October 2025 & January 2026.
Open Air Columbus, formerly the Open Air School, is a mixed-use building constructed as a school for children at risk of contracting tuberculosis. It is likely the most unorthodox of Columbus’s historic schools in both design and function.
Open Air is located at 2571 Neil Avenue in the Tuttle Park neighborhood (within Old North) of Columbus, Ohio. It is bordered by apartments to the north, Hudson Street to the south, Neil Avenue to the east, and the Olentangy Trail to the west.
History
The creation of what is now Open Air Columbus stems from the Columbus Society for the Prevention of Tuberculosis (now the Central Ohio Breathing Association), founded in 1906 by Carrie Black. She and her organization helped poor people who had contracted the disease and could not afford medical care. A year later, she helped the county build a camp with “tuberculosis cottages” in Glen Echo.
The first Open Air School in October 1922. (Columbus Metropolitan Library)
Mrs. Black’s efforts resulted in the construction of the first Open Air School in 1913, which opened in 1914. The school had a more rustic, Craftsman design, with wood construction and a wide porch. It was built with a capacity of 50 students at a cost of about $6,000. Columbus’s school board provided the land, teacher, and school supplies, while the Society built the school and hired additional staff. The location adjacent to forest and the Olentangy River was deliberate, which was perceived to have cleaner air and be more peaceful than other parts of the city. The school had one large classroom with a lunchroom, kitchen, and a reception room. By 1916, the school district took over operations completely.
The building’s exterior in 1931. Note its then-remote siting. (Columbus Metropolitan Library)
By the 1920s, numerous large and modern schools were being constructed, and the small frame Open Air School was outdated in comparison. The second Open Air School was designed by Columbus City Schools architect Howard Dwight Smith in 1927, as part of the district’s expansion efforts that decade. Its construction began on August 16, 1927, and the school opened in 1928. With the building’s form and detailing, it is an example of the Renaissance Revival style. It uses a U-shaped floor plan with classrooms on the first floor, a kitchen and lunchroom in the basement, and a “rest room” on the second floor for students to nap. The portion in the middle was a covered play area for inclement weather, while the terrace above was used during fair weather. Along with the floor plan, the school used a radiant heat system using hot water that was built into the floor due to the open-air nature of the design.
The Open Air School is an example of, well, an open-air school. These are a specialized type of school designed particularly for children who were viewed as most in danger of catching tuberculosis, a lung disease that was very prominent in the late 19th century, mostly due to the unsanitary conditions of cities at the time. Open-air schools were designed under the belief that exposure to fresh air adjacent to nature, rest, and healthy eating would prevent the contraction of the disease, an extension of summer camps that were previously offered to children. The first documented open-air school opened in Germany in 1904, and in the United States the first school was built in Providence, Rhode Island. Most open-air schools in the United States were frequently located in existing buildings that were adapted via removal of walls or additions on roofs.
Howard Dwight Smith’s original floor plans for the school, showing its unique program. (NRHP listing)
The curriculum of open-air schools was much different than traditional education. The windows would be kept open even in the winter, as it was believed exposure to cold air would “promote strength and vigor by stimulating the appetite and increasing respiratory and vascular activity.” Students wore long coats or “sitting-out bags” to stay warm in these conditions. Classes were either held outdoors or inside the classrooms with open windows, and aside from the traditional education of the time, students played and rested frequently. A popular slogan for these types of schools was “twice the food, twice the rest, and half the work.”
As of 1935, the school taught eight grades, with 83 students and three teachers. At that time, it was clear that the nutritional goals of the school were working, as many gained weight over the course of their education. By the 1940s, tuberculosis was also becoming less common, largely due to better living conditions and antibiotics for treatment. As a result, the Open Air School’s function began to change. Students with physical disabilities were enrolled in the school beginning with the 1939-1940 school year, and an elevator was installed at that time to accommodate them. It also became a neighborhood school for children in the Tuttle Park area.
A Modernist addition was built onto the school in 1956, designed by Raymond Goller. It uses brick and concrete bearing walls with steel joists supporting the roof. Some of the rooms were originally used for physical therapy for the school’s students with disabilities. At the same time, the “Open Air School” name was dropped, and it was then known as Neil Avenue Elementary School.
Neil Avenue Elementary closed in 1975, and the school district used it as offices thereafter. The building then sat vacant for a period. In 2017, it was purchased by Kelley Companies, who originally planned to convert it to residential use. However, the University Area Commission rejected this plan due to the density of housing in the area, and the direction was changed to a mixed-use complex. Schooley Caldwell was commissioned to restore the former school, and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2019. Along with restoration of the original features that remained, historically appropriate ones such as the doors and windows were installed. The project won a Preservation Merit Award.
Presently, the building is occupied by Understory (a restaurant in the former lunchroom), Emmett’s Cafe in the covered play area, Butcher Shop Fitness in the 1956 addition, and offices in the former classrooms. The entire complex is now known as Open Air Columbus.
Photos
I have yet to see this building without its parking lot filled to the brim. It seems like yoga classes in the gym are very popular:
Smith’s design for the school is extremely detailed. The exterior is largely brick, laid in highly uneven, undulating courses. The second floor employs copious vaulting, supported by tan terra-cotta colonnettes. Along the roofline of the building runs a colorful terra-cotta cornice. The building’s symmetry is also characteristic of the Renaissance Revival style.
Not so fun to get a straight-on shot, though, especially with all the cars in the way.
The eastern wing:
I could not get over how excellent the autumn lighting was that day.
Each door has a smooth, vaguely classical stone portal, with a shield in low relief and a romantic urging to “LISTEN TO NATURE’S TEACHING”:
These arcaded windows and their adjacent brickwork is excellent. It isn’t just the case that architects don’t design like this anymore--we also don’t have the trades to build like it anymore.
The contrasting courses of thin bricks making up the vaulting versus the header courses of the tympanums is interesting:
I like the polychrome circle elements in the cornice, too.
It’s tough to make out, but right below the top, there are a series of bricks placed at a 45 degree angle:
The large bifora above the entrance is very detailed, too:
I love the plethora of plants lining the patio space in front of the former indoor play area:
It doesn’t look like it, but this area is actually the most heavily altered across the entire building, which is saying something. The windows are in openings that did not originally have them, and the stone cubes at each corner were originally impost blocks for arches above each opening. Remarkably, whenever these alterations occurred, the decorative brick course above and datestone were actually moved downward instead of being disposed of along with the arches (as is typical).
The datestone:
The original wavy brickwork is visible adjacent to the window here--it is extremely subtle, but slight differences in the age and tone of the six courses of brick between the top of the window and course reveal the alteration:
Even the chimney near here is lavishly decorated with colonnettes and fancy brickwork:
Western entrance, which reads “GO FORTH UNDER THE OPEN SKY”:
I guess Smith felt bad for these poor youngsters and didn’t warn them to stay in school like the other whippersnappers. A small wrought-iron balconette sits above the cornice:
Note the reliefs of different animals and objects in the arch’s terra-cotta blocks:
A couple of the openings on this side are blind, but that is to maintain symmetry with the east:
A bit overexposed, but the patio here is lovely:
The east side of the building is simpler in design, with two bays of windows separated by larger planes of brick:
I got this better-framed shot later, but the lighting isn’t as good.
I didn’t bother getting to the north side with all the utilitarian junk in the way and the very shallow depth of the alley, but from here it can be made out that the decorative brick and terra-cotta disappears in the middle:
Let’s pivot to the 1956 addition:
I’m sure the fans of Modern architecture here are cringing at 1920s-inspired fonts and floor plans applied to an addition built 30 years later.
The eastern wall of the addition is painted with the complex’s name:
I don’t think green is a historically accurate color with Modern architecture, but in terms of tone alone it goes well with the red brick.
The west wall is entirely free of supports, with a wide curtain wall of windows extending its width:
The rusticated stone foundation is also a bit anachronistic.
Southwest corner:
Open Air was one of the few non-downtown buildings that I was able to make my way inside of. I knew it was open to the public, as my former roommates had visited Emmett’s before, and I went to Understory with my girlfriend and both of our parents after a football game.
The floor tiles and exposed brick walls are original. I’m not sure about the ceiling, but it was formerly covered with ugly acoustic tiles, so the uniform white look is far better.
The central hallway maintains the original built-in lockers on the far wall, and new seating was added nearer to the cafe. The modern fixtures don’t hide their age, but they are in harmony with the original design through their materials and aesthetics.
Another view of the lockers--also note the original wooden doors and hardware:
Inside Emmett’s--I had to take this with my phone instead of being the weirdo with a camera in the middle of a busy cafe:
Maybe “busy” is overstating it--I tried visiting with my girlfriend when I was briefly in Columbus recently, and the line was out the door on a Sunday morning.
Staircase at the other end:
Heading down to the basement, I noticed this ancient bell system:
It was made by the Autocall Co. from Shelby, Ohio, and appears to be original to the building.
I popped my head in Understory briefly, but there were servers setting up for the day, so I just snagged this quick shot from the stairs:
Understory absolutely nails the contemporary aesthetic I love and think works best in historic buildings--moody colors, warm lighting, plants, etc. Budd Dairy is another great example.
Heading up the stairs to the second floor:
The ceiling is vaulted here:
The hallway here is much shorter before it meets the rest room:
A look at the two original classroom doors here:
I surreptitiously peeked my head in… (note the piping for the radiant heating along the walls)
…then noticed no event actually occurring. This space has such gorgeous lighting with the massive windows:
Looking through the open doors at the far end, the other classroom here seems to have been converted for event use, too:
Open Air is a wonderful example of adaptive reuse and complementary modernizations to a historic building.
Sources:
https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/100004054
https://digital-collections.columbuslibrary.org/digital/collection/ohio/id/16667/rec/2
https://digital-collections.columbuslibrary.org/digital/collection/ohio/id/12209/rec/1
https://columbusunderground.com/plan-revealed-for-historic-neil-avenue-school-bw1/
https://www.openaircolumbus.com/
