What has Columbus been up to? Legal marijuana, tall buildings, added fun and an MLS Cup
Hey there! Welcome home!
You look great. How’s (whatever town you’re living in now, which isn’t home no matter how long you’ve lived there) been treating you?
If you’re one of the thousands of people who’ve flown into Columbus for the holidays or among the masses on Ohio roads who took an off-ramp in this area, you’ve got a lot to catch up on.
So go grab yourself a pop from the fridge and come sit on the couch. We’ll fill you in on what you might have missed while you’ve been gone and some of the new stuff you might want to check out while you’re here.
Recreational marijuana is legal
Let’s get you up to speed on weed.
Ohio voters approved a ballot measure in November that allows adults 21 and older to possess up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis and 15 grams of extracts. The vote wasn’t close: 57% statewide approved it, including 68% in Franklin County and 91% in the Columbus ward that includes parts of the Short North, Italian Village and Weinland Park.
The law went into effect Dec. 7, but dispensaries aren’t as ubiquitous as Starbucks yet. This isn’t Portland, Oregon. State lawmakers and Gov. Mike DeWine have yet to create all the rules and regulations to go with the law approved by voters, so unless you have a doctor’s permission and a registry card it’s just legal to own but not buy weed.
More: Columbus marijuana users enjoy their first legal puffs at 'Fire It Up Friday'
We’re still getting higher, though
The Columbus skyline is changing, if you hadn’t noticed.
The Hilton Columbus Downtown opened in late 2022, but its 28th-floor rooftop bar didn’t open until February. Stories on High offers great views of the city and an extensive menu of food that features Asian flavors as well as cocktails, beer and wine.
At Ohio State University, builders have topped out a new 26-story hospital tower for the Wexner Medical Center. The $1.79-billion project is still under construction, though, and not scheduled to open until early 2026.
Work will begin next year on a 24-story apartment tower west of Downtown in Franklinton. It’s the second phase of a development called The Peninsula. The first phase includes the Junto, a 198-room hotel with its own rooftop bar, which opened in May.
But Gravity can be fun, too
A new adult playground a few blocks away in Franklinton has given us something to do in the winter besides hibernate until the OSU Spring Game.
Gravity Experience Park, at McDowell and West State streets, opened Dec. 1. Operated by Land-Grant Brewing Co., the park has an ice rink with bumper cars and heated tents. It might offer curling and other winter games soon.
Come spring, the ice rink will be replaced by a pickleball court.
More: Prim Mason restaurant coming to Gravity in 2024
Hold on tight at Quarry Trails
Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks opened Quarry Trails in 2021. It’s a 220-acre park at an old quarry site near Upper Arlington.
In May, though, Metro Parks debuted a via ferrata – or iron path – at the young park that allows people to traverse a rocky cliff face with the help of fixed metal rung, cables and a 90-foot suspension bridge that’s 105 feet above ground.
More: Photos: Quarry Trails via ferrata rock climb
“You can expect beautiful views,” the park system promises, although it doesn’t recommend bringing your phone with you to take pictures. “There is no way to retrieve items that fall while on the via ferrata.”
You can’t just climb the path on your own, though. It requires registration through the Metro Parks Outdoor Adventure team.
An old friend returns, sans trolley
The Spaghetti Warehouse seemed to be a goner when the roof collapsed at its 122-year-old Franklinton building in March 2022.
But the local favorite reopened in November, this time at Downtown with a back-door view of the John F. Wolfe Columbus Commons. (It’s a great place to view the lights down there.)
Photo Gallery: Fifteen-layer lasagna is BACK at the new Spaghetti Warehouse in downtown Columbus
Although Spaghetti Warehouse has tweaked the menu to “meet the discerning tastes of the contemporary Columbus diner,” as it website says, you can still get 15-layer lasagna, chicken parm and sourdough bread.
But they didn’t bring the trolley to the new restaurant location. Instead, there’s a seating area that’s trolley-ish, created as an architectural feature.
In case you’re not done shopping
Nearly two dozen new stores and restaurants have opened this year at the area’s two biggest shopping centers.
New Easton Town Center tenants include Buck Mason, Jo Malone, OGs Unlaced, Allbirds, Fount and hot dog restaurant Weenie Wonder.
New Polaris Fashion Place tenants include Pure Imagination Chocolatiers, Rod’s True Western, Collector Supreme, Dress Destination Bonjour Café and Chung Chun Rice Hot Dog.
In news about two of the area’s formerly biggest shopping centers, Westland Mall is nearly torn down to make way for something that has yet to be decided, and Eastland Mall is shuttered but still standing.
We’re No. 1! (No, not the Buckeyes)
Photo Gallery: Columbus Crew beat LAFC 2-1 to win MLS Cup championship
Two weeks after, well, we don’t need to rehash, the Columbus Crew won a national title for the city by defeating Los Angeles FC for the MLS Cup. It’s the crew’s third league championship in team history.
More: Oller: Columbus sports experienced little bit of everything in 2023, led by Crew MLS title
What? You’re wondering how the Blue Jackets are doing this season?
You haven’t missed much since you were here last year.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: what's been happening in Columbus
