Like Lafayette Square in St. Louis, the side streets of German Village in Columbus are where I found much of the more intimate and interesting views of the neighborhood. What really struck me were the alleys! Wow, talk about clean and unobstructed! I think St. Louis’s decades-long experiment with dumpsters has failed. It just makes it too easy for residents and outsiders to engage in anonymous dumping. Look how there’s not easy place to dump crap in this alley.
Moving along, it seems there was some controversy occurring while I was visiting, concerning a large apartment or condo building that was planned for a large parcel. It made me think of the huge development, including apartments, going in on the northwest corner of Lafayette Square. The latter will surely change the feel of its neighborhood, so I can see why people are distrustful of the former.
The houses speak for themselves, I might say. Like any major American city, there are pairs or even quartets of identical houses, obviously built by owners or developers speculatively. It’s always interesting to see how they diverge and individualize over the centuries.
There are also narrow lanes, which slow down the traffic and create intimate spaces for residents who don’t need to live on a major street.
There are some wood frame houses thrown in, but I like how the color pallets are muted so they don’t stick out or detract from the uniformity of the brick tones.
Then there are these wonderful little cottages! Not everyone needs four bedrooms, and they probably provide a little more affordability.
There are duplexes as well, which create higher density. I guess in St. Louis we might call these double flounders!
I’ve never heard of the term “double flounders” being used in the Saint Louis area, so I’m wondering when and where that term might’ve been used.
It is lovely to see clean alleys, but where do these neighborhoods put their household trash, and how are pickups handled?
The City provides a service for bulk trash, reached by phone or internet:
https://www.columbus.gov/publicservice/refuse-collection/Bulk-Collection/
The dumping of large, bulky appliances is not tolerated in alleys. Residents are expected to dispose of them like responsible adults, as opposed to St. Louis where alleys are treated like open air dumps.
Regular household trash is placed in trashcans, similar to the way St. Louis households without alley access dispose of trash. From my experience living in various places around the United States, including two other major American cities, St. Louis is the only place with dumpsters in the alleys. We see how well that works…
And for an example of a double flounder, see the ninth photo down:
https://stlouispatina.com/salena-street-between-crittenden-and-lynch-streets-benton-park/
Chris, are the surrounding neighborhoods to the German Village just as well kept, or is this area a diamond in the rough similar to most present day sought after neighborhoods in St. Louis?
Much of Columbus is very nice–I was pleasantly surprised. There are certainly some rough neighborhoods (I’m a pro at finding them), but I was impressed how there is a real effort not to give up on the core city of the metropolitan area. Is it perfect, of course not, but St. Louis could learn a lot from Columbus.