Short North
Columbus at its loudest and best: lighted arches, galleries, patios and the city's densest run of hotel rooms on North High Street.
Lighted metal arches over North High Street in the Short North Arts District at night
Why people stay in Short North
The Short North is the mile of North High Street between the Convention Center and Fifth Avenue, roughly fifteen minutes east of Upper Arlington. It is named for the stretch of road that sat awkwardly north of downtown and south of campus, and it earned its reputation the hard way — galleries first in the 1980s, restaurants in the 2000s, then hotels, then the rent. Seventeen lighted metal arches span the street, a modern rebuild of the originals torn down in 1914. They are the reason every photograph of Columbus looks like this one street.
At nine on a Saturday the pavements between Goodale and Third Avenue are shoulder to shoulder. Patios at Standard Hall and the Pint House are full, there is a queue outside Jeni's at 714 North High that moves faster than it looks, and the galleries have already closed unless it is Hop night. By eleven the crowd changes from dinner to drinking and the noise moves outdoors. Last call is 2am and the walk home along High Street at 2.15am is loud, cheerful and heavily policed. Midweek in February, the same block is calm by ten.
This is where you stay if you want to arrive, park once and never touch the car again — the Convention Center is a five-minute walk, Nationwide Arena and Blue Jackets hockey about ten, and downtown offices fifteen. It is a poor choice if you are visiting Upper Arlington schools, parks or family and want a driveway; it is a poor choice with light sleepers; and it is genuinely expensive on Ohio State home-game weekends, when a $119 room becomes $320 and every garage charges a flat event rate.
Rates start around $119 on a January Monday at the mid-range flags and run $180 to $260 at weekends in spring and autumn. The Joseph at 620 North High is the design-led splurge; the Graduate at 750 North High is the campus-themed one; the big Hilton next to the Convention Center swallows conference crowds and quietly discounts when there is no show. Book the north end near Fifth Avenue if you want the address without the 1am shouting under your window.
The best trade-off is the stretch of High between Buttles and Third Avenue, or one street back on Park, Pearl or Wall — you are inside the district but not above a bar. South-end hotels near Goodale and the Convention Center suit anyone flying in for a conference and wanting an easy taxi. North-end rooms toward Fifth Avenue are the quietest and usually $15 to $30 cheaper. Expect $119 to $160 midweek, $190 to $260 at weekends, and $300-plus for football Saturdays, the Arnold Sports Festival in early March and big arena nights. Ask specifically for a room not facing High Street, and check whether parking is valet-only — several Short North hotels have no self-park option and charge $30 to $40 a night, which quietly undoes a cheap rate.
Things to do in Short North
From about 4pm to 10pm on the first Saturday of every month, galleries and shops between Goodale and Fifth Avenue open late, street performers set up under the arches and the whole mile turns into one slow-moving crowd. It is free, it has run since 1984, and it is the single best evening to be here.
Fifty-nine Spruce Street, a two-minute walk from the arches at Goodale. A working public market since 1876 — produce, butchers, Vietnamese, Somali, Polish and the original Jeni's counter. Most stalls trade roughly 10am to 6pm and it thins out fast at closing, so go for lunch, not dinner. Lunch runs $12 to $18.
Nationwide Arena sits at the south end, about a ten-minute walk from most Short North hotels down High and west on Nationwide Boulevard. NHL tickets start around $30 upper bowl on a weeknight. Arrive an hour early and eat in the Arena District rather than at the concessions.
Seventeen arches span High Street from Goodale up past Fifth, lit every night. Start at the Convention Center end for the best long view north. The whole stretch takes twenty-five minutes at a photographer's pace and it is the one thing every visitor should do on their first night.
Seven-fourteen North High Street. The flavours are odd and correct — brambleberry crisp, brown butter almond brittle — and a scoop runs about $6. The queue on a warm Friday looks appalling and clears in twelve minutes. There is a second, calmer counter inside North Market if you cannot face the pavement.
Nine-fifty-one North High Street, at the north end near Fifth. Order at the counter, take a number, expect a wait of twenty minutes at 11am on Sunday. The buckwheat pancakes and the veggie burger are what people come back for; two people with coffee land around $35.
What to see
Hotels near Short North
No hotels are listed in Short North yet. The nearest ones are on the region page.
Every hotel we cover in Short North
Getting around Short North
From the airport it is 15 minutes by car and around $25 to $32 by rideshare; there is no useful rail link, and the bus from the terminal is not worth the wait with bags. COTA Route 2 runs High Street every 10 to 15 minutes and reaches downtown in 5 to 8 minutes or Ohio State in about 10. Everything inside the district is walkable end to end in 25 minutes. Driving in is the hard part: meters cost roughly $1 an hour and are enforced until 10pm, side streets are permit-only, and garages off Vine, Goodale and Poplar run $10 to $20, more on event nights. Upper Arlington is 15 minutes west via Fifth Avenue or Lane Avenue.
Questions about Short North
The main High Street corridor is busy, lit and heavily patrolled until well after last call, and most visitors walk it without a thought. The side streets and alleys east of High get quiet quickly after midnight, and car break-ins in the garages are the most common real problem. Leave nothing visible in a parked car and stick to High for the walk home.
Use a garage and pay the $10 to $20 rather than circling. The Convention Center and Vine Street garages are the reliable ones; several Short North hotels are valet-only at $30 to $40 a night. Street meters are about $1 an hour and run until 10pm, and residential permit blocks behind High are ticketed aggressively, including on Sundays.
Around five miles, or 15 minutes by car down Fifth Avenue or Lane Avenue outside rush hour. There is no fast single bus between the two, so plan on driving or a $14 to $18 rideshare. Many people staying in Upper Arlington drive in for one Short North evening and park in a garage rather than moving hotels.
Ohio State home football Saturdays in September, October and November, the Arnold Sports Festival in early March, and any large convention week. Rates on those dates can be double a normal weekend and minimum-stay rules appear. A January or February midweek stay is the cheapest window, often $119 to $140 at hotels that ask $250 in October.
