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Forest Park is a suburb in the Northland region of Columbus, Ohio that was developed in the 1960's. The city has much to offer, including outdoor and indoor recreation, and natural beauty. The city takes pride in having the majority of their streets and lots lined with mature trees. Forest Park is one of the Neighborhoods in Columbus, Ohio

Forest Park was established in 1961.

History

Forest Park is a part of the historic Sharon Township, which was originally granted to General Jonathon Dayton of New Jersey, as part of lands set aside for soldiers in 1796. Today, most of the township has been annexed. The city of Forest Park was then bestowed to James Hamilton by President John Adams. Hamilton was a prestigious lawyer, and excelled in his professional career, even becoming the president of the Ninth Judicial District in 1806. In the early 1800's he had begun to acquire land in Ohio, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania, and the land that was going to Forest Park was used as a substitute payment for Hamilton’s military service during the Revolutionary war. Hamilton gradually divided the land into parcels that were sold and farmed. This lasted until the land was acquired by a developer, the Metzger Brothers Company. The Metzger Brothers had a vision for a planned community that could be self-sufficient by incorporating retail and recreation internally within the city. In the year 1961, Forest Park West became the first residential neighborhood in Columbus to achieve this immersion of living and shopping. Following only 4 years later, Forest Park east was developed.

Geography

Forest Park is a part of the Northland Community Council along with many of the surrounding communities on the north side of Franklin County and Columbus, Ohio. The boundaries for Forest Park are north of Morse Road, south of State Route 161, east of Interstate 71, and west of Cleveland Avenue. Karl Road travels through Forest Park west and east, separating the two sub neighborhoods .The entire community is within the Columbus city limits, the historic Sharon Township, Franklin County, Ohio, the Northland planning district, the Columbus Public school district, area code 614 and ZIP code 43229. The approximate geographic center of the community is located at 40.0765 (N) latitude, -82.9705 (W) longitudes.

Recreation

Woodward park nature preserve

The community itself offers many recreational opportunities. These include the areas two shopping center, which in themselves boast restaurants, a bowling center, convenience stores, and other light retail and service business. In addition, there is a branch of the Columbus Metropolitan Library, a YMCA recreation facility, and several city parks. The largest of these is the Woodward Park and Nature Preserve. The preserve is 49 acres and includes a recreation center, athletic fields, basketball court, lighted tennis courts and baseball diamond, and picnic areas to complement the main walking trail through the park. Woodward park was created in 1960, using the land and donation given by C.H. Woodward.

Education

The Northland High School

Forest Park offers residents the ability to raise a family and provide children with an education. The neighborhood is a part of the Columbus City school system, which includes 109 different schools. The district uses a feeder system, which organizes elementary schools together to ensure that children move up to the same middle school and high school, allowing the children to grow together. The forest park elementary school is grouped with the Northtowne, Parkmoor, and Valley Forge elementary schools, and lead to the Woodward Park Middle School and Northland High School. There is also the possibility of enrolling in various private schools in the surrounding area.

Architecture and layout

Homes in Forest Park reflect a variety of architectural styles and floor plans typical of homes built in the 1960's and 1970's, including ranch, split-level and two-story homes with two, three and four bedrooms. The large number of different home builders involved in the original development contributes to significant diversity in home styles and finishes. Nearly all have basements (many finished) and attached or enclosed garages. The average lot size is 0.2 acres (800 m2). Most homes are on quiet side streets, courts or "loops." Homes on connector and arterial streets reflect the same styles and quality. These streets include Sandalwood Boulevard and Satinwood Drive in Forest Park West, and Sandalwood Place, Tamarack Boulevard, Northtowne Boulevard and Maple Canyon Avenue in Forest Park East. Tamarack Circle in Forest Park East is an unusual, distinctively designed large roundabout that serves as the hub of the neighborhood. It has a small commercial district at its core and is surrounded on three sides by a large apartment complex.

Forest Park Civic Association

Since its charter in 1963, the Forest Park Civic Association, a non-profit, all volunteer organization, has performed a vital function in the community. It sponsors and coordinates a fine array of activates for all residents and business of Forest Park. The FPCA represents the community to city government agencies, developers, builders, and local merchants. FPCA offers distinguished speaker and informative programs at it general meetings, which are held four times a year . FPCA also publishes a community new letter called “The Forester”. This new letter is sent to residents in Forest Park once a month with information pertaining to community events, crime information, the sale of homes and the new home owners, and business advertisement. The Forest park Civic Association has fourteen areas that are broken down within the community. Once a new resident or business moves into the area a representative for that area from FPCA will visit the new resident or business and welcome them into the area. FPCA collects a community due of twenty five dollars a year to maintain the community.

Northland area

Forest Park is generally grouped into the larger Northland area. Northland is best known for the Northland mall, which although closed now, was originally one of the regions most successful malls following its inception in 1964. Following a period of economic depression, the region has recently grown in population due to an influx of immigrants, leading to the creation of a very multicultural community. Many of the 30,000 Somali refugees in Columbus have settled in Northland, which is one of the largest concentrations of Somali residents in the United States.

See also

• Neighborhoods in Columbus, Ohio
• Northland High School

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