Corinne Dunne Taylor, now of Daytona Beach, Florida, wants us to celebrate her hometown of  Columbus, Ohio

Columbus, Ohio by night and by day!

Corinne tells us that, while she raised her four kids (Dunne, Todd, Emma and David, Jr.) in Florida, she still fondly remembers her childhood in “The Bottoms”.

State Capital Building

A bit of Columbus history…..

In 1797 a young surveyor from Virginia, Lucas Sullivant, set up a town on the west bank of the Scioto River and named it “Franklinton” in honor of Benjamin Franklin. It wasn’t long before Lucas and his little town found themselves right in the middle of the new state of Ohio (1803)

Statue of Christopher Columbus, a gift from sister city Genoa, Italy in 1955.

But statehood led to other problems…political bickering over where to locate the new state capital. It moved from Chillicothe to Zanesville and back again. Finally a compromise was reached…they would create a new city right smack in the center of the state! So Lucas’ Franklinton and surrounding small villages and towns at the forks of the Scioto and Olentangy Rivers joined together and became “ Columbus ( after Christopher Columbus) and, in 1812, the capital of Ohio .

The arches on High Street

Columbus has been called the “City of Arches ” because of the 17 metal arches over High Street. Once these arches (wooden when they were first built at the turn of the century) lit up the dark streets and carried electricity to the new street cars. But a devastating flood on March 25 th, 1913 wiped out Franklinton, leaving 96 people dead and thousands homeless. So the Army Corps of Engineers widened the Scioto river downtown and built a floodwall along its banks. The arches were restored in 2002. Corinne’s hometown of Franklinton lies below the water level and behind the floodwall and earned the nickname “The Bottoms”!

The Rhodes State Office Tower, 629 feet high the Tallest building in town!	The LeVeque Tower is 555 feet tall and the  oldest skyscraper in town!

Camp Chase is the largest Confederate Cemetery in the North. Once a Union Army base, Camp Chase housed 26, 000 Union soldiers and up to 9,000 Confederate prisoners in its day. Over 2,000 Confederate soldiers are buried there.

Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery

Theatres in Corinne’s hometown…..

The Palace	The Ohio
....and the Drexel now and then!

….and some of the movies made there!

Robert Redford in "Brubaker" 1980	"Little Man Tate" with Jodie Foster & Adam Hann-Byrd
Harrison Ford in "Air Force One" 1997	Michael Douglas in "Traffic" (2000)

Columbus is also the hometown of…..

Jack Nicklaus, professional golf legend	James Thurber, author, humorist and cartoonist for The New Yorker.
Eddie Rickenbacker,  WWI pilot and Congressional Medal of Honor recipient

The National Road reached Columbus in 1831 bringing with it a wave of European immigrants who set up two ethnic villages, one Irish to the north of the city and one German to the south. The first kindergarten in the United States was established in Columbus .

The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium

And Corinne suggests that you visit these fascinating places while you are in her favorite city…..

National Road post marker	The Columbus Museum of art
The Mormon Temple	Dawes Arboretum

If you would like to see your favorite city profiled here, just send me an e-mail telling me a little about the city and yourself at www.mamalion27@aol.com

Ben Vereen

                   From your Editor….

                                             …..a special tribute to Ben Vereen!

Recently I was privileged to meet one of America ’s most talented and versatile entertainers, Ben Vereen. He was in Pittsburgh (my hometown) with his “Tribute to Sammy Davis, Jr. “ show and simply blew audiences away. The local press gave him rave reviews.

But this is not a fan letter (although I have been a fan for years) nor is it another glowing review of that marvelous show (even though he has earned it). This is a tribute to Ben himself and what he did offstage during his free time. Despite four performances in his four days here. accompanied no doubt by many other necessary meetings and rehearsals, Ben spent his off hours at a local rehabilitation hospital talking to stroke patients. You see, Ben knows a little something about strokes and their aftermath.

In 1992 while walking along a highway near his home in Malibu , Ben was struck by a car and thrown into the path of another one. Not only did he sustain head and internal injuries and a broken leg, he also suffered a stroke. It took courage and perseverance to get through the long months of rehabilitation and I am sure that is what he imparted to the patients he met.

So my hat’s off to you, Ben. Your heart is as big as your talent and that is immeasurable.

Ask Arabella will be back in our next issue!