Columbus Monthly / May 2011 / Upper Arlington: Lifestyles

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Upper Arlington: Lifestyles

Live, work & play

 

Adam Oliver is a 30-something sixth-grade teacher at Jones Middle School in Upper Arlington, where he also coaches the football team. But he’s no newcomer to the community. He grew up in Upper Arlington. So did both of his parents. And he can’t think of a better place to work, live and raise his young family. Coming home to UA was a no-brainer.

Oliver, who played football for the Golden Bears in high school, graduated in 1996. He started college at Ohio State and “immediately volunteered to help coach football in UA,” he says. “When I earned a degree in education, I wanted to teach—and coach—in Upper Arlington. Now, as an adult with two kids, I appreciate the community and all of the services it offers.” Oliver cites everything from great schools and parks to medical services, restaurants, shopping and a superb location in Central Ohio.

Emma Speight, deputy city manager of community affairs, concurs. “What is it about Upper Arlington that attracts people? Really, it’s the high-quality residential community that has been created, and sustained, over the decades,” she says. “Multiple generations of the same families live here—people are really invested in the community. They grow up here, and come back to raise their own families.”

No one knows that better than Elaine Buck, whose family roots stretch all the way back to the founding of Upper Arlington. “My family has been here forever,” she says. “My great-uncle was King Thompson. He and his brother Ben Thompson founded Upper Arlington in the early 1900s. They were visionary in planning what really is a livable community. They were kind of ahead of their time, purchasing 900 acres north of Fifth Avenue in 1913 and planning a community, complete with roads and curbs, green spaces, dedicated parks and golf courses in addition to the residential areas.”

“That community aspect of Upper Arlington is what brings people back,” she says. “It’s a very wholesome place to raise a family. The livability of the community is grounded in the careful planning and vision of the Thompson brothers.”

The bottom line, Speight says, is that people choose to live here, and they stay here. “A long-timer in other suburbs might have lived there for seven years or so. But in Arlington, a long-timer has been here 25 years-plus,” she says. “Schools are at the top of the list. They’re consistently top-ranked. And the city services are exceptional. It’s an easy-to-navigate community that’s very livable. And it’s a great location in Central Ohio.”

Despite its long history and landlocked location surrounded by Columbus, Upper Arlington officials still manage to add new “oomph” within its borders. For instance, the community has welcomed a couple of new parks in recent years.

On Stonehaven Drive, “Burbank Park opened in 2008 as a joint venture between Upper Arlington City Schools and UA Parks and Recreation,” says Tim Moloney, parks and recreation director. “Designed for competitive sports, the five-acre park includes fields for lacrosse, soccer and field hockey, along with an open-air pavilion and parking areas.”

Even newer is the Sunny 95 Park, which opened in 2010 on Carriage Hill Lane. “We purchased the land from the radio station and developed the 15-acre park from the ground up,” Moloney says. “We consulted with design professionals and held a series of community meetings with residents to find out what they wanted in a park. Overwhelmingly, we ended up with a park designed by the residents and neighbors. It has everything from a fishing pond to sports fields to an extensive system of pathways. People can enjoy everything from kite-flying and bird-watching to playing soccer games.”

The crown jewel of the park, he says, is the Amelita Mirolo Barn. The structure, which combines the old and the new, was built to serve as a community gathering spot. “One of the oldest barns still standing in Upper Arlington became available a few years ago. It was originally built in the 1830s,” Moloney says. “The Upper Arlington Community Foundation raised cash through private funds, and the project came to life. It’s a fully restored, historical barn combined with a newly constructed timber-frame structure. When it opens this spring, it will be a four-season, reservable shelter house built with ‘green’ standards. It will be used for everything from recreational classes and reunions to wedding receptions.”

Sue Ralph of the UA Community Foundation says the barn is the foundation’s signature project, with a grand opening planned for May 21. “It is truly an amazing structure, combining the old historic barn with a grand new, highly usable addition,” she says. “When the barn became available, the foundation board decided it would be a great idea to make it a center for the community.”

The facility, which already is booking up for events, also will be used as a site for free community concerts, according to Lynette Santoro-Au, arts manager for the city’s Cultural Arts Division.

“We’re very excited to host the free summer concert series—Music in the Parks—at the Amelita Mirolo Barn,” she says. The Thursday evening concerts formerly were held at the municipal services building. Now, the barn and park will offer a “beautiful setting, complete with nice places to sit and convenient parking. People are welcome to come and bring blankets, chairs, picnics.” Acts throughout the summer will include jazz bands, vocalists, kids’ rock music, soul tunes, Irish music and country acts.

The concert series isn’t the only summer function that’s marked each year on residents’ calendars. For decades, a signature event in Upper Arlington has been its annual Fourth of July extravaganza. “It really is the biggest day of the year,” says Chris Reinke, president of the Upper Arlington Civic Association. “People rally around it, and it’s been that way for, oh, maybe 75 years.”

The festivities, which are funded by the Civic Association, start with a gala parade in the morning. “You frequently see people setting up their chairs along Northwest Boulevard in the early morning hours,” he says. The parade—which attracts more than 10,000 spectators—starts at Kingsdale Shopping Center and goes all the way to North Star Road, traversing streets that are annually adorned with red and blue painted stars. It’s almost two miles long and takes about two hours to pass by.

Reinke says the parade includes everything from high school marching bands from around the state to the OSU alumni band, Scout troops, sports teams and neighborhood floats. “Various neighborhoods pit against each other in the float competition,” he says. “It’s a really big deal.”

Later that day, Upper Arlington hosts a Party in the Park at Northland Park, with live music, picnics and a memorable fireworks display. “Those fireworks are as good as anything you can see anywhere,” Reinke says. “They’re fantastic.”

Another signature event is Upper Arlington’s Labor Day Arts Festival, says Santoro-Au. “This is the festival’s 45th year,” she says. “Back in 1966, some local residents got together with five artists to host a show. From those humble beginnings, we now have more than 200 artists, entertainment on two stages, interactive arts stations, food vendors and surprises, like dance performances.” Artists peddle their wares, from paintings, pottery and photography to glass works, fabric art and jewelry. The show takes over Northam Park every year on the Monday of Labor Day weekend—Sept. 5 in 2011.

This spring, a one-of-a-kind event comes to town: A home in Upper Arlington was selected to be spotlighted as the 2011 Decorators’ Show House, sponsored by the Columbus Museum of Art’s Women’s Board. The 4,500-square-foot, Spanish Revival-style house, built in 1928, is set on nearly two acres at 4125 Oxford Dr. Eighteen designers and four landscapers are participating in the transformation of this year’s show house, which will be open to the public April 30 through May 22. “When people walk through that house, they will be truly intrigued by the architecture, the use of color and the creativity of the designers,” says Beth Barnes, promotions co-chair for the event.

Special events are certainly highlights in the community . . . but it has plenty of everyday bright spots as well. Steve Cothrel, superintendent of parks and forestry, says Upper Arlington has long been nationally recognized as a Tree City by the Arbor Day Foundation, an honor based upon tree ordinances, Arbor Day celebrations and a comprehensive urban forestry program.

Additionally, Cothrel says UA has a community beautification program that continues to gain momentum. “The biggest step we’ve taken in recent years is to hire a professional horticulturist to lead our efforts.” He says the community has added a city gateway park and developed many small gardens in city parks. “We’re also installing rain gardens to help with storm water management in parks and city properties.” The gardens are planted with deep-rooted, hardy plants that can help soak up rainwater runoff while also tolerating drought conditions when the Ohio summer gets hot and dry.

Whatever the season, the Upper Arlington Senior Center is hopping with activities just about every day of the year. The 36-year-old center on Ridgeview Road boasts 2,000 members and is “a lively recreation center for folks 50-plus in and around Upper Arlington,” says its director, Sally Gard. “We have all kinds of events, including an abundance of fitness classes. Our Studio 55 fitness center has a cardio room and weight-lifting equipment, along with yoga classes, Pilates and balance classes, and water exercises at two local pools.” She ticks off a long list of other activities offered via the center, including golf, volleyball, sand volleyball and even Central Ohio’s first slow-pitch softball league—the Silver Bears—which was formed in 1987. “We’re way ahead of the curve,” she says.

And there’s more. Two bocce ball courts. Wellness classes. Massage therapy. “Doc talks” on various health subjects. French and German classes. Computer courses. Investment groups. And a full travel schedule, from local daytrips to weeklong excursions to Europe. “We have a bunch of really active, energetic and engaged people in here,” says Gard. “Every class is usually full. Our members are really involved.”

Residents of all ages are enjoying a new wave of shops and restaurants in Upper Arlington, says Speight. “We like to remind people about the wealth of services right here in the community and how important it is to support them,” she says. “The trend is swinging back to your local community—live, work, play in your community, and support your local businesses.”

She says Upper Arlington boasts a lot of unique shops. “We have some wonderful, one-of-a-kind businesses here that you can’t find at a big mall.” Among them is Ursus, an arts space; the Cheesecake Boutique, offering women’s fashions; a hat and wig store called Over My Head, primarily serving women fighting cancer, and a community favorite, the Tremont Goodie Shoppe.

New restaurants are popping up around town, too. “Upper Arlington is chiefly residential,” Speight explains. “In fact, we’re about 90 percent residential, and that has kind of limited the number of restaurants here.” But some new eateries recently have opened their doors. She mentions Piada on Lane Avenue, and the Greek Corner next door. There’s a new Wine Bistro, as well as Royal Ginger, an Asian fusion restaurant on Lane. Diners also can check out Cibo at Henderson and Reed roads, Louie’s Grill on Northwest Boulevard and the Park Creek Kitchen on Arlington Avenue. These new spots join a list of established eateries such as Moretti’s, La Chatelaine, Alex’s Bistro, the Rusty Bucket, Windward Passage and, of course, the venerable Chef-O-Nette.

“These establishments give people options that, in most cases, are within walking distance of their homes,” Speight says. “It’s great—you can go out and enjoy an evening right in your own neighborhood.” 

 

Victoria Ellwood is a freelance writer.