COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio may be the “Heart of it All.” But, Central Ohio might as well be called the home of all things large.
Here’s a quick rundown of some of the “world’s largest” one can see in Central Ohio:
- World’s Largest Gavel: Located along Front Street in downtown Columbus, this large gavel was built in honor of the Ohio Supreme Court.
- World’s Largest Field of Concrete Corn: On a small plot of land tucked in between office complexes in Dublin, “Field of Corn (with Osage Orange),” better known as Cornhenge, features 109 six-foot-tall concrete ears of corn. The symmetric rows of corn were erected as a public art exhibit and tribute to the corn that once grew here. Sam Frantz, a pioneer of hybrid corn and his wife, Eulalia, previously owned the land and grew corn here.
- World’s Largest Basket: Basket maker Longaberger built a basket-shaped building along Ohio Highway 16 in Newark for its headquarters, which it occupied starting in 1997.
- World’s Largest Mortarboard: Franklin University commissioned this piece for its 100th anniversary. Dedicated in December 2002, the mortarboard, designed by artist Todd Savage, hangs above Rich Street in Columbus.
- World’s Largest Apple Basket: In Frazeysburg, Longaberger built this large fruit basket at its so-called homestead. In addition to the over-sized apple basket, visitors can also tour the factory and see where the world-famous baskets are made.
- World’s Largest (or perhaps Most Accurate) Replica of the Santa Maria: The Santa Maria replica in Columbus is a full-size replica of Christopher Columbus’ ship. Built for the 500th anniversary of Columbus’ journey, the ship is 98 feet long and 89 feet tall and is the most-authentic replica of the Santa Maria.
