Columbus Public Health


Columbus Public Health is the health department of Columbus, Ohio. The department is accredited by the Public Health Accreditation Board.
The department dates to 1833, when the city's mayor appointed five citizens to help with its cholera outbreak. It became a permanent body to activate whenever health emergencies arose.

Office building

The office for Columbus Public Health is at 240 Parsons Avenue, near Downtown Columbus. The building was built as the Ohio Asylum for the Blind, and was constructed from 1869 to 1874, a long period due to an irregular scarcity of construction workers. It was built in response to a growing population and overcrowding at the institution's original building, built in 1838. The school for the blind remained at the site until the early 1950s, when it moved to a new location in Columbus. The Ohio Department of Highway Safety then took over the building. It later was turned over to Columbus Public Health, which still operates in the building today.
The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. It was also at one time considered part of the East Town Street Historical District, severed from the area by I-71.