side of Columbus, Ohio just south of Interstate 70. Mainly a middle-class, predominantly African American neighborhood, Driving Park and its surrounding neighborhoods consist of an area of 17,730 residents. Driving Park received its name from its historic past as a large racing complex, first for horses and later for automobiles.
History
Driving Park received its name from its historic past as a large equine racing complex for horses and eventually automobiles during the 19th and early 20th centuries. The Columbus Ohio Driving Realty Company bought the land in 1892. Columbus residents traveled to Driving Park to enjoy the exciting horse races being held in the area. When automobiles came on the scene during the 1900s, the track was converted to allow auto racing. The largely flat, stretched oval design made it possible for drivers to set many records at the racetrack. One major event was the world’s first 24-hour endurance race in 1905. The community of Driving Park at the time was a small community consisting of employees of the racetrack. Even though the racetrack was abandoned in the 1930s, the community continued to grow.
The construction of I-670 and I-70 resulted in demolition of much of Columbus’ predominantly African-American neighborhoods to the east; as a result African Americans moved further south. At one point the community was thriving with a theater and many diverse commercial outlets along E. Livingston Avenue and E. Whittier Street.
Historic neighborhoods exist on the south side of E. Livingston Avenue bordered by Frebis Avenue, where many middle-class families currently reside. On the corner of E. Livingston and Linwood Avenue stands a 19th-century mansion that was a stop on the Underground Railroad. The area has many beautiful small middle-class homes built during the 1940s. Larger, older houses called "foursquares" (slang for American Foursquare) built during the 1900s or 1930s still remain as either single family or partitioned as doubles. Similar to other areas of Columbus, such as Victorian Village and the Short North, this area has many beautiful 19th-century homes that were owned by notable residents. In fact, the style of the homes vary to include echoes of German Village to the west part of the neighborhood, Olde Towne East to the north, and Bexley to the east. Driving Park was among the city’s first streetcar suburbs, developing with the extension of streetcar lines to what used to be outlying areas of Columbus. Residents currently living in the Driving Park area are requesting that the area be renamed the “Streetcar District,” to spark interest and promote the history of the area.
Geography
It neighbors many notable areas including Livingston Park, Old Oaks Historic District, Bryden Road Historic District, and the King-Lincoln Bronzeville District, all with the common thread of the notable Livingston Avenue Corridor which was part of one of Columbus' first streetcar suburbs. When the neighborhood is referenced, its boundaries generally consist of Mooberry Street on the north, Alum Creek Drive on the east, East Whittier Street on the south, and Kelton to the west. The Driving Park Area Commission recognizes the neighborhood's borders as I-70 on the north, N&W Railway on the east, East Whittier Street on the south, and Struder Avenue on the west. Further reference places the community directly in between Bexley and German Village.
Transportation
The Central Ohio Transit Authority has Local Lines that run through the district including lines 1, 7, and 11. Line 1 makes a stop on Livingston and connects to Line 1 Cleveland at High and Broad Streets. From there the bus travels to Dublin, Ohio Health, Grandville Rd. and Reynolds Park and Ride. Line 7 has a stop on Whittier that travels to downtown, the courthouse, and a US Post Office. Line 11 has a stop at the corner of Oak and Bryden that travels to downtown, Grant Medical Center, Columbus Metropolitan Library, DeVry Institute of Technology, Alum Crest High School, Eastland Mall, and Gender Road Town Center.