Columbus and Transportation Facilities

Columbus experienced periodic strikes. One is described: "The big street car strike of 1890 started on June 3, when the men met in the Johnston building at midnight and resolved to quit work. They had been previously organized into a union and action was taken to secure shorter hours and more pay. No attempt was made by the company to operate its lines on the following day, but on June 5 a car was run over the Long street line as far as High streets. Here the Driver became Frightened at the demonstrations of the strikers and their sympathizers and deserted the car. The horses Were taken from the later and it was derailed and run crosswise of the street, as shown in the first illustration. The view is taken of the car and excited throng surrounding it as they appeared in front of the Citizens' Savings Bank.

On next day there was a meeting between representatives of the men and the company, but no compromise was effected. Feeling was intensified on the 7th by the company issuing injunction restraining their old employes from remaining about the barns. Another attempt was made on this date to begin operation of the lines with new men. A car was run on the Oak street road as far as Wilson avenue, when it was return to the barns. The tactics of the strikes were to board a car, loading it down to its utmost capacity and subjecting the new crews to such annoyances as to make it impossible for them to proceed. In this effort they were ably seconded by the crowds on the street. The second picture shows the car leaving the Rose avenue barn. The various expressions on the sea of faces that peer into the camera make an interesting study." (pages 23-24)

The railroad reached Columbus in 1850, and in 1900 provided efficient, low-cost overland transportation. Columbus was a hub in the nation's railroad network, and the city's leaders struggled with the congestion caused when tracks crossed public streets. The city's first railroad station , built in 1850, was demolished in 1875. Problems of congestion abounded as railroad traffic increased and the city grew. "Old conditions are soon forgotten when superseded by new ones, but it will require no great effort of memory to recall the sight ofrailway trains steaming across High street , to the inconvenience and peril of traffic. The accompanying view is taken from in front of the old Exchange Hotel, or Powell House, which stood directly opposite of what is now the Union Station. It is a winter morning, and an incoming passenger train has brought the vehicles in the act of crossing the tracks to a sudden halt. the familiar figure of the flagman is seen in the performance of his duty. Back of him is the south incline of the tunnel, its walls surmounted at the street surface by an iron fence. In the distance is an Oak street car, which has just left the terminus of the line at the north end of the fence. The train is on the Little Miami, the farthest south of the tracks at the crossing." (page 57) In the 1890s the city saw a new Union Station built, which provided modern facilities and a viaduct that carried High Street over the railroad tracks , alleviating congestion. The following paragraph related its history: "Columbus is justly proud of her magnificent new Union Passenger' Station, completed in 1897 at an outlay of something less than three-quarters of a million dollars. This sum added to the original value of the cost of the viaduct represents an outlay of over a million dollars. The large picture on the opposite page gives a good view of that portion of the building which fronts along the viaduct. The design is by Burnham, of Chicago, one of the World's Fair architects. The picture was taken during a parade of the Columbus Shriners, in April, 1898. The elephants and camels were secured from the winter quarters of Sells Brothers show, located in this city." (page 60) "The general waiting room is finished in yellow onyx, with marble mosaic floor, of elaborate design. The interior of the station is unsurpassed by anything in the United States. The whole arrangement of the station is complete and unique. Passengers are admitted through the gates to an overhead bridge, to which they descend by eight stairways to the trains. All danger and annoyance of crossing tracks and of getting in the way of baggage trucks is thus avoided. The inclined driveway seen in the illustration leads to the baggage rooms, express offices, mail rooms and the like, which are located on a level with the tracks. On this floor is also a large emigrant waiting room, from which access may be gained to the trains by a tunnel beneath the tracks. The entire premises are brilliantly illuminated at night by the station's own electric light plant." Passengers approached the new station along a "Promenade and Driveway ." It is easy for later day Americans to forget that the railroad also brought smoke and soot. "In the Railroad Yards " 

Text and pictures taken from: The Story of Columbus: Past, Presentand Future of the Metropolis of Central Ohio, Practical Demonstration of its Development by the Reproduction of Rare Historical Photographs (2nd ed.; Columbus, Ohio: np, 1900)

This page created by Patrick J. Hall.