PVMCC Exec Summary Vision Study

POINDEXTER VILLAGE MUSEUM & CULTURAL CENTER

MUSEUM EXPERIENCE & CAMPUS VISIONING STUDY EXECUTIVE SUMMARY NOVEMBER 10, 2023 Prepared For: Ohio History Connection

Prepared By: REALM Collaborative

MT. VERNON AVENUE PARADE, COLUMBUS, OH - 1949 | M. RICHARDSON

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CLIENT TEAM JPPF BOARD MEMBERS Shelbi Toone Project Manager STEERING COMMITTEE

Mike Roberts Chair

Dr. Charles Wash Director NAAMCC

Elanor Grey Treasurer

Jennifer Aultman Director Historic Sites

Bettye Stull Program Chair

Fred Smith Operations & Planning

Patsey Ulmer Vice Chair

Sara Vandenbark Lead Architect

Reita Smith Historian

PROJECT TEAM

Sandra Jamison Secretary

CONTENTS

Stan Lee Culbreth Member

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Tom Dillard Member

INTRODUCTION

Carmine Russo Jr. Co-Founder & Principal

Maurice Alfred Member

Brian Bernstein Co-Founder & Principal

Nicole Sutton Member

Marissa Kirkendall Designer

Alice Poindexter Member

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Rachel Sheets Designer

Jimmi Love Member

MUSEUM CAMPUS VISION

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY rnon nt Ve THE VISION u o M

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Winner Avenue

Enhance the Experience at Poindexter Village Museum & Cultural Center as a National Heritage Site with a Connection to its Historic Neighborhood.

In continuation of Ohio History Connection’s past studies and recent political partnerships, the focus of this vision plan is to bring a greater sense of identity to the Poindexter Village Museum and Cultural Center by creating a public realm experience that adds value and vibrancy to not only the King-Lincoln / Bronzeville neighborhood, but elevates its brand both regionally and nationally. Beyond the Poindexter Village Museum site, the King-Lincoln / Bronzeville neighborhood holds extensive African-American stories and history as it was already a thriving Black community before the Poindexter Village Affordable Housing project was built. This vision package lays the initial groundwork and begins to build consensus around creating a campus plan for the two remaining Poindexter Village buildings with the addition of Union Grove Baptist Church and connecting significant historical sites around the neighborhood.

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Granville Street

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N Champion Avenue

LEGEND:

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H D

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Phale D. Hale Drive

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POINDEXTER VILLAGE BUILDINGS

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UNION GROVE BAPTIST CHURCH

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NORTH SIDE ENTRY CONNECTION

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SOUTH SIDE ATRIUM CONNECTION

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GATHERING COURTYARD

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CHAMPION AVENUE PORCHES

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ENTRY PLAZA & PARK

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SHORT-TERM PARKING / DROP-OFF

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LONG-TERM PARKING

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GRANVILLE STREET / ALLEY

POINDEXTER VILLAGE MUSEUM & CULTURAL CENTER | EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

DISCOVERY & OUTCOME

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HISTORIC HISTORIC POINDEXTER HISTORIC POINDEXTER POINDEXTER VILLAGE BUILDINGS BUILDINGS VILLAGEVILLAGE BUILDINGS

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UNION GROVE UNION GROVE UNION GROVE BAPTISTBAPTIST CHURCH BAPTIST CHURCHCHURCH

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HERITAGE HERITAGE HERITAGE TRAIL TRAIL TRAIL

A Hub of African American Culture The original Poindexter Village Buildings, Union Grove Baptist Church and the King-Lincoln / Bronzeville neighborhood are full of rich African-American history. The proposed ‘Cultural Center’ is not necessarily a building within the Poindexter Village Museum and Cultural Center campus alone, but will act as a ‘Hub’ that encapsulates all of the historical data, artifacts and stories of the neighborhood and serve as a beacon to convene people into the future to tackle the issues of the modern day.

POINDEXTER VILLAGE MUSEUM & CULTURAL CENTER | EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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MUSEUM CAMPUS VISION OPPORTUNITY PROJECTS

Prioritizing the Findings of the Visioning Study Poindexter Village Museum & Cultural Center will serve as a place for unlocking the rich African-American story of the great State of Ohio by highlighting this historic community and its significance to the national Public Housing story and its influence on Black history dating back to the early 1800’s.

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This Visioning Study has helped to identify priorities for the Poindexter Village Museum & Cultural Center project as we envision the future of African-American history and culture locally, regionally and nationally. In consideration of existing investments and potential future project pursuits, we have outlined opportunity projects summarized during the visioning sessions for further consideration to determine their feasibility and their potential as desired program elements.

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LEGEND A

POINDEXTER VILLAGE BUILDINGS

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UNION GROVE BAPTIST CHURCH

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NORTH SIDE ENTRY CONNECTION

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SOUTH SIDE ATRIUM CONNECTION

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GATHERING COURTYARD

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CHAMPION AVENUE PORCHES

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ENTRY PLAZA & PARK

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SHORT-TERM PARKING / DROP-OFF

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LONG-TERM PARKING

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GRANVILLE STREET / ALLEY

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E B

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POINDEXTER VILLAGE MUSEUM & CULTURAL CENTER | EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

non t Ver

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Mou

ue Aven

Winner Avenue

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Granville Street

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N Champion Avenue

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G A

A E

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Phale D. Hale Drive

POINDEXTER VILLAGE MUSEUM & CULTURAL CENTER | EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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EXISTING CONDITIONS A

POINDEXTER VILLAGE BUILDINGS

The Ohio History Connection (OHC) and James Preston Poindexter Foundation (JPPF) have partnered to make the remaining two Poindexter Village buildings Central Ohio’s First African-American Museum and Cultural Center. It is located in Columbus’s east side at 290 N. Champion Avenue. Recent updates to the two historic buildings include removing the storage units in the courtyard area to restore the buildings to their original design.

Existing Images

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HISTORIC POINDEXTER VILLAGE BUILDINGS

UNION GROVE BAPTIST CHURCH

HERITAGE TRAIL POINDEXTER VILLAGE MUSEUM & CULTURAL CENTER | EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

B

UNION GROVE BAPTIST CHURCH

Union Grove Baptist Church was organized in a log cabin on Mount Vernon Avenue (between North Champion and Winner Avenue) in the spring of 1888. When the little log cabin became too small to accommodate the members a new site was purchased at 218 North Champion Avenue and on July 21st, 1889, the cornerstone was laid. The membership continued to grow and the congregation marched into the new edifice in June 1922. Founding Fathers of this church are Reverends Poindexter, Nash, Meredith and Metcalf.

Existing Images

Next Steps...

Add Union Grove Baptist Church to the campus and to the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS). Ohio History Connection (OHC) will propose an MOU agreement to Union Grove Baptist Church that solidifies and establishes a managing partnership effort to include the church in the operations of the museum. Union Grove Church will include extended property in that agreement to resolve land locked parking and open up opportunities to extend the campus experience.

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UNION GROVE BAPTIST CHURCH

HERITAGE TRAIL POINDEXTER VILLAGE MUSEUM & CULTURAL CENTER | EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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OPPORTUNITY PROJECTS C

NORTH SIDE ENTRY CONNECTION

It was expressed that the space between the two Historic Poindexter Buildings be connected, while having the original facades of the buildings still be visible to visitors. Referenced arts and cultural museums have achieved this outcome in a variety of ways with modern additions providing new entry experiences.

This space could serve as the “front door” into the Museum and Cultural Center due to the future move of using Union Grove Baptist Church’s property to the east as the main parking facility and holding programs such as: Tickets, Gift Shop and Restrooms Precedent Images

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Existing Conditions

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POINDEXTER VILLAGE MUSEUM & CULTURAL CENTER | EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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SOUTH SIDE ATRIUM CONNECTION

This building addition could act as a means to connect the historic Poindexter Village Buildings to Union Grove Baptist Church once an agreement or partnership has been reached at a later time or phase of the project. It is desired to retain the original facades of these portions of the buildings through an atrium connection that could house other modern programming spaces for the community such as: Performing Arts Spaces, Interactive Exhibit Space, Conference Rooms, Offices and a Cafè Restaurant.

Precedent Images

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Existing Conditions

POINDEXTER VILLAGE MUSEUM & CULTURAL CENTER | EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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OPPORTUNITY PROJECTS E

GATHERING COURTYARD

Poindexter Village was designed to have courtyard spaces shared by all the families between the rows of brick townhomes and the desire to keep this space as a place for people to convene and gather was expressed during the engagement sessions. The courtyard is shown open to the sky, not covered, as a viable first phase option with the ability to serve as spill-out space for events with lush vegetative gardens and a central water feature.

Precedent Images

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Existing Conditions

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POINDEXTER VILLAGE MUSEUM & CULTURAL CENTER | EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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CHAMPION AVENUE PORCHES

The Champion Avenue front porches were the places that parents sat to watch their children play or to socialize with their neighbors. It is imagined that these scenes from the past could be re-enacted with bronze life-size sculptures taken from historic images depicting well-known daily activities. For example, it was of interest to re-create a communal water fountain where children historically quenched their thirst in the front yard to serve as a photo opportunity for museum visitors.

Precedent Images

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Existing Conditions

POINDEXTER VILLAGE MUSEUM & CULTURAL CENTER | EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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OPPORTUNITY PROJECTS G

ENTRY PLAZA & PARK

The Entry Park respects a historic tree in the community that is often referred to as the “Legacy Tree” symbolizing the “Roots of the Community.” The park would serve as a gateway to the entrance of the Museum and Cultural Center and celebrate the tree’s significance with the placement of additional campus elements such as: A James Poindexter Sculpture, Museum Signage, and Pedestrian Seating Areas

Precedent Images

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Existing Conditions

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POINDEXTER VILLAGE MUSEUM & CULTURAL CENTER | EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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SHORT-TERM PARKING / DROP-OFF

The short-term parking and drop-off area would be designed as an auto court with close-proximity options for handicapped visitors and bus drop-offs. This area would also be shared with Union Grove Baptist Church for church-goers on Sundays, deliveries and other agreed upon uses. Bus and shuttle groups could initiate here that would extend your museum experience to the community through the Heritage Trail tour.

Precedent Images

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Existing Conditions

POINDEXTER VILLAGE MUSEUM & CULTURAL CENTER | EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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OPPORTUNITY PROJECTS I

LONG-TERM PARKING

The long-term parking opportunity will come with an agreement or partnership with Union Grove Baptist Church, the owner of the property. This space is about 725 feet from the Poindexter Museum and Cultural Center (less than a typical 5-minute walk).

Shuttle service could be provided from the parking lot to the front door of the Museum and Cultural Center. Tree lined parking bays and wide vegetated islands would provide for shade and a pleasurable campus parking experience.

Precedent Images I

Existing Conditions

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POINDEXTER VILLAGE MUSEUM & CULTURAL CENTER | EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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GRANVILLE STREET / ALLEY

Granville Street will be an important connector between the potential future long-term parking area to the east and Poindexter Village Museum and Cultural Center. It was expressed that this street could be restored to brick cobbles (similar to nearby Winner Avenue) and act as an intuitive wayfinding strategy guiding visitors towards the museum, while calming traffic to make the street more pedestrian friendly.

Precedent Images

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Existing Conditions

POINDEXTER VILLAGE MUSEUM & CULTURAL CENTER | EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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Public Realm Designer

Client

100 east broad street, suite 1710 columbus, ohio 43215 614.670.7390

800 east 17th avenue columbus, ohio 43211 614.297.2300

www.realmcollaborative.com

www.ohiohistory.org