Grandview Heights in Franklin County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

The Bank Block

Grandview Heights Shopping Center, 1927

Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., October 21, 2008

1. The Bank Block Marker

Inscription. Built by pioneering retail developer Don Monroe Casto Sr., the Bank Block was dedicated in 1928. Considered one of the earliest regional shopping centers in the United States, it innovatively featured 350 free parking spaces-complete with uniformed attendant-to accommodate the rapidly growing numbers of automobile-owning suburbanites. The Bank Block's first tenants included several competing national grocers (Kroger, A&P, and Piggly Wiggly), the First Citizens Trust (later Ohio National Bank), a stationer, barber shop, and pharmacy. It remains the nucleus of Grandview's commercial district. Casto, once described as "the man who changed the shopping habits of the free world," also built the Town and Country Shopping Center in Whitehall and was a dominant figure in retail commercial development in the Midwest for much of the 20th century.

Erected 2000 by Ohio Bicentennial Commission, The Longaberger Company, The Grandview Heights-Marble Cliff Historical Society, and The Ohio Historical Society. (Marker Number 34-25.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Industry & Commerce. In addition, it is included in the Ohio Historical Society / The Ohio History Connection series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1928.

Location. 39° 59.026′

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N, 83° 2.697′ W. Marker is in Grandview Heights, Ohio, in Franklin County. Marker is on Grandview Avenue, 0 miles north of 2nd Avenue, on the left when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1289 Grandview Avenue, Columbus OH 43212, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. The Upper Arlington Historic District (approx. 1.2 miles away); The King Avenue Bridge (approx. 1.2 miles away); First Modern Streamflow Measurement in Ohio (approx. 1.2 miles away); The Underground Railroad on University Land (approx. 1½ miles away); NECKO Neighborhood / E. J. McMillen Homestead Addition (approx. 1½ miles away); Iskcon Krishna House (approx. 1.6 miles away); a different marker also named The Underground Railroad on University Land (approx. 1.7 miles away); Stadium Scholarship Dormitory (approx. 1.8 miles away).

The Bank Block Marker Along Grandview Avenue image. Click for full size.

Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., October 21, 2008

2. The Bank Block Marker Along Grandview Avenue

Near Stauf's Coffee Roasters Cafe, looking north.

Credits. This page was last revised on January 26, 2023. It was originally submitted on October 21, 2008, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania. This page has been viewed 962 times since then and 42 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on October 21, 2008, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania. • Kevin W. was the editor who published this page.