Columbus, Ohio: Topiary French People

One of the top 5 attractions on this app. The gift shop is open April through November.

Located on the original site of the Ohio School for the Deaf, now a quiet downtown park. The land was given to the city once the remains of the huge old brick building burned in 1981.

The topiaries were created to honor the 1992 Quincentenary celebration of Columbus. Many of the plantings are fully grown, while others are still in their development stage. There are nearly two dozen individual pieces, including French People, dogs, a monkey, and a cat.

The Gatehouse at the south entrance to the park has public restrooms, a small gift shop, and cool exhibits showing the old school and the development of the topiaries.

There are several quirky things to see in Columbus, and the topiary park was a nice, green diversion. As we'd been traveling for several hours by the time we got here, the park was a really lovely way to stretch our legs and such a creative way to express a much-known painting. We're from Chicago, so our kids have grown up with the original Seurat painting on which this park is based. It was neat to see it in a different form and to be able to walk among the characters we've always only seen in 2D.