THE CAP

[urbanenthusiast]

Can anyone tell me why The Cap coloration is so dull and drab? This is the GATE to the SHORT NORTH! I realize that the idea was to resemble the original structure, but it does not! The original structure was not DULL and COLORLESS. Look at all of the wonderful detail on the edifice and imagine COLOR. In addition, do we really need PLASTIC PLANTS showcasing this? SO OHIO.

[drew]

OMG!

Less than judicious use of all caps aside, I kinda agree with you. Driving under the cap on 670 west, it occurred to me that the part of the cap that faces the highway amounts to a tremendous missed opportunity (though it may be that ODOT wouldn’t allow anything more eye-catching).

Of course, you’re talking about the High street side of the cap. It’s bland, too. It doesn’t generate the same extremes of passionate opinion in me as it does to you, but your point is well taken – the paint scheme is dull, and when you have so much defining surface detail on the architecture it seems strange to not highlight it with contrasting tones.

[Jason Powell]

Personally, I think there are many, many other projects around urban Columbus that deserve criticism other than “the cap”. This was a groundbreaking development in its time and many cities have studied it and emulated it in one way or another over their own highways. As for the detail, I think it is more than adequate. Adding any more detail may have been cost prohibitive since this wasn’t the cheapest project to begin with given its size and target retail market. The columns are not solid stone but that was because of the weight and additional cost issue. I’m pretty sure ODOT had something to say about how the backs of the buildings were to look from the highways. I would like to see murals within those “frames” but wrecks may occur while viewing them. I will agree though about the plastic flowers on the roof. They are hideous. Real flowers would make a world of difference.

[Josh Miller]

It was designed with some intent to pay homage to the old Union Station arcade that fronted High Street, which was clad in a singular color and type of stone, that would be my guess as to why it looks the way it does. The nice thing about stone is that it can weather and become a little more unique (the arch in the Arena District was part of the old station for a point of reference) compared to the material that is used on the Cap; stucco maybe?

[JAL]

Information concerning the CAP including why the buildings facing the highway are plain of design and information on the actual design of building.
If you want color, maybe they can use any left over paint from the Convention Center and paint it pastel pink, green, blue, and purple. lol
——–
As a part of the easement agreement, the city also had to agree not to infringe on ODOT’s ability to operate the interstate. For instance, ODOT can close down and evacuate the Cap in case of emergencies. It also placed several design constraints on the Cap: no windows were permitted on the back of the buildings, no access to the roof or back of the buildings was allowed, and lighted signs or advertisements visible to highway drivers were forbidden.
Since the bridges on which the Cap is built are not engineered to the same load specifications as a road bridge, the materials used on the project had to be chosen with weight in mind.
The architect designed the Cap using exterior materials that pay homage to Burnham’s original Union Depot design. The main skin of the building is fiberglass-reinforced plastic, which was made using custom moulds that were intended to be reminiscent of Union Depot’s terra-cotta facade.

[mbeaumont]

I agree with the OP for the most part. I was surprised when the Cap was finished. I thought there was still some kind of exterior treatment that was going to occur. The plastic plants up top are also tacky.

I am however, a huge fan of the Cap itself, and as others have stated it was an innovative, brilliantly conceived project.

That all being said, by far my biggest issue with the Cap is that it was never really finished! If you look at the original designs, there were to be two statues up top, welcoming visitors to the Short North:

The fact that these never made it to the final structure is dissapointing, but the thing that really irks me is that their bases are present as well as their lights! There are literally lights on top of the Cap shining at what should be these statues.

About a year ago, I had an idea to get in touch with the architect, find out what happened, and do a Kickstarter to raise the money to create the statues and have them installed. But I’m lazy and never did…

Anyway, long live the statue-less Cap!

[drew]

There’s no doubt that the cap is an exceptional development and a big good idea overall. That said, I don’t think that slavish recreation of the look of the Union Depot architecture should come before making something OK looking into something great looking… especially since fiberglass will never have anything close to the character of the original Union Depot materials.

[Walker Evans]

mbeaumont wrote:

About a year ago, I had an idea to get in touch with the architect, find out what happened, and do a Kickstarter to raise the money to create the statues and have them installed. But I’m lazy and never did…

Let’s do it! Let me know when you want to schedule a meeting with Meleca and I’m happy to help set it up. ;)

[mbeaumont]

Walker, I’ll send you some dates and times! Thanks!

[MichaelC]

I love this website.

Good luck, Mbeaumont and Walker.

The Cap, to me, is an example of a terrifically functional and beneficial project that, aesthetically, isn’t on the same level. I’d suggest there may be opportunities to continue improving the aesthetic beyond the addition of the statutes, but those would certainly be a great step in that direction.

[mbeaumont]

MichaelC wrote:

I love this website.
Good luck, Mbeaumont and Walker.

Thanks! We have a meeting set up for early Sept. We’ll let everyone know how it goes. Exciting! Thanks, Walker for setting it up!

[Walker Evans]

Just wanted to bump this back up and provide a quick update:

Mike and I have been busy in our spare time since July with nearly a half-dozen individual meetings with the Cap’s architect David Meleca, the Cap’s owner/manager Jack Lucks with Continental Realty, Ruby Harper (Director of Grants at GCAC) and as of yesterday, the Short North Alliance and their public art subcommittee. And there’s still a few more folks that are on the short-list to meet with soon. ;)

While everything is still very preliminary, there have been no significant challenges raised, and everyone is very positive about the project. Of course, there’s a lot of big questions still to answer about the design, the process, the funding, installation, etc, but everyone has been eager to get involved in very specific ways that could very likely make this project a reality.

We’ll keep everyone updated with new news when there is more to share. Just wanted to provide some basics to let everyone know that this is still moving forward in a positive way with exploration and research. ;)

Stay tuned!

[OneBagTravel]

w00t, keep up the good work. can one of the statues be a Big Boy????

[King Gambrinus]

Wow that’s some really awesome grassroots stuff! I am curious why those statues were left off, any insights?

My only pet peeve with the cap is the plastic plants. I get that it’s impractical to maintain live plants that would be elevated like that, but can we at least swap them out. They’re getting a little bluish as they fade.

[JMan]

Keep up the good work!

[Author]

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