Eight unique places that call the Far South Side of Columbus home

Ever wondered where it goes when you flush the toilet? Or needed to get your car out of the Impound Lot? Or, on a lighter note, maybe you wanted to see a drive-in movie or go to a racino?

The Far South Side of Columbus, which sits just south of state Route 104, has the answers to all those questions and more.

Here are eight prominent places in the Far South Side of Columbus neighborhood:

Columbus City Schools Southland Center

3700 S. High St.

Columbus City Schools, the state’s largest school district, owns this building and holds its biweekly school board meetings at this location.

This was the site of the Southand Mall and more recently the headquarters of the controversial Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow (ECOT). Ohio's first, and at at one point largest,online charter school bought the site in 2012 from Bob Evans Farms Inc.

The charter school closed in early 2018 after it was ordered to repay about $80 million in state funding for the 2015-16 and 2016-17 school years as a result of an enrollment scandal.

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Columbus City Schools bought the site at a liquidation auction in 2018 for $3.47 million, including fees.

Southland Mall opened in November 1977 with a Gold Circle department store, Fazio's supermarket, Revco Drugs, JoAnn Fabrics, Kimball Music Center, Noah's Ark Pet Center and other stores. The next month, a three-screen Loews Triplex movie theater opened, and "Saturday Night Fever" was the first movie shown.

Columbus Fire Chief's office

3675 Parsons Ave.

Columbus Division of  Fire Chief Jeff Happ works on the Far South Side. Happ has served as chief since February 2021, after working for the Columbus Division of Fire since June 14, 1993, according to the city's website.

Columbus Fire Training Academy

3639 Parsons Ave.

The Columbus Fire Training Academy provides fire training for 1,550 division members and emergency medical services, according to the city’s website.

Columbus Division of Police Impound Lot

2700 Impound Lot Road

If you parked in front of a fire hydrant and returned to find your vehicle ordered towed by the city, or your vehicle has ever been impounded, then you are all too familiar with the Columbus Division of Police Impound Lot.

The 54-acre lot can hold 3,500 vehicles. In 2019, the city impounded 21,459 vehicles. In 2020, the city impounded 14,557 vehicles.

Eldorado Gaming Scioto Downs

6000 S. High St.

The South Side casino and race track, or "racino," is owned by Caesars Entertainment.

The casino company announced in November it will build a new $20 million, 30,000-square-foot grandstand with stadium seating, ground-level terrace seating and two VIP suites to replace the existing grandstand, which opened Oct. 9, 1959.

The grandstand closed to spectators in early 2017 after an inspector concluded it was unsound. A net was installed to catch falling debris from the grandstand's roof.

There are four restaurants on site: Brew Brothers, Clubhouse, Dash Cafe and the Budweiser Party Patio.

South Drive-In Theater

3050 S. High St.

Movie-goers flock to the South Drive-In Theater during the summer months.

The theater has two screens and was built in 1950 by Leo Yassenoff. Skip Yassenoff bought the drive-in from his cousin in 1971. Bryon Teagardner is the current owner.

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The drive-in also has a flea market that is open from 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, weather permitting.

Shamrock Club of Columbus

60 W. Castle Road

The Shamrock Club of Columbus, which started in 1936, touts itself as central Ohio’s largest Irish organization. The nonprofit social organization helps put together and sponsors the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

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At first, only Catholic men could join the club. The first Protestant men joined in 1978, and women were finally permitted to join in the early 1990s.

The club sponsors live Irish music and dart leagues.

Wastewater treatment plants

Jackson Pike plant, 2104 Jackson Pike

Southerly plant, 6977 S. High St., Lockbourne

You flush the toilet, but then what? Every wonder where … you know … it goes?

It goes to one of two wastewater treatment plants operated by the Columbus Division of Sewerage and Drainage: Jackson Pike and Southerly, both on the Far South Side. Wastewater from Columbus and 25 suburban communities goes to one of these plants.

Both plants treated an average of 188 million gallons per day in 2020, according to the city's website.

Southerly, a 225-acre plant, processes about 110 million gallons of sewage a day. The plant’s structure was originally built in 1967 and spanned 42 buildings in 2018. The water is disinfected with chlorine, then de-chlorinated, before going into the Scioto River.

The Jackson Pike treatment plant treats water mostly from the west side of the city. Water from both plants goes into the Scioto River once it is cleaned.

This story is part of The Dispatch's Mobile Newsroom initiative. Visit our reporters at the Columbus Metropolitan Library's Parsons branch library and read their work at dispatch.com/mobilenewsroom, where you also can sign up for The Mobile Newsroom newsletter.

Megan Henry is a Columbus Dispatch K-12 education reporter. Reach her at mhenry@dispatch.com or (614) 559-1758. Follow her on Twitter @megankhenry. Sign up for her education newsletter here.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Eight unique places that call the Far South Side of Columbus home