The Creekside Story: The Making of Creekside Park
The City of Gahanna owes its existence to the waters of the Big Walnut Creek. The original village was founded along
its edge in the mid-19th century, and an old grain mill in the creek was essential for the village's early economic
success. Through a collaborative effort with the citizens of Gahanna and consultants instrumental in San Antonio,
Texas's Riverwalk Plan, City leaders led the effort to clean up the Big Walnut and create unique passive
recreation spaces. The project has not only added beautiful public spaces to our city, it has attracted
the many revitalization projects completed and underway in neighboring Olde Gahanna. While today's
Gahanna may not rely on the Big Walnut to power its businesses, the City has definitely re-established a
connection to the creek. Today, it continues to "power" a sense of community and economic development as
businesses are learning the value of locating next to such a great natural amenity.
The completion of Creekside Park is known as Phase One of the City's broader vision of Olde Gahanna revitalization.
The Park was a $1.2 million project, which included a $250,000 Nature Works grant from the Franklin County
Greenways Initiative. The grant money was used to improve the quality of the creek and restore it to its
natural meander. Building the primary feature of the park--the waterfall pictured above--and the Creekwalk
that runs from the northern tip of Creekside Island to the southern edge of Olde Gahanna were the other
components of Phase One. Large limestone boulders were used to create natural seating near the
waterfall and along the Creekwalk in a series of "Council Rings," meant to resemble the Indian
tribal council meetings that once took place in the area. The waterfall scene below is from
the annual Creekside Festival, begun in 1999 which has evolved into a major, three-day event
attracting over 70,000 people.
A design philosophy of connectivity between Creekside Park and Olde Gahanna guided Phase One and is responsible
for the current success of the park and neighborhood. These photos reveal how pedestrians can easily travel
from Mill Street and even the heavily traveled Route 62 to Creekside Park. The park has just the right
balance of accessibility and exclusivity that invites a stroll down to creek-level to explore the wonderful
scenes along the Creekwalk.
In addition to these great connections to the Mill Street/Route 62 intersection area, construction on Creekside Phase
II is slated to be finished by 2006--a project that will redirect the Big Walnut toward Mill Street and create a new
Mill Pond and plaza area adjacent to Mill Street. Phase II will occur north of the Mill Street/Route 62 intersection
and will complete the vision of Creekside Park as the highlight of Olde Gahanna.
Click Here to continue the Creekside story.
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The Creekside Story…
Background
Information
Timeline
Overview
Creekside Park
Planning for Redevelopment
Olde Gahanna's Revitalization
West Gahanna Gateway
For more information on Creekside, please contact the Department of Planning Development
(Last Updated in March 2008)
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Planning & Development
200 South Hamilton
Gahanna, OH 43230
(614) 342-4015
(614) 342-4116 Fax
Hours of Operation
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM M-F
Contact Development
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