Grandview Heights Municipal Facilities

By Wayne Carlson ©2002 Grandview Heights/Marble Cliff Historical Society

Updated 2025

In a January public meeting, discussions took place between community leaders and residents of Grandview concerning the planning of a new building to house the mayor, the council, fire and police operations, and to provide meeting space for various activities. The proposal was met with a mixture of support and opposition. Feelings were expressed that the community could make do both with what currently exists and moving some offices to existing public spaces. In an attempt to inform the public, architectural drawings were presented in the local media.

Although there may seem to be a familiar ring to this scenario, the year was 1922. The plans were printed in the February Norwester, the monthly publication of the villages of Grandview Heights, Marble Cliff and Upper Arlington. The project was called the Grandview Heights Town Hall and Community Center Project. The January meeting was a meeting of the Brotherhood, which was a group of community business, church and political leaders, and also featured a discussion of the architectural drawings of the proposed High School building.

This was a time of tremendous growth in the Grandview and Marble Cliff area. Homes were being built in the community at a rapid rate, the schools were in dire need of additional space, and the local church, First Community Church, was also planning a new building of its own. Because of this rate of growth and the number of added fire runs, the City of Columbus (who had been providing fire service to the villages) had begun charging Grandview for service. This prompted the village leaders to begin discussions of a local fire department, which would require equipment and a building to house it.

The original idea was expanded to provide a space for the village government offices, the library, police offices and a jail, and space for all of the community organizations that couldn’t be accommodated in other local buildings. The resulting building proposal is shown here.

It is a two-story structure with a fully functional basement. In the front of the building are offices for the mayor, council, village clerk, the water and sewer department, the board of public affairs, and a library. Also in front are meeting rooms for the Boy Scouts, Masonic Lodge, Camp Fire Girls, Women’s Clubs, and other community organizations. In the rear of the building is space to hold two “fire apparatus,” living space for a fireman and the building attendant, a large two story stage and several dressing rooms.

Sandwiched between the front and rear structures of the building is a 60x90 foot open space with a two story ceiling (18 feet to the trusses) to be used as a gymnasium, auditorium and banquet room. It has an associated kitchen and serving areas. The basement houses space for the police department, the jail, a billiard room, men’s and women’s locker rooms (each with 160 lockers and 12 showers), rest rooms and a five-lane bowling alley!

The proposal for the project was never put on the ballot, most likely because of the higher priority for the new school. The Masons also had proposed a new building for their lodge, which was built on the NW corner of First and Grandview. Instead, Grandview decided to contract with Columbus for fire services at $250 per run.

Later that year they also proposed a new community park at Grandview Avenue and Goodale. The park was originally proposed to encompass 14 acres from the top of the hill to Goodale. It was expanded to 22 acres south to the railroad tracks. The space between Goodale and the tracks was to be a recreation area which was accessible by way of a “subway” tunnel under the trolley tracks on Goodale. Plans for the park were submitted in September, the bonds were sold in July of the next year, and the park was dedicated in June of 1924.

Early in 1923, Mayor Thomas of Columbus issued an order to halt all fire service to Grandview. Columbus had proposed a new rate of $1.87 per $1000 tax valuation for the new fire services contract. That meant a flat rate of $4200 for Grandview, and Mayor Ryder refused. Instead he proposed that Grandview establish their own fire department at an as of yet unspecified location. He was attempting to join with Marble Cliff and Upper Arlington, and would put the building in a location central to the three communities.

In May, Mayor Ryder proposed a $30,000 bond issue which included $15,000 for a building “of brick construction and artistic design, in keeping with the other architecture of the village,” and $15,000 for two “medium weight” trucks and equipment. The bond issue was placed on the June ballot, and passed 321-19. After a public discussion, it was decided to place the building (which included village offices) in the new community park. The new building was completed in August of 1924. The fire department hired a chief and two firefighters, one of whom lived in the new building. On August 20th the Village Council met in the new building, and the residents visited it in an open house on August 22nd.

In 1936 an additional equipment bay was added (to the right in the this photo taken in 1960, looking west toward Grandview Avenue... notice the additional two dormers in the addition), and in 1963 the building was renovated to add additional office space and room for the police department (photo below, taken in 1963 looking southeast, and the aerial photo showing the wraparound addition.)

City services and maintenance resources were located on Goodale, just east of Grandview Avenue. In 1982, a new building was built to accommodate the offices for the parks and recreation administration, and the Grandview Heights Senior Center. The city received a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grant for $150,000 for community development, funding from the state of Ohio, the village of Marble Cliff, the city of Grandview, Northwest Kiwanis, the Cliff Heights Senior Club and other private funds, totaling a little more than $360,000 to pay for the new building .

Very few structural modifications or additions were done to the city facilities since that 1963 addition to the Municipal Building and the addition of the Senior Center. The 1923 building didn’t meet ADA standards, even with the 1960 and 1963 additions, and new fire apparatus could barely be accommodated in the fire department portion of the building.

In 2018, the city embarked on a comprehensive master planning process to address growth and expansion in the community. During the planning process, it was determined that a new facility was needed to accommodate the increase in population and businesses as well as functional necessities to meet 21st-century standards, including hazmat protection zones, security features, fire/EMS living quarters, police interview rooms, and holding areas, elevators, and other ADA-compliant elements. In 2019, the service complex on Goodale was relocated to a site and new building on McKinley Avenue, freeing space for a potential new municipal complex. The new Grandview Heights Service Complex includes facilities for trash and recycling trucks, road and parks maintenance vehicles, bulk materials storage, vehicle wash facilities, all service staff members, and the Building and Zoning department. The $5M facility cost was paid through a city capital improvement fund.

A bond issue passed in 2022 to design and construct a new Fire/EMS, Police, and Administrative Services Facility to replace the current Municipal Building, infrastructure improvements to Glendale Avenue at and south of Goodale Boulevard, a new Parks & Recreation Facility at McKinley Field Park, and limited revisions to the site and facilities at 1016 Grandview Avenue after the new facility is completed.

Grandview has participated in the development of numerous parks over the years since the community was established. The first park, originally called Grandview Woods, which is the site of the 1923 municipal building, was approximately 14 acres, and was rededicated in 1954 as Wyman Woods Park in honor of former mayor Joseph Wyman. A shelter house, sand volleyball courts, and a playground have been added since. The 4 acre playground area near Stevenson Elementary School was called Oxley Field, and was rededicated to Grandview’s 8th mayor, Arthur Pierce. In 1967, Pierce added a “Kiddie Corral”, which was a collection of then state-of-the-art playground equipment. It was renovated, and tennis courts and a shelter facility were added. It is the home of the annual Grandview Ox Roast event.

In 1996, the C. Ray Buck Sports Site on Goodale was dedicated to honor longtime resident and volunteer C. Ray Buck. It was built on land originally owned by AEP, where Buck worked for over 40 years, with a NatureWorks grant from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. It has soccer and baseball fields on the site.

There are numerous smaller parks throughout the city, including Falco Park and Tarpy Woods in Marble Cliff, Wallace Gardens at Grandview and Goodale, the 2-acre green space along Goodale Blvd. west of Grandview Avenue, a small park at the southern edge of the school complex, a small green space in the Grandview Yard, and the memorial park at Virginia and Parkway.

In 2024, city officials, residents, and business owners began a planning process for the area from the Grandview Heights Public Library, east on First, rounding the corner at Grandview Avenue, and proceeding north just past Third Avenue. Called the First & Grandview District Plan, its intent is to support and extend this district’s authentic and historic character, while considering both public and private properties. The plan encompasses new school developments, the library, new city park land, city infrastructure needs, as well as consideration of City of Columbus development pressures on the north side of the district.