The former site of the Franklin County Veterans Memorial that was once located on the west bank of the Scioto River, was removed to make room for the newly created Scioto Mile.
Veterans Memorial was a flexible meeting and event venue. The recently renovated building has long been a meeting building that offered an auditorium with almost 4,000 theater seats and over 110,000 square feet of exhibit space. The Memorial was located across the street is the new COSI pavilion.
Veterans Memorial was built in 1955 and has gone through numerous improvements and expansions. Over the years, Veterans Memorial hosted some of the biggest names in show business including Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Bette Midler, and Neil Diamond.
Artist rendering of the new Ohio Veterans Memorial and Museum (OVMM) building and lots of new buildings along West Broad Street that have yet to be built. the OVMM structure is set for completion in 2018.
According to developers of the new Scioto Mile, a new Veterans Memorial will be constructed on the old site. Instead of it being the Franklin County Veterans Memorial, it will now be called the Ohio Vetermans Memorial and Museum. The new structure will feature a 21st Century architectural style that will be surrounded by lots of greenspace that will be used for outdoor events and activities. The Museum and surrounding greenspace are scheduled to open in 2018.
When Arnold Swarzenegger proposed that Columbus host his new Arnold Sports Festival, Veterans Memorial attracted nationwide attention. Each year 1000s of fitness enthusiasts arrived in Columbus to view and take part in this annual sporting event held each year at Veterans Memorial. As of 2012 the event has expanded into the world's largest multi-sport fitness weekend since its 1989 beginning. In 2012 a life-like sculpture of Arnold Swarzenegger in a competitive pose from his bodybuilding days was installed at Veterans Memorial in honor of the world-famous body-builder. The sculpture which stands 6' tall and weighs in at 600 pounds is the same as the one placed at an Austrian museum dedicated to Scwarzenegger in 2011. The sculpture is based on a 22-inch prototype created in 1980 by Idaho artist Ralph Crawford that is also used as the trophy for the Arnold Classic.
With the removal of Veterans Memorial, the Swarzenegger sculpture was moved to the Convention Center on High Street and is now located on the west side of the building near the central entry.
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