STATEHOUSE NEWS

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In honor of the life, service, and contributions of Annie Glenn, the flags of the United States and the State of Ohio shall be flown at half-staff upon all public buildings and grounds throughout the State of Ohio until sunset on the day of her memorial service. [updated 5-19-2020 to include the State of Ohio]

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In honor of the life and service of former Pickaway County Sheriff Dwight Radcliff, the flags shall be flown at half-staff at the Ohio Statehouse, Vern Riffe Center, and Rhodes Tower from sunrise until sunset on Wednesday, May 13, 2020.

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In honor of the lives of those killed and injured and those whose lives were forever altered by the tragedy of May 4, 1970, at Kent State University, the flags of the United States and the State of Ohio shall be flown at half-staff upon all state-owned buildings throughout the state and at the Ohio Statehouse, Vern Riffe Center, and Rhodes Tower, at 12:24 p.m. until sunset.

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For Immediate Release:
April 13, 2020

The Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board postpones April Board Meeting

(COLUMBUS, OH) — Members of the Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board (CSRAB) will not meet Thursday, April 16, 2020 at the Ohio Statehouse in downtown Columbus. The business meeting has been postponed and will be rescheduled at a later date.

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In honor of the life and services of Ohio State Representative Don Manning and Springdale Police Officer Kaia Grant, the flags of the United States & the State of Ohio shall be flown at half-staff upon all public buildings and grounds throughout Mahoning County, Hamilton County and at the Ohio Statehouse, Vern Riffe Center, & Rhodes Tower until sunset on Sunday, March 29, 2020.

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The Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board (CSRAB) will begin Phase 3 of the Ohio Statehouse parking garage repair project Monday, March 30, 2020.

The Ohio Statehouse Garage is a three level parking structure built in 1964. The last restoration project was completed in 1993 during the Statehouse renovations. The parking garage is U-shaped with seven stair towers and four elevators located throughout.

The garage services both daily and monthly parking customers, accommodating approximately 1,200 vehicles daily.

During Phase 3 of the repairs, the garage will remain in service, however at a reduced capacity. Approximately 25% or 300 spaces will be under construction throughout the entire project. The reserved spaces will be moved in this phase. The area for charging electric vehicles is included, so the charging stations will not be available during Phase 3.

During construction, traffic flow will be maintained, and access to each level will be provided. Vehicles MUST use the Broad Street entrance on the north side of the garage. The Third and State Street driving entrances will be closed.

Driving exits will be open from the garage to Broad Street, Third Street and State Street. When one of the State Street exits is under repair, the other exit will be open to traffic. Signage will notify drivers either to exit west or to exit east onto State Street.

All stairs and elevators will be open. The stairway near the tunnel to the Huntington Building will be under renovation for a brief time.

The walking entrance to the Rhodes Tower is open to those with security badges. Please, no pedestrian traffic on the ramps. This is especially dangerous during construction. Please use caution when driving or walking in the garage.

Many variables can affect the timing of a construction project. A map is attached, and updates about the Ohio Statehouse parking garage repair project can be found at http://www.ohiostatehouse.org/announcements.

Please, contact Mike Rupert at mrupert@ohiostatehouse.org or 614-728-4185 for project specific questions.


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With the increased attention being placed on public health recently, the Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board (CSRAB) has decided to suspend all guided tours from March 11 through March 25, 2020. UPDATE: Guided tours are suspended until further notice.

Self-guided tours and cell phone tours are still available to the general public. Descriptions of the rooms and monuments on Capitol Square are also available in audio recordings. Paper brochures describing the rooms and artworks in the Ohio Statehouse and on Capitol Square are provided in the Map Room for those who are interested.

CSRAB continues to monitor the coronavirus situation, and will coordinate with the Ohio Department of Health, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the office of Governor DeWine. More information about the coronavirus situation is available on the Ohio Department of Health website at https://odh.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/odh/know-our-programs/Novel-Coronavirus/welcome/.

For questions about CSRAB tours scheduled to resume on March 25, please contact Katie Montgomery, Educational Services and Museum Collections Manager, at 614-728-3726. UPDATE: Guided tours are suspended until further notice.

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(Columbus, OH)—The Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board (CSRAB) will celebrate Black History Month throughout February with a free historical performance each Tuesday at noon.

Living history performances will be presented each Tuesday at noon throughout February in the Atrium of the Ohio Statehouse. Visitors will meet first-person interpreters who portray prominent African Americans in U.S. history. Each 45-minute vignette will focus on African-American history as part of Black History Month at the Ohio Statehouse. There will be a short question and answer session following each performance.

The programs are presented by “We’ve Known Rivers,” which is a partnership of dynamic storytellers with a passion for history and education. The programs are free and open to the public. Click here for more information about We’ve Known Rivers. If you or your organization would like to schedule a group to attend a performance, please contact Katie Montgomery at 614-728-3726 or kmontgomery@ohiostatehouse.org.

Scheduled living history performances include:

Feb. 4- “John Randolph’s Freed People: You Can Hear Me Now” by Paisha Thomas
Music and stories are on the path to freedom for these families.
Feb. 11- “The Henry Box Brown Show” by Rory Rennick
The enslaved Henry Brown mailed himself to freedom, and became a magician.
Feb. 18- “Of Memory and History: An Affrilachian Storyteller Speaks” by Lynette Ford
Humor and heart are in stories rooted in her family's storytelling traditions.
Feb. 25- “Courage in the Skies: The Story of the Tuskegee Airmen” by Anthony Gibbs
The first African-American military pilots served in World War II, and were later stationed near Columbus, Ohio.


Watch past living history presentations here.

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