Photos of site/remnants from April 2026.
Indianola Park was a trolley park in Columbus, similar to Olentangy Park in Clintonville. Before modern technology such as cell phones, televisions, and even the radio captivated youth, local amusement parks were a popular way to unwind in the early 20th century. Although it has been closed for almost 90 years, there is surprisingly one remnant of it standing today.
Indianola Park was located in the University District neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio. The site is bordered by Norwich Avenue to the north, 18th Avenue to the south, the railroad tracks to the east, and 4th Street to the west.
History
Indianola Park was established by local developer Charles E. Miles, president of the Summit Land Company. Miles’ earlier work focused on building housing east of Ohio State, which was sparsely developed at the time. His office was at the corner of 4th Street and 19th Avenue, and he had tennis courts built on the empty land nearby in efforts to entice prospective customers. This, coupled with the massive success of the newly-opened Luna Park on Coney Island, was likely the impetus for a new amusement park in Columbus.
Advertisement for the park published prior to opening, which featured a map. (indianolapark.com)
Miles hired park designer and ride manufacturer Frederick Ingersoll, who was involved with several others such as Cleveland and Pittsburgh’s Luna Parks, to design Indianola Park and build some of its rides. Construction began in early 1905, though quicksand from the artesian wells that fed the pool resulted in the loss of a cart laden with materials. The park opened to the public on June 8, 1905, with an admission cost of 5c. Much of the architecture was wood-frame Queen Anne buildings.
A postcard of Indianola Park mailed in August 1906, the oldest known photo of the park. (indianolapark.com)
Ingersoll had established several principles to ensure a park’s success, which Indianola Park embodied. It was immediately adjacent to the 4th Street streetcar line and the Columbus, Delaware, & Marion interurban line, and it was within walking distance of the Summit Street line. The location was also in a rapidly developing neighborhood, along with being centrally placed between The Ohio State University and the Ohio State Fair. Its placement immediately outside of city limits allowed it to skirt laws that prevented dancing and other “amusements” on Sundays, as well as paying fewer taxes and fees. Finally, the site itself was reasonably elevated, making its lights and fireworks shows visible from afar.
The park as depicted on the 1910 Baist map. Unfortunately, it gives few details besides the placement of certain buildings. (Columbus Metropolitan Library)
Since Ingersoll also invented certain types of roller coasters and rides, some of Indianola Park’s rides were Ingersoll designs, such as the Figure-8 roller coaster. Other attractions included a dance pavilion, swimming pool, carousel, scenic railroad (a slow-paced roller coaster set in a garden with follies), band shell, and athletic fields. A theater was built in 1908, which hosted trendy vaudeville shows along with plays. In particular, the 250’x150’ pool was a large draw for the park, since air conditioning and fans in the summer were not common and the competing Olentangy Park did not build a pool until 1919.
The park’s entrance on 19th Avenue. (Columbus Metropolitan Library)
In 1909, Indianola Park underwent further renovations. New rides, such as “Shoot the Chute,” the Blue Streak roller coaster, and the “Human Laundry” funhouse were added. The Figure-8 ride was dismantled soon after. The following decade would mark its highest attendance and popularity, with 10,000 visitors on weekends and 5,000 swimmers in the pool during the summer. The park’s dance pavilion was also popular during winter, as social dancing became more popular in the 1910s despite backlash from moralists of the time. The Columbus Panhandles, an early Ohio League (predecessor of the NFL) football team, played at Indianola Park between 1909 and 1915.
The park’s Shoot the Chute ride. (Columbus Metropolitan Library)
Despite the onset of World War I and the Spanish flu in the late 1910s, the park managed to hang on. Although the male workers were drafted and rationing limited the park’s operations and growth, more women began to visit Indianola Park after substituting for the working men in Columbus. The Spanish flu was more of an issue for the park, since theaters and dance halls in the city were ordered to close.
The pavilion and pool in 1926 as viewed from 4th Street. (indianolapark.com)
After the 1922 season, Indianola Park was sold to new owners, who renovated the park once again and sought to change its image to match the times of the Jazz Age. Along with remodeling the dance pavilion, more new rides were built, such as the Thriller roller coaster, a Caterpillar ride, and Custer Cars, often turned into bumper cars by mischievous patrons They abandoned the vaudeville and orchestra of the time of the park’s founding and began hosting jazz concerts. More renovations occurred in 1926 to the pool and dance hall. Indianola Park began to advertise more and hold theme nights, but it still tried to maintain a clean and family-friendly atmosphere.
The park as it appeared on the 1921-1922 Sanborn map, immediately prior to renovations. (Library of Congress)
Despite the changes to the park and its resultant success, new entertainment options began to chip away at the popularity of amusement parks, particularly on weekdays. Movie theaters and radios offered easy entertainment, and the rise of the automobile meant that motorists were free to visit further-away locales. The dance pavilion and pool remained popular, however.
1929 photo of the newly built Indianola Junior High School. (All Columbus Data)
The city of Columbus had proposed to buy the land that Indianola Park stood on as early as 1915, but in 1927, the land north of 19th Avenue was sold to Columbus City Schools for construction of the new Indianola Junior High School, completed in 1929. This left the park with just the pool, dance pavilion, and tennis courts.
An aerial view of the park. (Columbus Metropolitan Library)
Indianola Park was able to stay afloat during the Great Depression due to record heat in the summer, but many families could no longer afford a trip to the park. Although the land sale helped pay off debts and gave it a financial cushion, the same underlying problems remained. Without the rides and picnic grounds, there was even less incentive to visit. Finally, the owner had turned 70, and his brother (the park’s vice president) died in 1929, making it difficult for him to run the park in his old age. In the meantime, the dance pavilion was rented to various groups that operated it as a ballroom and hosted university and Greek life-related functions.
Indianola Park went bankrupt in April 1937, and after attempting to reorganize, its assets were sold to creditors Columbian Building & Loan and Liley Building & Loan in March 1939. Charles Miles died just six months later. The Loving Company bought the property in 1940, and the site remained vacant for most of that decade.
Columbus Dispatch image of the new Indianola Park Shopping Center in 1948. (indianolapark.com)
Indianola Park was converted to the Indianola Park Shopping Center in 1948 due to the increased student population at Ohio State, with new strip mall construction added onto the dance pavilion and the pool paved over for parking. The dance pavilion itself became the “Ohio Giant Market” grocery store. Early tenants included a drugstore, bakery, laundromats, and a restaurant.
Snippet of the 1921-1961 Sanborn map depicting the converted dance pavilion and surrounding stores. (Columbus Metropolitan Library)
The part of the University District surrounding Indianola Park began to deteriorate with the increasing number of students living there. Landlords heavily subdivided existing houses and demolished others for cheap Modern apartments to maximize density. The student population attracted crime that preyed on these young adults, and families that lived in the area moved out. Indianola Park Shopping Center’s tenants reflected this change by 1978, with fast-food restaurants, rental agencies, and bars occupying the storefronts.
Tenants in the shopping center as of the late 90s. (indianolapark.com)
By the 1990s, the former Indianola Park site and its surroundings were at their worst. The high crime discouraged students from living there, and houses were either vacant or rented to whoever applied. The shopping center was largely vacant, and the grocery store in the dance pavilion closed. In the early 2000s, a developer planned to demolish it for an apartment complex. However, a local developer purchased the property instead.
The strip mall and former dance pavilion were purchased by Xenos/Dwell in 2006, a highly controversial Christian church that has been described as a “cult” and has countless allegations of abuse towards its members. They converted the dance pavilion to a worship center and still use the space today. Long-time tenants Soussy Market and Suzi-Cue Pool Hall remain in the strip mall itself.
If you want a much more detailed history of the park regarding its rides, events and shows at the park, and other information, indianolapark.com goes into far more detail than this blog post does.
Photos
I grabbed a couple photos of the dance pavilion in April 2026. The modern alterations have made it practically unrecognizable, and I assumed the park had been leveled decades ago:
I was on my guard here more than in any of the worst neighborhoods I visited when taking these photos. These Xenos people are no joke and are worse than the Mormons.
The gabled form sandwiched by the brick masses was once the dance pavilion. I’m not sure what remains behind the metal sheathing.
This next shot looks north from MECHS/Indianola Junior High:
Originally, this is where the park’s rides and picnic area were, prior to the parcel’s sale in 1927. I wonder if that large tree in the background dates to that time period?
It’s always interesting to cover demolished buildings like this and see what remains today. It isn’t easy to cover them with little information online (I relied super heavily on the Indianola Park fan website), but I like to piece together whatever narrative I can.
Sources:
https://www.indianolapark.com/
https://digital-collections.columbuslibrary.org/digital/collection/memory/id/572
https://www.columbusnavigator.com/history-columbus-amusement-parks/
https://digital-collections.columbuslibrary.org/digital/collection/ohio/id/11732/rec/11
https://digital-collections.columbuslibrary.org/digital/collection/ohio/id/8963/rec/3
https://allcolumbusdata.com/school-and-education-history/
https://lovelettertocolumbus.com/indianola-shopping-center/
https://digital-collections.columbuslibrary.org/digital/collection/columbusmaps/id/75
https://digital-collections.columbuslibrary.org/digital/collection/columbusmaps/id/5169/rec/2
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