Avenue of the Columns

The Avenue of the Columns, also known as 8th street, is an urban street in downtown Columbia, Missouri.^[1] It connects the University of Missouri and Francis Quadrangle to the Boone County Court House and the Columbia City Hall. The avenue has long symbolized "town and gown" in this Midwestern college town. Sitting in the center of Francis Quad on the south are the 6 ionic columns of the former Academic Hall, aligned with these on the north are the 4 doric columns of the former Boone County Courthouse.^[2] William Jewell, the first mayor of Columbia, is said to be responsible for this decision.^[3] The domed Jesse Hall and its corinthian columns are also in the alignment. The street is also home to the Tiger Hotel, the Guitar Building, and the offices of the Columbia Missourian. Civic planning efforts have focused on in-fill development and beautification.^[4] In 2014, it became the center of a controversy over the decision to build single-use student housing despite mixed-use and ground floor retail being the focus of community planning.^[5] In 5 blocks, the street crosses three National Register of Historic Places districts.

Gallery

Jesse Hall and the columns on Francis Quadrangle
Columbia City Hall
Tiger Hotel
Boone County Courthouse
Jesse Hall seen from the Avenue of the Columns

References

External links

Downtown Neighborhood page

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, May 15, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.