The Building The Cultural Arts Center programs are housed in a renovated building that connects us to the earliest plans and places in our community's history. In 1812, the high east bank of the Scioto River was designated as the capitol of the new State of Ohio. In 1814, Columbus' first penitentiary was built on this plot of land only to be razed in the 1850's when The Ohio State Penitentiary was built at the corners of Spring and Neil Streets. In 1861, this building, one of the first Ohio State Arsenals, designed specifically for the storage of arms, was completed at a cost of $14,000. It continued to operate as the Ohio State Arsenal until the mid 1970's. In 1973, Melvin B. Dodge, then Director of the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department, toured the Arsenal and saw a unique possibility and then set into motion his creative idea and vision. At the time, the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department's very popular adult art center was housed in a restored firehouse on Oak Street. The community glowed with praise for the artists and professional atmosphere that had emerged serendipitously in the proximity of our local art college. The firehouse was operating above capacity, serving hundreds of adults in various art classes each year. By 1975, Governor James A. Rhodes instructed the National Guard and the State of Ohio to work out a 99-year lease arrangement with the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department. The City of Columbus raised $250,000 to secure the development of the Center, and then Mayor Tom Moody signed a 99-year lease agreement for the sum of $1.00 per year. In 1976, Schooley-Cornelius Associates were chosen as architects from a field of eleven area architectural proposals. On December 24, 1976, the United States Department of Commerce for Economic Development Administration awarded a grant of $1,371,733.00 for Phase II of the renovation, and contract for the work was awarded to the Altman-Coady Company. The Ohio State Arsenal was officially dedicated as the Columbus Cultural Arts Center on Monday, June 11, 1978. However, saving and transforming this beautiful, historic building is only part of the story. The People The above-mentioned adult art center on Oak Street is where the rest of the story begins.the human side.the side that makes us truly unique. In 1950, Dora Rosenfield was hired as a full-time employee of the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department. In 1962, she became director of the arts center. She then began recruiting a staff of professional artists that would attract and collectively create the ambiance that still animates the core idea of a center for making art, directed at adult audiences, and promote the highest standards of expression. The staff was composed of working artists who were committed to their own studio practices and came to their teaching from this perspective. The teaching philosophy is workshop-based and represents a long tradition of hands-on studio experience. Current staff members include both full and contract instructors. Our facility brings diverse talents and expertise from similar backgrounds of focus and commitment to the visual arts. Being artists first and last, they dedicate their time and talent to our students.