Museum of Ornithology
| Type | Exhibition Animals |
|---|---|
| Park Section | South |
| Built | 1896 (exhibit) 1903 (building) |
| Opened | 1903 |
| Closed | 1908 |
| Length | 70 feet (21.3 meters) |
| Width | 30 feet (9.1 meters) |
The Museum of Ornithology, sometimes stylized as Ornithology Museum, was built in 1903 at Olentangy Park and featured over 3,000 specimens of rare birds and animals.
Naturalist and taxidermist Oliver Davie added an extensive collection of 200 mounted birds and animals indigenous to Ohio to a building located at Minerva Park. Each specimen was marked with a number and both its scientific and common name. While at Minerva Park, a new display was added nearly every week, making it the best in the state at the time. When the park closed in 1903, over 1,500 specimens of the 3,000 were brought from Minerva Park to Olentangy Park.[1], built as part of the new Zoo.[2][3][4]
Located on the plateau,[5] the Olentangy Park building was 30 by 70 feet9.1 by 21.3 meters.[6] An aquarium was built in the center of the building - the first of its kind in Columbus.[7] Admission was free.[6]
The exhibit was no longer listed as an attraction after the 1908 season, but the building appears as "Ornithology Museum" on a 1924 park map.[5]
In 1914, the mounted bird display was purchased by the Audubon Society and was installed in the Sullivant School.[8]
See Also
References
- ↑ "Olentangy Park." Sunday Columbus Dispatch. May 3, 1903. Pages 8-9.
- ↑ "85-25 Minerva Amusement Park / The Green Line." Remarkable Ohio. Part of the Ohio History Connection. Retrieved Dec. 9, 2025.
- ↑ "The Minerva Park Time Capsule." The Villager. March 1993. Page 2. Published by the Minerva Park Community Association. An Excerpt from "History of Minerva Park, USA" Published in March, 1976.
- ↑ Stuart, Robert. "Minerva Park: Did You Know?: The Museum of Ornithology." The Villager. March 1997. Page 3. Published by the Minerva Park Community Association.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 The Olentangy Amusement Co. General Map. 1924.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Columbus Railway & Light Co." The Street Railway Review. Feb. 15, 1906. Vol. 16. Issue 2. Page 70. Accessed through the Internet Archive.
- ↑ "Birds and Fish." Saturday Columbus Dispatch. Feb. 28, 1903. Page 11.
- ↑ "Bird Lovers Will Meet." Ohio State Lantern (Columbus, Ohio). Oct. 1, 1914. Page 3.