The Columbus Downtown Commission on Tuesday unanimously pulled the plug on the Center for Christian Virtue’s bid to crown its Capitol Square office with three rooftop crosses. The Christian policy group had asked to mount one 16-foot aluminum cross and two 12-foot aluminum crosses atop its Broad Street building across from the Ohio Statehouse, but with six commission members present, the vote shut down the plan for now and left the Capitol Square skyline looking exactly the same.
According to The Columbus Dispatch, the commission reviewed an application that detailed the three aluminum crosses and included drawings of where they would sit at 62 E. Broad St., directly opposite the Statehouse. The Dispatch reports that commissioners then voted unanimously at their Tuesday meeting to deny that request.
How The Downtown Commission Handles Rooftop Changes
The Downtown Commission signs off on exterior alterations and signage in the city’s core, which means anyone wanting to change the downtown streetscape or skyline has to clear its review process. Under City of Columbus submittal rules, applicants must provide materials, elevations and site plans, and projects that alter the public-facing look of a building generally need a Certificate of Appropriateness before any work gets off the ground.
Center For Christian Virtue Plants Its Flag On Capitol Square
The Center for Christian Virtue is a statewide Christian public-policy organization that recently moved into Capitol Square, with leadership openly framing the Broad Street purchase as a way to keep its advocacy close to state lawmakers. In its own announcement of the deal, the group described buying the building as an expansion of its Statehouse presence, and Center for Christian Virtue materials identify 62 E. Broad St. as its new headquarters for Statehouse-focused work.
What The Denial Means Now
With the Downtown Commission’s denial in place, the three-cross configuration cannot go up as proposed while the panel continues to control decisions on similar rooftop alterations. The clash arrives during a year when Ohio has been wrestling with how and where religious symbols should appear in public spaces, including policy skirmishes at the Statehouse. Coverage of a statewide classroom commandments clash has spotlighted some of the same Statehouse-level battles over religious displays that form the broader backdrop for the Center for Christian Virtue’s now-rejected rooftop plan.
