herr2ck: More Hidden Columbus Streetcar History

March 2026.

The North High Street Carhouse’s ruins is one of the few remnants of Columbus’s early streetcar system. Although most of the building was demolished decades ago, one brick wall remains as part of a nearby power substation.

The North High Street Carhouse was located at the southeast corner of High Street and Arcadia Avenue (formerly Mock Street) in the Old North Columbus neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio. The site is currently bordered by Arcadia Avenue to the north, Grau Alley to the south, the power substation to the east, and High Street to the west.

History

Columbus’s earliest streetcars were stored in a barn on North High Street between Goodale Street and Poplar Street (then known as University Avenue) beginning in 1863. Those buildings were moved to the site of the South High Street Carhouse in the 1870s. The northern terminus of the streetcar lines at that time was at High Street and Chittenden Avenue, known as the North Main Street Horse Car Barn according to the 1887 Sanborn map. In 1865, the North Columbus Street Railway Company built more tracks towards the center of that formerly separate city (now the North Columbus Commercial Historic District).

1909 Ohio Inspection Bureau map of the North High Street Carhouse. Arcadia Avenue was labeled as Mock Street at that time. (Columbus Railroads)

The North High Street Carhouse was built from 1891 to 1892 at the new northern terminus of the streetcar lines, Arcadia Avenue. Previous barns situated at Chittenden Avenue burned down that year. It also served as an intermediary between the High Street streetcar line and the Worthington & Columbus interurban line (later part of the Columbus, Delaware, & Marion Street Railway). According to the 1901 Sanborn map and the above 1909 map, the building had two dynamos for power, maintenance pits for the streetcars, a wash room with a dirt floor, an oil room, a stock room, and a corner office. The roof was supported with iron posts.

The building’s exterior in the 1940s. (Columbus Railroads)

As it was built, the North High Street Carhouse was a Romanesque Revival design, with various vaulted windows and arcades across the facade. The ovals and signs on the center read COLUMBUS CONSOLIDATED CO., short for the Columbus Consolidated Street Railway Company, the name of the streetcar company at the time. (It was earlier the Columbus Street Railway Company and later the Columbus Railway, Power, & Light Company.) I was unable to find any historic photos prior to the 1930s, but it’s likely that the openings originally had Romanesque arches that were later removed and widened into rectangular openings, possibly in 1895 when larger streetcars were purchased.

1907 photo of the Olentangy Park entrance with the station in the background. (Columbus Railroads)

In 1896, the nearby “Olentangy Villa” park across High Street was purchased by the streetcar company, resulting in its conversion to Olentangy Park. The venture was intended to increase weekend ridership on the lines, and the streetcars ran straight into the park from High Street. Evidently, this scheme worked, as streetcar frequency had to be increased to once every three minutes instead of once every ten minutes due to the high demand. They ultimately transferred it to different owners in 1899, but streetcars continued to run until the end of the line at Olentangy Park. In 1907, another track was added, along with a new station and larger turnaround loop.

A view of the interior circa 1940. (Columbus Railroads)

In 1922, the Columbus, Delaware, & Marion interurban line built a new bypass that kept the tracks off High Street, and the local streetcar line was extended northward into Clintonville. It first extended to Kenworth Avenue and later even further north to Weisheimer Road.

The storage yard on the site of the Olentangy Park station. (Columbus Railroads)

The only changes to the North High Street Carhouse was the construction of two storage yards for inactive streetcars, one to the east of the building circa 1920 and another in 1937 on the site of the Olentangy Park station after its demolition. The latter resulted in the closure of the South High Street Carhouse.

The site as of 1961, as shown on the 1921-1961 Sanborn map. (Columbus Metropolitan Library)

With the conversion of the streetcar lines to buses, the North High Street Carhouse became obsolete, and it was sold soon afterwards. It was briefly used as a car dealership before being demolished in 1953. The only portion of the building remaining was part of the back wall, which was incorporated into the nearby electric substation. According to the county auditor’s website, it was owned by the Columbus & Southern Ohio Electric Company in 1937, which was the streetcar company’s name at that time. A small addition was built onto the substation in 1944.

The 1921-1961 Sanborn map depicts a concrete gas station and car wash on the site of the former carhouse, which has since been demolished for the modern restaurant building on the site today. Google Maps shows that the substation was used by AEP as late as 2022, but their sign has since been removed.