Crosstown Building

Columbus Metropolitan
Housing Authority

COTA Linden Transit Center

About the Neighborhood

The area known as Greater Linden contains both the South Linden and North Linden communities and is conveniently located near downtown, The Ohio State University, and retail and commerce centers in the northeastern part of Columbus. The main north-south traffic corridor, Cleveland Avenue, is home to a diverse range of retail and commercial establishments, including shopping, services, and restaurants.

Originally developed as large farms in the 1800s, Linden began its residential and business development in the early 1900s. Cleveland Avenue, which continues to serve as the primary corridor for commercial industry, was one of Ohio’s first paved highways. The community, then known as Linden Heights, was home to industries such as Young’s Dairy, Jeffery Manufacturing, Mulby Brickyard, and Lincoln Lumber Company. These industries helped supply the construction materials for new residential developments that became prime locations for Pennsylvania Railroad employees, solidifying Linden’s reputation as a working class neighborhood.

The period before and after World War II was a prosperous time for Linden, which was home to many retail establishments and was known as the furniture mart of Columbus. In the 1950s and 1960s, shopping centers, new highway construction and the development of suburbs drew business away from the Linden area, and the neighborhood began to decline.

In South Linden, recent developments such as the Point of Pride which is part of the larger Four Corners project, have welcomed new economic development in the area. Point of Pride is home to the nonprofits Greater Linden Development Corporation and Project Linden, a Nationwide Insurance office, Subway as well as other retail and food options. The Four Corners project includes new residential single-family homes, new retail and dining, the headquarters for the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority and a transit station for the Central Ohio Transit Authority (Columbus’s bus system).

With the arrival of new immigrants from Somalia, many of whom have settled in the Linden area, Greater Linden become a very economically and culturally diverse community within the city of Columbus.

Location

Greater Linden is bounded by Weber Road on the North, the Conrail railroad on the west and the south (west of I-71 and south of Bonham Avenue respectively) and Woodland Avenue on the East.

Community and Civic Organizations

Greater Linden Development Corporation http://www.greaterlinden.org
North Linden Area Commission
http://www.columbusinfobase.org/ac/nortlind/northlin.asp
South Linden Area Commission
http://www.columbusinfobase.org/ac/soutlind/southlin.asp

Places of Interest

Linden Branch, Columbus Metropolitan Library http://www.cml.lib.oh.us/ebranch/about_cml/locations/
sel_branch_detail.cfm?bldg_id=230
Ohio Exposition Center (Ohio State Fairgrounds) http://www.ohioexpocenter.com/
Ohio Historical Center http://www.ohiohistory.org/places/ohc/
Columbus Crew Stadium http://columbus.crew.mlsnet.com/MLS/coc/

Parks and Recreation

Douglas Recreation Center http://recparks.columbus.gov/RecCenters/RecCenters_50.asp
Maloney Park http://recparks.columbus.gov/Parks/Parks_87.asp
Windsor Park and Swimming Pool 
http://recparks.columbus.gov/RecCenters/RecCenters_42.asp