Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Archive for ohio
Astronomy for the Masses
By Linda Tancs
Perkins Observatory in Delaware, Ohio, is reputedly the only observatory in Central Ohio that conducts hundreds of public programs for tens of thousands of people every year. Owned and operated by Ohio Wesleyan University, it primarily serves as an active research and educational facility for faculty and students of the OWU Physics and Astronomy Department. Most Friday evenings the facility is open for regular programs that include activities like telescope viewing, a tour of the observatory or a lecture about the night sky. The observatory also offers programming for telescope owners to increase their skills. The venue’s own telescope, equipped with 69-inch glass, made it the third largest telescope in the world in 1931. That telescope was subsequently moved to Arizona, where it is now a part of the Lowell Observatory and boasts a 72-inch diameter glass.
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Ohio’s Oldest Settlement
By Linda Tancs
Martins Ferry has the distinction of being the oldest settlement in Ohio, beginning in 1787 when the ground upon which the city is located was purchased by Captain Absalom Martin, one of the surveyors of the Seven Ranges of the Northwest Territory. Absalom started operating a ferry in 1789 (hence, the name). Historical artifacts related to the region are housed in the town’s Sedgwick House Museum, where you’ll find everything from the pioneer days of the Zane and Martin families to the space shuttle.
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Cleveland’s First Skyscraper
By Linda Tancs
Erected in 1890, the Society for Savings Bank building in Cleveland, Ohio, is the city’s first skyscraper. Ten stories tall, it combines elements of the Gothic, Romanesque, and Renaissance styles in red sandstone. Now a branch of Key Bank, it’s worth a visit inside the lobby (during banking hours) to view the stained-glass ceiling and four large murals. The building is located downtown on the north side of Public Square.
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Fort Ancient
By Linda Tancs
The largest hilltop enclosure in North America, Fort Ancient is a Native American earthworks complex in Oregonia, Ohio. Located on a bluff overlooking the Little Miami River, the 2,000-year-old site was not really a fort but rather a gathering place for ceremonial activities, particularly at Morehead Circle near the museum on the premises. Today, the site (a UNESCO World Heritage site) is a nature-lover’s paradise with miles of trails, scenic overlooks and earthen embankments, some of which reach 23 feet high. Allow at least two hours for your visit.
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A Christmas Story House
By Linda Tancs
A Christmas Story is a beloved 1983 American Christmas comedy film. Not only can you enjoy the movie but you can also enjoy the house where it was filmed. Open year round, A Christmas Story House in Cleveland, Ohio, is also available for overnight stays. Across the street is A Christmas Story Museum, which features original props, costumes and memorabilia from the film as well as hundreds of rare behind-the-scenes photos.
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Pencil Sharpeners in Ohio
By Linda Tancs
Reputedly the largest pencil sharpener collection in America, the Paul A. Johnson Pencil Sharpener Museum in Logan, Ohio, features more than 3,400 pencil sharpeners collected by Reverend Paul Johnson. It also includes a recently donated collection of 1,000 or so sharpeners from the estate of Frank Parades of Tampa, Florida. Located at the Hocking Hills Regional Welcome Center at 13178 St. Rt. 664 South, admission is free.
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Early Television in Ohio
By Linda Tancs
Located in Hilliard, Ohio, the Early Television Museum houses an enviable collection of over 150 TV sets from yesteryear, many of them still operational. Displays include mechanical TVs from the 1920s and 30s; early electronic British sets from 1936-39; early electronic American sets from 1939-41; postwar sets from1945-58; and early color sets from 1953-57. The museum also has a library of books and other documents relating to early television as well as a collection of early picture tubes and studio equipment.
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National Aviation Heritage
By Linda Tancs
The National Aviation Heritage Area encompasses an eight-county area in Ohio (Montgomery, Greene, Miami, Clark, Warren, Champaign, Shelby and Auglaize counties). Managed by the Aviation Heritage Alliance, the assets of the region include the National Museum of the United States Air Force (which celebrated its 100th anniversary last year), historic Grimes Field (the legacy of Warren Grimes, “Father of the Aircraft Lighting Industry”) and the Airstream Heritage Center, celebrating over 90 years of airstream history.
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The Castle of Marietta
by Linda Tancs
Built in 1855, the Castle of Marietta is a Gothic Revival-style mansion in Marietta, Ohio. Before becoming a historical house museum in 1994, it was home to some of the city’s most prominent and influential citizens, including a lawyer, senator, banker and a land and oil speculator. Many of their furnishings are on display in the well-preserved rooms. Tours (available from April to December) include the first and second floors.
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Not Your Everyday Presidential Library
By Linda Tancs
The McKinley Presidential Library & Museum in Canton, Ohio, is not your everyday presidential museum. Of course, it has the usual presidential memorabilia and research facilities you would expect. But it also boasts animatronic figures of the president and his wife along with an interactive science center, a planetarium and the Street of Shops, a life-sized, indoor 19th-century town featuring a large HO gauge train layout. The president, his wife and two daughters are also buried at the site at the McKinley National Memorial, a city landmark. Open from April to November, the towering, dome-shaped monument has a red, white and blue skylight with 45 stars in its design, representing the 45 states in the Union at the time of President McKinley’s death.
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