Historically known as an artist'
s haven, Washington Beach is the north campus area of Columbus, Ohio. Once designated as SoHu (because the area lies south of
Hudson Avenue), the vast majority of Washington Beach real estate is comprised of rental property. The large student population in the area is generally less rowdy than what
may be found a little further south. Parking can at times be a pain, however the Beach does not require parking permits or meter maids. Famous for its crime as well as its artistic residents, Washington Beach has also been referred to as the Vertical Slum.
The origin of the Washington Beach moniker supposedly stems from the Grand Theft Auto video game. As
legend has it... in the spring of 2003, Mike Carney and his roomate were joking about north campus. They were playing Grand Theft Auto a lot and started calling the hood, Washington Beach. This title was intended to bring
pride to the citizens that live in north campus that have nothing to do with The Ohio State University, mostly
kids not in
school or attending CCAD.
Geographically speaking, the boundaries of Washington Beach are
Hudson Avenue to the north, Patterson to the south, Summit Street to the east, and High Street to the west.
Subsidaries of Washington Beach include Baja Clintonville, Washington Grove, Washington Heights, and Washington Flats.
Bands hailing from Washington Beach include 84 Nash,
Tree Of Snakes, The
Jive Turkeys, Times New
Viking, Necropolis, Night of Pleasure and (little) neon wilderness.
Famous sites within Washington Beach include The Dube, Bourbon Street, Taco Ninja, Inglesia de la
Playa, Columbus Discount Records and The Spot.
1. Rumour has it that the last two "Neighborhood" songs on Arcade Fire'
s "Funeral" are about Washington Beach.
2. If you walk around Washington Beach on a sunny day you can hear a band practice on every street corner, find enough furniture in the alleys for an Upper Arlington mansion, and see at least one local celebrity.
3. If Washington Beach were a foosball
player, he would dominate the tour unmercifully with a display of brutal offensive violations. He would spank his competition with geometrically calculated moves like the "Jahlalabad" (which involves banking the ball off your opponent'
s dome) and the crowd-pleasing closer the "Sodomizer".
4. I used to live in Washington Beach, but it wasn't a
cool neighborhood then, it was a bunch of
wack-ass
people. from the racist, drunk-ass, coked-up,
gun-stealing rednecks next
door to the makeshift orphanage on the corner, it was generally fuckin shitty.
