OLENTANGY PARK- Two miles northwest of Indianola, on N. High St., was the great Olentangy Park. Olentangy Park ran from High Street west to the Olentangy River and from North Street up to Tulane Street.

Everything Indianola had, Olentangy had too--except it had more, bigger, faster, and better. If Indianola had a horse that could work a cash register (an actual act!), Olentangy had an elephant that could walk a tightrope. It says something about Indianola that it was able to compete with Olentangy for so long.

Started in 1899, Olentangy was huge (100 acres vs. Indianola's 30 acres) and had everything. In its heyday, it boasted four roller coasters, shoot-the-chutes, a flume ride, a ferris wheel, a beautiful carousel, a funhouse, a massive swimming pool, a cavernous theater, a dance pavilion, a Japanese garden, a zoo, a canoe livery on the Olentangy River, and more. The theater hosted the top touring acts in the nation. At its peak, Olentangy drew crowds that numbered in the tens of thousands.

Olentangy's owners ran into financial difficulties in the early 1920s but new management kept the park going into the 1930s. Olentangy closed for good in 1937--the same year as Indianola--and was demolished to make room for an apartment complex and bowling alley.

Little of Olentangy Park remains today. Its pool was the apartment complex pool for a time but has been eliminated. Along North Street are some original sections of the park's fence and the old park office building. One artifact that has survived is Olentangy's grand carousel. Today it occupies a place of honor at the Columbus Zoo.

Clintonville Online has images and information about Olentangy Park. Wikipedia also has an article.

Entrance

Shoot-the-Chutes

Theater

Pool