German Village, Columbus, Ohio

It was “Gerbil Village” back in the day. Gay, gay, gay.

The gays moved in and made German Village fabulous and trendy. Then the straights wanted to be there.

It is really nice, OP. That said, it is still Columbus,

I love the GV.

Columbus is not on the Great Lakes. It's in the middle of cow country.

The think I find fascinating about it is how small and unornamented the buildings are, yet they have a picturesque look regardless. It reminds me of Shaker architecture.

I can't think of anything else I've seen quite like it with the possible exception of the vernacular architecture of Cape Code and Nantucket.

Until the 1990's, German Village was a refuge of gay and gay-friendly restaurants, retailers, and coffee houses. Schiller Park was a haven for cruising, which the police department largely ignored.

Then the breeders moved in, drove up real estate prices, and attracted chain shops. Now it is overpriced houses with almost zero lot lines and parking is impossible.

Architecturally, it's prettier than any brownstone neighborhood in New York City.

I don't know if it's still the case, but when I lived in Columbus in the 70s there were actual German shops and restaurants where you could get imported German foods, nick-knacks, gifts, etc.

I lived in Columbus in the 80's and 90's; I remember those German shops. German Village definitely played up its German heritage. There were German flags everywhere.

I cannot remember how many times I got drunk at Plank's in German Village. Back then, it was a dive bar with picnic tables and German food. Now it is primarily a pizzeria. Schmidt's Sausage House was the place to go when the parents visited -- German food to eat in and German groceries and souvenirs to go.

German Village has my favorite Max & Erma's. One of the waitresses was a student of mine, so we always got a table no matter how long the line to get in. I also ate a lot at the Old Mohawk in German Village.

The Book Loft!

Tasteful friends...

The cobblestone streets made my teeth rattle. I remember meeting the manager (maybe the owner) of Katzinger's deli back in the early 90s. He was very handsome and I could never get up the energy to ask him out. I'm not even sure if he was gay.

R12, a charming house in a lovely location, but some of the most off-putting staging - at least I hope it's staging - that I have ever seen. Why live in a house like that and turn it into your typical new-build apt. in Long Island City?

Over-priced little brick houses next to a high crime area. Winter snows turn the narrow little brick streets into a nightmare.

I like Victorian Village, too. In fact I generally love the19th-20th century architecture of Columbus.

What's the high crime area?

Like most things in Columbus, a bit over-hyped and overrated. I remember eating at some awful "jewish deli" the last time I was tehre.

I lived in Columbus for a couple years in the '90s and really liked it, as a city. (the bleak winters & humid summers, not so much). I especially loved German Village (although I didn't live there). Still have a t-shirt from the Thurman Cafe, where we always went after softball games. Whenever family members or friends came into to town, I always took them to Schmidt's (for the full lederhosen experience), and.....

I can't remember the name of the place, but it was a famous bar/pub in GV, with a hilarious older couple, sing-a-long/comedy act. He played upright bass, she was a little white-haired sprite on mic. They'd get the whole crowd up, doing the chicken-dance and dumb shit like that. What was the name of that place?? Was that Plank's?