Columbus Monthly / November 2010 / Worthington: Our town

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Worthington: Our town

A new arts center, award-winning libraries, a plethora of recreational opportunities and an abundance of charm make Worthington a fine place to call home.

In 1803, a group of settlers departed from Granby, Connecticut, and headed for the wilderness of Central Ohio to build new lives in a place they had named Worthington. Before leaving, these pioneers carefully planned out their future home, modeling it on the New England towns they were leaving behind. Worthington—located on a rise of land near a picturesque river—would feature a village green and two plots reserved for a church and a school, all tidily surrounded by residential and farm lots.

Now, more than 200 years later, the heart of Worthington remains much the same. Residents enjoy family-oriented concerts, festivals and other events on that same Village Green. Shops and restaurants line the bustling main street of the original downtown. The elegant Worthington Inn occupies a Victorian-style building that has served diners since 1852. The city currently has 31 sites on the National Register of Historic Places.

"If someone from 100 years ago dropped by Worthington, they probably wouldn't be too terribly startled," says Jutta Catherine Pegues, president of the Worthington Historical Society.

At the same time, Worthington has continued to evolve. The handsome new Peggy R. McConnell Arts Center of Worthington opened last year. The three-branch Worthington Libraries system regularly wins awards. Fourteen parks, a senior center and a large community center with swimming pools and a fitness floor keep residents busy and healthy. Groups such as the Healthy Worthington Coalition, Sustainable Worthington and the city's Community Relations Commission work to promote positive lifestyles and strong neighborhoods. The settler's original church on the Village Green has been joined by many other congregations and houses of worship around the city.

A vibrant mix of old and new, Worthington has much to offer its residents.

The heart of it all

Worthington's Village Green occupies the four blocks at each corner of the intersection of High Street and Rt. 161. Back in the mid 1800s, the green served as a grazing spot for local cows and horses. The farm animals eventually were ousted, and the green now provides a cool expanse of lawn, mature shade trees and winding brick walkways where the community regularly gathers for events such as ice cream socials and family-oriented concerts. Much-anticipated events held on the green include the Worthington Arts Festival in June, the summer Concerts on the Green and the Old Worthington Market Day festival each fall, featuring more than 250 high-quality artisanal craft vendors, a flea market, entertainment and food. During the winter holidays, colored lights blaze in the tall evergreens, and in May, residents line the sidewalks for the Memorial Day parade, a genuine piece of Americana.

Other popular annual events in the city include A Taste of Worthington, a summer food-fest featuring the fare of local establishments, along with music and family activities, and the Worthington Independence Day Celebration, which features the Worthington Family Picnic and, of course, a fireworks display.

Delightful downtown

Just south of the Village Green along High Street, well-preserved vintage storefronts line the quaint brick sidewalks of downtown Worthington. Residents like to browse through the shops devoted to antiques and home furnishings, including Wren House and the Old Rectory Gift and Exchange Shops. They look at jewelry in Worthington Jewelers and Denig Jewelers, and search for the perfect outfit in Damsels in This Dress. Fritzy Jacobs puts a hip spin on home decor, and for a romantic gift, wine and candles can be found at, respectively, House Wine and the Candle Lab.

There are plenty of dining options as well. La Chatelaine sells fresh-baked bread and French-inspired soups, sandwiches and salad. The Old Bag of Nails Pub has fried pickles and a great beer selection, and P.K. O'Ryan's Irish Pub fortifies patrons with homemade Irish stew, in addition to burgers and sandwiches. For a fine cup of coffee, caffeine junkies stop by Scottie's Coffee & Tea House, while those looking for an elegant meal in historic surroundings make reservations at the Worthington Inn.

The historic nature of Worthington's downtown "is what makes shopping there a lot of fun—even though you're in a suburb, it still has that village character," says Pegues.

On Saturdays from May through October, Worthington holds a popular farmers market on the streets of downtown Worthington. According to Anne Brown, the city's community relations officer, this is one of the oldest and most respected farmers markets in the area, attended by thousands of people each week.

As the city has grown, more shopping and restaurant options have cropped up north of downtown, in the areas adjacent to High Street and I-270. Worthington Square has new owners who plan to refresh the mall's interior. Its clothing stores include Ann Taylor, Chico's, Talbot's, White House/Black Market, Pendleton Woolen Mills and JoS. A. Bank Clothiers. For gifts and other accoutrements, shoppers can patronize vendors such as Crabtree & Evelyn, Sugarbush Gourmet Gift Baskets, MonkWorks and Urban Baggerie. First Watch serves up breakfast and lunch, and more dining options can be found at Amano's and China Way. For big plates of Italian food, diners can venture across the street to lively Buca di Beppo, or travel just a bit south to J. Liu Restaurant & Bar for a hip mix of Asian, American and Italian cuisines.

Plenty of parks and programs

"Worthington's parks and recreation system is one of our premier offerings for the community," says Brown. The city's 14 parks, the Worthington Community Center and the Griswold senior center all fall under the umbrella of the Parks and Recreation Department.

Worthington's parks range from little neighborhood playgrounds such as Heischman Park to the 100-acre Olentangy River Parklands, where a two-mile bike path runs along the scenic river and links riders to the Columbus Bike Trails. The parklands also includes the 6,000-square-foot Winding Adventures Skate Park. Many Worthington parks contain playgrounds, shelter houses, athletic courts and ball fields. The All ChildrenÕs Playground at the Worthington Community Center is entirely wheelchair accessible.

The 72,000-square-foot Worthington Community Center encompasses a fitness floor, swimming pools, two gymnasiums and an indoor track. Aside from exercise opportunities, the center provides swimming lessons and programs in pottery, dance, photography, jewelry, theater, sports and other avocations for all ages.

For people 55 years and older, Worthington's Griswold Center has its own roster of programs, from cross-stitch to line dancing to Wii bowling. The center also has a fitness room, exercise classes, sports leagues and organized trips. Many programs are open to all adult residents, with priority placement given to members.

"There's usually always something going on," says Holly Keller, superintendent of Worthington parks and recreation. "Worthington is a very active community. The residents utilize the facilities a lot, whether itÕs the parks or the playgrounds or the ball diamonds or the community center."

Library of the year

When Worthington's settlers made the long journey from New England to Ohio, they lugged along the books destined for the first library in Franklin County. "They valued lifelong learning and education . . . and more than 200 years later, that is still a community value," says Lisa Fuller, director of community relations and development at Worthington Libraries.

With three branches and 3.5 million loans a year, Worthington has a very busy library system. "We're the ninth highest circulating library in the state, right behind the eight metropolitan areas," says Fuller. In addition to providing a huge selection of materials, Worthington Libraries presents a panorama of activities. "We have programs for all ages, from story time for children as young as six months, right up through the adult population," says Fuller. "We have book groups and discussions on topical issues. Right now, we're starting a series of programs on the environment."

In 2007, Worthington Libraries won the prestigious National Library of the Year Award, which annually recognizes an American library for exemplary and innovative service to its community. "We had been runner-up for several years," says Fuller, and the win in 2007 afforded "recognition of everything we've been doing and of the community for supporting the library." In 2008, 2009 and 2010, the system earned the No. 2 spot in the Top Ten American Library rankings among libraries serving populations between 50,000 and 100,000.

A new home for the arts

With admirable prescience, Worthington often has chosen to preserve or remodel older buildings, rather than demolish them. The rundown Packard Annex, which originally served as Worthington's first high school, underwent extensive renovation and construction and emerged as the new 20,000-square-foot Peggy R. McConnell Arts Center of Worthington. Opened in November 2009, the "MAC" is equipped with an exhibition gallery, classrooms, a dance studio, a digital imaging studio and a 213-seat theater. "It's a multidisciplinary facility that showcases the visual arts, the performing arts and offers classes for the greater Columbus region," says executive director Jon Cook. Funds for the new arts center came from a major community fundraising campaign, as well as the generosity of the late Columbus businessman and philanthropist John H. McConnell.

Named in honor of McConnell's late wife, Peggy, the MAC showcases artists with a regional connection, such as Dorothy Gill Barnes, and seeks to "connect those artists and what they're doing with the experiencer and the learner," says Cook. As part of that philosophy, the MAC brings together a wide range of classes in the visual and performing arts, including dance classes in partnership with BalletMet. The Bronwynn Theatre serves as a venue for film, music and dance.

Cook says he hopes to see the community integrate the MAC into their everyday lives. "For instance, we have a music series on Thursday, and I've been telling people to come on in, have a glass of wine, listen to some music and be home by 9 o'clock or so."

Worthington also has its own vibrant musical and theatrical community. Founded in 1970, the Worthington Community Theatre traditionally presents a major musical at the Bronwynn Theatre every summer and will be adding a winter performance in 2011. The venerable Worthington Chorus has plumbed regional singing talent for nearly 35 years and currently puts on two shows, one at the Bronwynn in the fall and a larger performance at a high school auditorium in the spring.

For younger musicians, the Chamber Music Connection holds weekly sessions. Kids who play string instruments, flute and piano are "broken into quartets and trios and coached by professionals, like symphony members, music teachers and music directors," explains Kathy Cordray, who chairs the Olde Worthington Holiday Musical Tour of Homes, taking place Dec. 5 this year. Chamber music and Worthington history come together each December at the tour, which highlights "some of the coolest houses in Worthington and features our young musicians playing holiday music inside the homes. It's so festive," Cordray says.

Living history

Three years ago, residents Fred and Kirti Baldaro moved from London, England, to Ohio. Fred had researched Columbus suburbs on an earlier visit and settled on Worthington. "The sense of history really appealed to Fred. He had looked in New Albany and other places, but they felt so new and similar. We wanted something with a bit of history and a bit of character," says Kirti.

Pegues has seen this reaction before. "I've had people come from other parts and they really are quite enchanted by this town." She gives a hefty chunk of credit for the city's historic appeal to the founders of the Worthington Historical Society. In the 1950s, says Pegues, "people saw that old buildings were just being knocked down, and they wanted to protect some of the old properties and houses in order to retain the historical character of Worthington." Preservationism wasn't quite as fashionable back then; "my predecessors were very much in the forefront . . . and they helped to create that character that you have in Worthington today," she says.

As part of their work, the historical society operates two museums, maintains a Native American Indian mound and offers educational programs and community events. The Federal-style Orange Johnson House, one of the oldest homes in Central Ohio, brings history alive with costumed guides and period furnishings. The societyÕs other downtown property, the classic Greek Revival Old Rectory, dates back to 1845 and contains a doll museum and gift shop. The society also oversees Jeffers Mound, part of a prehistoric Hopewell earthworks on the bluffs overlooking the Olentangy River.

The society sponsors numerous events throughout the year, including downtown Ghost Tours in October and ChildrenÕs Christmas in December, when the Orange Johnson House invites kids in for a 19th-century-style evening of crafts, games, stories and fireplace cooking. In addition, ÒWe have an antique show in January with dealers from all over, and in September we sponsor antique and collectible consignments on the Village Green during Market Days,Ó says Pegues.

A most neighborly place

"We have a really strong sense of community," says Brown. "People are really committed to their neighborhoods and supporting each other." The city's Community Relations Commission has a number of programs designed to complement the neighborly nature of Worthington's citizens.

Residents can apply to the city's Neighborhood Grant program for up to $500 to finance a local project that "supports or strengthens their neighborhood," says Lori Trego, staff liaison to the Community Relations Commission. Possible projects might involve purchasing a bench or planting trees in a public right-of-way or putting up a neighborhood bulletin board. "Even just a small project can really add to neighborhood cohesiveness and contact," she says.

The commission also regularly reviews nominations for the Good Neighbor Award, which "is a way to recognize folks who do all sorts of nice things in the neighborhood, but often go unsung," says Trego. In Worthington, June is "Hi Neighbor!" Month, a designation designed to encourage residents to get to know each other better, whether that's through sharing a glass of lemonade or holding a block party.

"I've seen the sense of community in everything from my motor conking out on my van on a holiday and having 10 people stop and see if I'm OK, to the community outpouring over the loss of my son. You don't get that everywhere," says Tim Tilton, a longtime resident.

Happy, healthy and green

Resident-run, community-oriented groups have sprung up naturally in the city.

Leadership Worthington has educated adults and youth through leadership programs emphasizing community service, teamwork and the development of group and individual leadership potential. Sustainable Worthington "is a grass-roots group of citizens who are trying to make life better in our own community," says Lisa Staggenborg, a founding member. Sustainable Worthington is responsible for establishing a successful winter version of the farmers market, a fully subscribed community garden and PreCycle Day, when residents place gently used items at the curb for their neighbors to browse through. Sustainable Worthington also works to encourage walking and bicycling.

The Healthy Worthington Coalition strives to improve physical, mental and spiritual health through education, initiatives and scholarships. The coalition runs a roundtable and a series of educational lectures, presents scholarships to high school students and encourages physical fitness by collaborating on events such as the Gary Smith Classic 5-Mile Run. The coalition also is closely associated with the Worthington Food Pantry and Resource Center. According to Sandy Byers, chair of the pantry board and director of development for the coalition, the pantry has "grown by leaps and bounds. . . . It has been very rewarding in terms of who we can help and serve."

Worthington's sense of community even reaches beyond the borders of the city, all the way to Sayama, Japan. Worthington has a close sister-city relationship with Sayama, sending both citizens and artworks across the Pacific and welcoming Sayama's residents to Worthington. Delegations of community members, city officials, youth sports teams and a high school choir have traveled to Japan to "immerse themselves in the culture," says Brown. "Over the years, hundreds and hundreds of people have participated."

Worthington seems to be the kind of place where people settle down and stay. When the city conducted a recent survey, 98 percent of respondents were satisfied with the quality of life in this Central Ohio suburb.

Carol Roth, who has lived in the city for 41 years, says, "One reason we chose to live here was the sense of community, and that the children could walk to school." Her kids are now grown and grandchildren visit, but, "We don't have any thoughts of leaving," Roth says. "We'll live here as long as we can."

Katherine Matthews is a freelance writer in Columbus.