By Robbie Banks, Young Professionals Manager, Columbus Chamber
This is the first post for a new blog series focused on living a healthy and active life in Columbus. It’s my personal journey of discovering opportunities to live a healthy and active life. I’ll share resources, information, activities and events, as well as provide feedback on what went well and what did not go so well.
I must confess that I’ve never been a very dedicated athlete. As a child, I spent countless hours at my neighborhood recreation center taking ballet, tap, gymnastics and swim lessons, but had no desire to play sports beyond middle school. But, within recent years, I truly understand that I need to get serious about taking care of myself which means eating well, having regular physical activity, being aware of my health risks and seeking out ways to improve my overall health and well-being. I hope this blog series encourages you to do the same.
My experience
On a beautiful November afternoon, I grabbed my walking shoes (in my case, a pair of wedges), cell phone and a map to take a walk downtown. I know you’re wondering why I’d need a map for a walk downtown, but I was about to take my first Columbus Art Walks tour in the Ohio Statehouse District.
The Columbus Art Walks tour consists of walking maps and cell phone audio tours of public art, architectural, and historical sites in Columbus. It’s an audio tour of Columbus with one-to two-hour routes. Use the map to find the sites, and, if you want, use a phone or media device to listen to site descriptions. The maps are produced by Columbus Public Health in partnership with several local organizations including the Create Columbus Commission.
I was delighted to have great company on this walk: Andrea Applegate, my boss and director of workforce development at the Columbus Chamber, and Betsy Pandora, healthy places coordinator at Columbus Public Health. We utilized the cell phone audio tour, but you can also download podcasts for each walk.
Upon arriving at the first site, 8 on the Square (#172), we called the main number (614.645.2646) and entered the site’s three-digit extension number to hear specific site information. We completed the Statehouse Route (1.2 miles) in an hour. During that time, I discovered sites that I’ve overlooked such as the Ohio Police & Fire Memorial Park (#185) and learned interesting facts. For instance, did you know the Ohio Theatre (#187) was slated for demolition, and Central Ohioans raised more than $2 million during a Save the Ohio Campaign in 1969? As a result, CAPA came to the rescue to purchase and renovate the Ohio Theatre.
My two cents
One drawback to using a cell phone for the tour was that I had to redial the main number followed by entering the site’s three-digit extension number at each site. If you download the podcast, you can just skip to the next track/site. But, nonetheless, it was a great reason to take a walk and learn something new about public art, architectural, and historical sites in Columbus. I’m looking forward to taking additional Columbus Art Walks in the coming months with others. I recommend this activity any time of year, but I encourage you to make it an adventure by inviting others to join you and dine or shop in the district you’re walking.
Get ready to get walking!
There are currently three Columbus Art Walks for these districts in downtown Columbus: Discovery District, Arena District and Ohio Statehouse District. Between the three Downtown Columbus Art Walks you can see over 90 public art, historical, and architectural sites. In total, all three Downtown Columbus Art Walks cover over 10 walkable miles. Healthy places coordinator Betsy Pandora shared that Columbus Public Health plans to develop nine Columbus Art Walks by spring 2011. Printed Columbus Art Walks maps are available during regular business hours in several locations listed here.
Check back in February 2011 for my second post in this series about my experience with a local fitness boot camp.
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