Upper Arlington, Ohio - Franklin County  Est. Population - 33,686+

UPPER ARLINGTON SCHOOLS

Upper Arlington School District contains five elementary, two middle and one high school. Upper Arlington High School offers an International Baccalaureate program, with its own distinctive diploma, that focuses on critical thinking, application of knowledge and an interdisciplinary approach with strong international focus. SAT scores of Upper Arlington students are in the top 2% of the nation, while approximately 95% of graduates go on to attend colleges and universities. Again Upper Arlington received an excellent desigation on their 2005-2006 district report card and achieved 106.4 out of 120 performance index points.

PARKS & RECREATION

The City of Upper Arlington features 33 parks covering 170 acres of land, ranging from active athletic fields to wooded natural areas, 4 outdoor pools including a newly opened pool/waterpark, rec buildings and a senior center. In addition, Parks & Rec offers numerous opportunities for all ages to participate in sports, learning, cultural activities and adventures in nature.   The department hosts various cultural events including art displays in the Municipal Services Center, which change on a consistent basis, as well as concerts with a diverse arrangement of music. Weekly activities include; Thursdays June-August, outdoor concerts are held in Upper Arlington's public spaces and on Friday evenings May-September, family movies at Thompson Park.   UPPER ARLINGTON GOLF COURSES: Ohio State University Golf Course, Raymond Memorial Golf Course, Scioto Country Club, Wilson Road Golf Course

COMMUNITY EVENTS & ATTRACTIONS

Upper Arlington has many holiday celebrations including; Father/Daughter & Mother/Son Valentine's Dinners, Easter Candy Hunt, July 4th parade and fireworks, Upper Arlington's Labor Day Art Festival, which features the works of 190 artists, an Arts Activities Area for all ages, two entertainment stages and delicious refreshments and with the Christmas season comes the lighting of the city tree. (This is one of my favorite Art Festivals in Central Ohio.) Petra   Activities centered around food and fun include the Upper Arlington Farmer's Market held on Wednesday evenings July-October culminating with the Harvest Festival in early August and the Taste of Upper Arlington, which showcases tasty specialties from area restaurants, displays from local businesses, musical entertainment and fun activities for kids.

BUSINESS

Upper Arlington has a small business community that ranges from a major corporation, CompuServe Inc., to many home based businesses. Upper Arlington is the ideal place to foster new business. The City's aggressive economic development plan includes the establishment of a venture fund designed to assist businesses in locating in Upper Arlington. Additionally, the City is currently working hand-in-hand with business and community leaders to Renew The Vision for our future by updating the City's Master Plan.

UPPER ARLINGTON OHIO HISTORY

The founders of Upper Arlington were King and Ben Thompson, who purchased the original 840 acres of land in 1913. They envisioned an idealistic residential community for Columbus-choosing a location of rolling, partly wooded land. By 1917 the area became known as Upper Arlington. The present village of Marble Cliff, located south of Upper Arlington, was named Arlington during that time, and led to this logical term which gained popularity. In 1918, Upper Arlington became incorporated with a population of 20. The Pitkin Plan, spearheaded by a prominent architect of the same name, encouraged the growth of Upper Arlington to develop differently from the rigid geometrical designs of Columbus. The acreage was divided into lots that stretched along curving streets, with an abundance of trees planted, giving Old Arlington its distinct appearance of today. These original 840 acres encompass the Upper Arlington Historic District. By 1939, the population had reached 3,059, at which time growth was temporarily halted by events of World War II. At the end of the war, returning servicemen and their families flocked to suburban areas and, by 1950, Upper Arlington had over 9,000 residents. Steady growth over the ensuing decades raised the population to over 38,000 by 1970, the City’s peak. As the population grew, Upper Arlington was enlarged, annexing land to the north and reaching today’s current boundaries 9.67 square miles. The village became the City of Upper Arlington in 1941 and was chartered in 1956 with a council-manager government system. Upper Arlington has, from its earliest days, been blessed by people who care about the community and in recognition of this, the Ohio Magazine in 1996 designated Upper Arlington as "Central Ohio's Premier Community." Despite the greatly expanded population, neighborhoods band together for many causes-from 4th of July parades, to Labor Day Festival and the Tour of Historic Homes.