Columbus/University Area

Gateway

University Area also known as the University District is the area around the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. It also includes the OSU Hospital and The James Cancer Research Hospital.

Get in

By car

• SR 23 (High St) runs N/S directly in front of campus, beginning at Lane Ave going S. and King Ave going N. on High.
• SR 315 is west of the campus. Exit at W 12 St. takes you to the east side of campus and University Hospital.
• I-71 Exit on 5th Ave. Go west, takes you directly to High and campus.

By bus

• 1 Greyhound Station, 111 East Town St, ☏ +1 614 228-2266. Hours: 24 hours a day. 

By plane

• 2 John Glenn Columbus International Airport (CMH ^IATA), 4600 International Gateway, ☏ +1 614 239-4083. Direct flights to most major American cities. Aside from rental cars, the airport can also be reached by the #92 bus, or by taxi. A taxi ride to downtown is 10 minutes and will cost approximately $25. Depending on your schedule and where you are connecting to, it may be worthwhile to check flights to Dayton as well, as they are often cheaper. (updated Jul 2019)

By foot

Columbus downtown is a relaxed one hour walk away.

Get around

By car

Driving in and around the University area, is not difficult, but you should use caution because of the number of students sometimes rushing to class or distracted by student responsibilities.

Parking

Once on the University grounds, parking is severely limited and being towed for improper parking, even for short periods is very common. Some areas require parking stickers and tow trucks cruise the area looking for offenders. Many spots just off the campus (High St.) are metered spots with a 1-hour limit. Perhaps the best deal for parking near campus is the South Campus Gateway Garage (corner of N. High Street & E. 11th Avenue) which charges $1 for the first 3 hours, and $1 per hour after that. There are also some spots in the area east of campus which don't require a residential permit nor are metered, however these spots are limited and they are also subject to seasonal street-sweeping restrictions.

Parking during Ohio State football games is a completely separate situation and you can except to pay a flat rate for parking in a garage or lot.

By bus

The COTA bus service, while not by any standard one of the greatest in the nation, can take you to most important places in the city, which should be about 5 blocks away from any conceivable location you need to go to. This service costs $2.00 for an express bus and $1.50 for a normal bus. Transfers are free; ask for one from the bus driver when you pay your fare.

By foot

Walking around the OSU area is more than common, many walkways exist (try to avoid alleys after dark), and the locals are very patient with those crossing streets. All in all, walking in the OSU area should be considered safe.

See

Ohio State University's Mirror Lake

• 1 The Ohio State University, 154 W. 12th Ave (132 Enarson Hall), ☏ +1 614 292-OHIO (6446). OSU is the largest university in Ohio, and one of the largest universities in the USA.  
• 2 Mirror Lake. A small and pleasant lake on the OSU campus. Free. (updated Jul 2017)
• 3 Ohio Union. The student union at OSU. A large building with visitor information and dining. The Ohio Union often hosts events. (updated Jul 2019)
• 4 The Oval. The central park and heart of the Ohio State University campus. Free. (updated Jul 2017)
• 5 William Oxley Thompson Memorial Library. The central library of OSU. Students and visitors often rub the bust in the library entrance for luck. (updated Jul 2017)
• 6 Ohio Supercomputer Center (OSC), 1224 Kinnear Rd, ☏ +1 614-292-9248. By appointment only, groups of 5 or more. Offers 1- to 2-hour-long tours including a decommissioned supercomputer. It is possible to ask for an extended tour to see operating supercomputers, but this requires a security screening procedure.. (updated Mar 2019)

Museums

• 7 The Jack Nicklaus Museum, 2355 Olentangy River Rd, ☏ +1 614 247-5959. A 24,000-square-foot educational and historical facility, on the history of golf, focusing on Columbus native and Ohio State alum Jack Nicklaus.  
• 8 Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum (Cartoon Museum). One of the world's largest public collection of cartoons and comic books. (updated Jul 2019)

Do

Sports

An Ohio State football game.

• 1 Ohio Stadium (The Horseshoe), 411 Woody Hayes Drive. The home stadium for Ohio State Football. The stadium also hosts concerts and other events.  
• Ohio State Marching Band. Sports games often feature the top tier Ohio State Marching Band. (updated Jul 2017)
• 2 Value City Arena at the Jerome Schottenstein Center, 55 Arena Dr (Take Lane Ave across Olentangy River.). OSU basketball and hockey, concerts, monster trucks. (updated Jul 2019)
• 3 Bill Davis Stadium. The baseball stadium of the Ohio State University. (updated Oct 2018)
• 4 Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium, 2450 Fred Taylor Dr. (updated Jul 2019)
• 5 Hack OHI/O (Ohio Union). Late October. The annual Ohio State University hackathon. (updated Jul 2019)

Arts

• 6 Wexner Center for The Arts, 1871 N High St (The center is on High St. in Columbus' University District.), ☏ +1 614 292-0330. Weekly, depend on show. One of the country's leading modern arts centers. The center, named after the Limited Brands founder Lex Wexner, features visual art exhibits, international films, live theater, and modern dance. (updated Jul 2019)
• 7 Gateway Film Center (Drexel Gateway Theatre), 1550 N High St, ☏ +1 614 545-2255. Independent movie theater. $6-8 matinee, $8-10.50 regular. 
• 8 Studio 35, 3055 Indianola Ave, ☏ +1 614 261-1581. Single-screen independent movie theater with bar. Commonly has events with beer tasting from local breweries with that evening's film. 

Recreation

• 9 Jogging Olentangy trail. You can easily run up the Olentangy trail along the river. The greenway crosses huge zones of marsh. Running south leads to downtown (updated Jul 2019)
• 10 OSU Ice Rink, 390 Woody Hayes Dr. Offers open skating to the public. $6 a session for the general public. (updated Jul 2019)
• 11 Olentangy River Wetland Research Park (Wilma H. Schiermeier Olentangy River Wetland Research Park). Dawn to dusk. Research wetlands. Open to the public. (updated Mar 2019)

Buy

• 1 Lane Avenue Shopping Center (on Lane Ave between Northwest Blvd and the OSU campus). (updated Mar 2019)
• 2 Lennox Town Center, Olentangy River Rd (next to State Route 315 just west of the Ohio State University.). Theaters, Target, Bath and Body Works, Barnes & Noble, restaurants, student-oriented shopping center for the needs of OSU students. (updated Mar 2019)
• 3 Used Kids Records, 2500 Summit St, ☏ +1 614-421-9455. M-Sa 10AM-8PM, Su noon-6PM. This used CD and record store has been a Columbus staple since 1986. 
• 4 Volunteers of America, 3620 Indianola Ave, ☏ +1 614 263-9134. Used clothes and furnishings. Numerous Columbus locations. 

Eat

University Hall, Ohio State

Budget

• 1 Hound Dog's (North High Street, Campus, Clintonville). 24/7. Great pizza. (updated Mar 2019)
• 2 Buckeye Donuts, North High St. This is another Ohio State University institution. As their name suggests, they have a wide selection of donuts and crullers, as well as inexpensive gyros and falafel. This cafe is very popular among university students due to its "Open Always Closed Never" policy; it's even open on Christmas! (updated Sep 2023)
• 3 Lavash Cafe, 2985 North High Street, ☏ +1 614 263-7777. Mediterranean restaurant with classic dishes like shawarma, humus, kabobs, and baklava as well as daily vegetarian specials. 
• 4 El Vaquero Mexican Restaurant, 3230 Olentangy River Rd, ☏ +1 614 261-0900. 

Mid-range

• 5 Aladdin's Eatery, 2931 N. High St, ☏ +1 614 262-2414. Daily lunch and dinner. Clintonville. Mediterranean cuisine, shawarma, hummus, mujadara. Children's menu; beer and wine. Entrees: $8.95-11.95. (updated Jul 2019)
• 6 Cap City Fine Diner, 1299 Olentangy River Rd, ☏ +1 614 291-3663. University area. Diner favorites with an upscale twist, meatloaf, Romano-encrusted chicken, chocolate cake. Lunch and dinner: daily; Sunday brunch. Children's menu; patio smoking; cocktails. Entrees: $7.95-$24.95. Several Columbus locations. 
• 7 Bistro 2110 at the Blackwell Hotel, 2110 Tuttle Park Place, ☏ +1 614 247-2110. 6:30AM-10PM. On the ground floor of the Blackwell hotel. The restaurant has a view on the historic Ohio Stadium and offers fusion cuisine with several vegetarian options. 
• 8 New Taj Mahal, 2361 N High St, ☏ +1 614-421-2323. 11AM-10PM. Indian and Pakistani cuisines. Children portions available; patio smoking; cocktails. No wheelchair access. Entrees: $7.99-22.99. 

Splurge

• 9 The Columbus Fish Market, 1245 Olentangy River Rd, ☏ +1 614 291-3474. University area. Seafood, cedar-roasted salmon, hoisin-glazed yellowfin tuna, Maryland jumbo lump crab cakes. Lunch: Monday-Friday; dinner: daily. Children's menu; cocktails. Entrees: $15.95-28.95. (updated Jul 2019)

Drink

Concert halls

• 1 Newport Music Hall, 1722 North High Street, ☏ +1 614 294-1659, fax: +1 614 294-4698. Popular music concert hall amongst college students. Newport Music Hall draws a fair number of national acts. (updated Jul 2019)
• 2 Skully's Music Diner, 1151 N High St, ☏ +1 614-291-8856. A trendy, but unassuming bar in the Short North. (updated Dec 2018)

Nightclubs

• 3 Midway (Midway on High), 1728 N High Street. Opening times vary; usually closes at 2AM.. A multi-floored bar across the street from the Ohio Union. Generally popular with Ohio State students. Adjacent to an empty lot which frequently hosts block parties, nicknamed "Block" by the bar and the community. On nights where Midway, Block, and Ethyl & Tank are all open, because all three establishments are owned and managed by A&R Creative, entering only one will get you unrestricted access between all three properties without another ID check. Free, must be 21+ to attend.. (updated Dec 2023)
• 4 Ethyl & Tank (Ethyl), 1728 N High Street (Adjacent to Midway.). Opening times vary; usually closes at 2AM.. A two story restaurant-bar hybrid popular with OSU students. The place serves both food as well as drink, and often hosts DJs after football games. Owned by A&R Creative, which also owns Block and Midway among other properties. When all three properties are open, Ethyl patrons can transfer between Block and Midway without another ID check. 21+ to attend, though IDs are usually only checked late at night or during football events. (updated Dec 2023)
• 5 Big Bar (Ethyl), 1716 N High Street (Above the Newport Theater). Thursdays through Saturdays, usually closes at 2AM. Rooftop closed during colder weather. A bar with an indoor portion as well as an upstairs rooftop. The bar is above the Newport Theater and usually serves cheaper drinks. 21+ to attend.. (updated Nov 2023)

Dive bars

• 6 Ruby Tuesday Live, 1978 Summit St, ☏ +1 614 291-8313, sfotheri@columbus.rr.com. (Unrelated to the chain restaurant.) A dive bar in the north campus area. Often hosts small- to medium-popularity bands and has special theme nights, including a themed weekly Nerd Night, and frequent sports-watching gatherings, especially for soccer and Columbus Crew games. Cheap drinks (many domestics under $2, most imports under $4) and a relaxed atmosphere. (updated Jul 2019)
• Out-R-Inn, 20 Frames Ave. Tu-Sat 4PM to 2:30 AM, closed Sunday and Monday. The oldest nightlife establishment at Ohio State University, Out-R-Inn is a sports bar and dive bar. The establishment remains mostly unchanged compared to its original opening in 1969, though it is notoriously strict for its enforcement of fake IDs among Ohio State students compared to other institutions, which often turn a blind eye towards them. (updated Nov 2023)
• Threes (Thr3es Above High, 3's), 2203 N High Street. Tuesday thru Saturday – 7pm-2:30am. Open on selected Sundays. A dive bar and "older" sister bar of Fives, located near the northern boundary of Ohio State's campus. Almost always live music and advertises itself as having "cheap beer" and "cheaper booze". 21+. (updated Nov 2023)
• Fives (Fives Up High), 2375 N High Street. Every day, 5PM to 2AM. Closed holidays, opens earlier on football game days,. A dive bar and "baby sister" of Threes located a few blocks north of Threes. Hosts cheaper drinks but also has a much calmer and slower culture. 21+. (updated Nov 2023)

Sleep

Budget

• 1 Varsity Inn OSU South, 1445 Olentangy River Rd, toll-free: +1-866-678-8277. Check-in: 3PM, check-out: noon. 

Mid-range

• 2 Fairfield Inn & Suites, 3031 Olentangy River Rd, ☏ +1 614 267-1111, fax: +1 614 267-0904. 

Splurge

• 3 The Blackwell, 2110 Tuttle Park Place, ☏ +1 614 247-4000, fax: +1 614 247-4040, blackwellsales@osu.edu. On Ohio State's campus, the Blackwell offers top amenities. The top floors over a nice view over the campus or the Olentangy river. Very clean and friendly staff. The rooms generally have a big working desk. The free Wi-Fi uses the Ohio State University connection.  

Connect

Wi-Fi

• OSU Wireless. The campus has public Wi-Fi across campus. (updated Jul 2017)

Radio

• 1 WOSU-FM. Ohio State University's public news radio station on 89.7MHz. (updated Jul 2017)
• 2 WOSA. Ohio State University's public radio station specializing in classical music on 101.1MHz. (updated Jul 2017)

Television

• WOSU-TV. Ohio State University's public television channel. (updated Jul 2017)

Cope

Newspapers

• The Lantern. The student newspaper of the Ohio State University. It can be found in and around the university's campus. The writing found in The Lantern is sometimes of questionable quality, causing some students to nickname it The Latrine. (updated Jul 2019)

Stay safe

Hospitals

• 3 Wexner Medical Center at The Ohio State University, 410 W. 10th Ave (Towards Olentangy River), ☏ +1-800-293-5123. The Ohio State University's Medical Center is one of the largest and most diverse academic medical centers in the country. (updated Jul 2019)