Downtown Columbus Walking Tour - Part 3 (cont'd.)

Didn't realize I took so many pictures on this walk - here's the next section - enjoy!

Beautiful tree on the way back to the hotel.

Plaque on the wall outside the Court House - it was quite small - maybe 4 x 6 - placed on low wall as you go up the steps to walk to the door of the building - not prominantly posted - note it says: "No Weapons Allowed - pursuant to the Ohio revised code" - does that mean that before posting this sign and the revision to the code you could bring weapons into the court house?

American flag made out of flowers outside the Court House.

Sunflower installation photographed from across the street.

This was at the base of a flag pole in front of the Court House - the base had 4 seals - one representing each of the armed forces - I only photographed the Army and Air Force - for my brother (Army Colonel retired) and my niece's husband who just completed his 3rd tour in Iraq/Afghanistan - age 25

The description plaque reads: "Dedicated to the Men and Women of Ohio Who Have Served in the Armed Forces of the United States"

Air Force Seal...

Entrance to the Court House

Close up of one of the doors

There were several of these trash cans lining the walkway up to the court house doors

The sunflowers ...again!

This is a portion of a large curved art installation just to the side of the Court House - each one of the sections is a letter from a member of the US Armed Forces who is deployed to a war zone - Some from WW I , WW II, Viet Nam, Iraq, Korea and some earlier - The wall is simply the letters - no explanation - no embellishments or trim - simply the letters - very powerful to see in person -


Close up of one of the letters - It reads: " Dear Darlene, Yes, I've seen the Iraqi POW's. They're just like normal people. Most were soldiers in their country by threat that if they didn't fight, their families would be killed. Most surrendered. So when at first we were returning them, they were killed. It's such a sad story. Then there were the babies that were in the wrong place at the wrong time. I can't wait to come home. Looks like May. I'm ready to get back to the great US of A. Love, Shirley"

Directly across from the Wall of Letters - very close was this fountain ...

More letters...

Walking from the Wall of Letters to the street to go back to the hotel, there was a cluster of several of these trees - not sure but they might be 'buckeyes' - wanted to pick one but decided against it -

Looking back and across the street at the sunflower installation to include the painted poster on the wall of the building that reads "Home & Flower Show" and has a huge sunflower painted on the poster - what's up with Ohio and sunflowers?

This plaque is a tall street sign that sits almost at the corner of State Street. It is even more relevant today as we count down the last few days of the presidential campaign. Think about the fact that the events talked about in this sign are about slavery in the United States of America and people helping slaves to escape via the underground railroad. Human beings having to be hidden and escaping to freedom in the dead of night here in our own country just a little over 150 years ago. And today 2008, a black man is running for the Presidency and is in the lead. No matter who you are voting for, that is a remarkable sign of the times. The plaque reads:

BLACK CONDUCTORS OF COLUMBUS – HISTORIC UNDERGROUND RAILROAD

Early legislators did not want slavery in Ohio, nor did they want Blacks to settle here. Declaring people of color a menace, they passed the Black Laws. Outside the Statehouse, Blacks weren’t unnoticed. The turnover of black waiters and porters at the Buckeye House aroused no suspicion. White customers overlooked barbers James Poindexter and Andrew Redmond. No one saw John T. Ward, clerk at Zettler’s. These men were invisible to all but the desperate faces secreted in attics, barns, smokehouses, and in wagons traveling northward at night to Clintonville. Teamsters Louis Washington and his son Thomas were drivers. “The UGRR was actually going on here in Columbus when I came in 1828,” recounted James Poindexter. Conductors David Jenkins, NB Ferguson, and John Bookel were all members of Poindexter’s Antislavery Baptist Church.

In 1842, John T. Ward began assisting Shepherd Alexander to convey runaway slaves through Columbus. William Washington, William Ferguson, Jeremiah Freeland, and others were involved as well. “ Some one or the other of us was with Alexander on every trip, “ stated Ward.

(Co-sponsorship of ODOT and Friends of Freedom Society)