
After several years of planning by a dedicated task force of community volunteers, civic groups and City representatives, in 2018 Upper Arlington celebrated its 100th anniversary in style.

CENTENNIAL PLAZA
Northam Park is the home to a community pool, playground and reading garden, clay tennis courts, numerous sports fields, the main library branch and two schools, while serving as the community’s gathering place for two signature events—the Fourth of July Festival and Fireworks, and the Upper Arlington Labor Day Arts Festival. The Centennial Task Force felt strongly that the park entry was the best location for a signature Legacy Project—something easily accessible that would commemorate our 100th birthday in a tasteful and fitting way—and the team set about turning this idea into reality.
The Centennial Plaza provides an inviting gathering space for residents, most notably defined by three bronze bear sculptures that are the work of a local artist, Alan Hamwi—who actually grew up in UA. The bears are sited on a rubberized play surface, allowing children to interact with the artworks. Surrounding the sculptures is seating and an extension of the park entry pillars and trelliswork.
This part of the Legacy Project was made possible in large part thanks to the support of the following organizations:
- Upper Arlington Rotary Club
- Upper Arlington Community Foundation
- Upper Arlington Civic Association
- Kiwanis Club of Northwest Columbus
THE BEARS
The artist and sculptor of the three bronze bears is Alan Hamwi. Alan, 62, is an Upper Arlington native who has been sculpting since he was a teenager.
Alan has many statues on display throughout central Ohio to include Harold Cooper at Huntington Park and animals at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. But this project is special to Alan because Upper Arlington is where he spent most of his life, growing up as a kid and then raising his children in this community.
Bronze is Alan’s specialty and the medium he prefers to use when sculpting because of its history an permanence.
Alan first starts by making models of the sculptures and then carving the sculptures out of styrofoam. After the carving process, Alan covers the styrofoam in clay and shapes the clay to the exact version of what the sculpture will look like. After each bear (or mold) has been sculpted in clay, Alan drove them to Florida to have them cast in bronze.

CENTENNIAL HISTORY WALK
The History Walk is located along the main pedestrian walkway into the park from Tremont Road. A series of 10 markers (and one information marker about the walk) provide a snapshot of Upper Arlington’s first 100 years—the community’s early days and the people, institutions and amenities that set us apart. In conjunction with installation of the History Walk, the City made improvements to the walkway, adding trees and planting beds that compliment the beautiful markers.
The History Walk has been made possible thanks to the support of the following:
- The Martin Peter & Marjorie Garvin Sayers Family: Daniel Garvin Sayers, Stephen Putnam Sayers, Julia Sayers Bolton, Elaine Sayers Buck
- The Barney Family
- The Crane Family: In memory of Robert S. Crane, Jr.
- The Yassenoff Family
- The Patton Family: In memory of Mary Louise & Bob Patton
- Northwest EyeCare Professionals: Douglas, Deborah & Quinlan Bosner
- The Upper Arlington Education Foundation & Upper Arlington Library Board
- The Greg Guy & Lisa Ingram Family: Caitlyn, Andrew, Jacob & Ryan
- The Gudenkauf and Gehring Families
- E. Ann Gabriel: In memory of Ann R. & M. Leonard Gabriel and Joanne B. & Jack O. Woodruff
- The Jody & Wally Phillips Family: Diane Phillips Albrecht, Debbie Phillips Bower, John Wallace Phillips and Cindy Phillips Close

TIME CAPSULE

THE CENTENNIAL LOGO
An early goal of the Centennial planning group was to create a logo that would resonate with citizens. Jenny Ledman—a resident and graphic designer—kindly agreed to design the Centennial logo as a gift to the community.
In the fall of 2015, residents were invited to help identify the visual components of existing community logos that best represent UA, and to consider logos used for other cities’ special celebrations. From this insight, Jenny created a design that captures the pride and spirit of Upper Arlington.
The Centennial logo is built around UA’s Golden Bear, with a strong and simple color palette of black and gold, prominent text, a burst of fireworks in deference to UA’s most popular community celebration—the Fourth of July—and featuring the tagline “A Cherished Past | A Golden Future.”

A CHERISHED PAST, A GOLDEN FUTURE
A lot has happened in 30 years, since a history of Upper Arlington was last memorialized in a book for the community. Keeping with the tradition of capturing the progression of our community, the Historical Society–with the assistance of the Upper Arlington Library– embarked on the task of researching and writing a new historical celebration of our community. A Cherished Past, A Golden Future is fresh look at the events that have shaped Upper Arlington for the past one hundred years in a readable narrative, accompanied by vivid photos to describe the land, the people and the vision behind the community we know today.
The Centennial
The Centennial Task Force captured within the pages of The Centennial the essence of what makes Upper Arlington a unique and wonderful place to call home. This “go to” coffee table publication highlights the actionable projects and events, as well as exciting interviews and articles detailing what makes Upper Arlington a reason why generations of families continue to call this community home. View the digital version or click on image.
The Centennial Heritage Tree project was conceived by a group of residents who have taken their love of trees and our natural environment to the next step by volunteering to serve on the City Tree Commission.
A call was put out to the community to nominate trees for inclusion on a Centennial Tree Registry. Once nominated, these trees were personally inspected by members of the Commission and City Staff to confirm they that they had indeed lived long enough to bear witness to the founding of Upper Arlington. The trees were then added to the registry and residents were invited to pickup their very own Centennial Heritage tree yard sign to place in their yards.
The response to this opportunity was tremendous. More than 220 trees were submitted and inspected for this process, and I understand that nominations continue to trickle in. Please note, this project has now come to a close, with all the yard signs distributed and the registry complete.