Columbus Neighborhoods: Retail Columbus

Travel back in time and around the world with us - without leaving Columbus. Explore the Seven Wonders of the World via the incredible Walk O' Wonders, once a fixture at The Great Western Shopping Center on the West Side. Learn the story behind German Village bakery Pistacia Vera. Plus, we'll look back at Lazarus memories and see fashions by a 20th-century Columbus designer.
“Walk O’ Wonders” photos, historic footage: Courtesy of CASTO and Joseph Skilken & Co.
“From the Vault: House of Harold” photos: Courtesy of Ohio History Connection

[@susanboger7874]

This is so super !!! I remember beautiful canaries singing above the ceiling in cages 😊. I lived , and had many fun hours in Lazarus 😊 . I remember the Christmas animated windows ! I too was given a Lazarus card and was allowed to travel the bus downtown for the first time with my sisters 😁. Loved this !!! Does anyone remember the Mexican Beef sandwiches from the restaurant? I too visited the shopping center where the seven wonders of the world were . I loved to visit my grandparents on “ The Hill Top of Columbus “. My father , Mark Lowry , helped build the Eiffel Tower at the shopping center . I loved that shopping center and will never forget that wonder of a shopping mall ❣️. I was born and raised in Columbus,Ohio 😊

[@ds3096]

Loved this shopping center. Although I moved to Columbus in the early 70 till 76, I have great memories of this area. I lived just around the corner .

[@leahreynolds1079]

In your story covering the Walk O' Wonders, you overlooked my grandfather, Ivan Pusecker. Ivan E. Pusecker, a nationally known Columbus, Ohio artist and designer, oversaw the design and construction of the Walk O' Wonders exhibit. Ivan commissioned Louis Mori, an Italian sculptor and mold maker, to help complete the Walk O' Wonders. Additionally, Ivan Pusecker designed and sculpted many of the elaborate Christmas display windows for Lazarus. He is remembered for his pastel - Smiling Christ, his murals at Presutti’s Restaurant, and for his many paintings depicting scenes of German Village. Ivan E. Pusecker - 1908 - 1968

[@donaldblankenship8057]

That is too bad the last name was Pusecker, because no one could resist changing a vowel and a consonant to come up with something else.

[@donaldblankenship8057]

Not to mention ppl would have dragged his 1st name through the mud in 7 ways from Sunday.

[@donaldblankenship8057]

My mom's name was Yvonne, and rotten kids would have called her Yvonne Pudsucker.

[@donaldblankenship8057]

Good for getting dates though I guess.

[@blisteredblues1255]

Omg! I remember riding on my Dad's shoulders when I was really little. It was the early 60's. Looking in those windows at Carlsbad Caverns used to freak me out. I also remember Niagara Falls. So great to see this on KZbin and a wonderful memory of my Dad who passed 2 years ago.

[@joegrossman5293]

I remember, after they tore down the 7 wonders of the world, they build something called the 7 Whoo Doggies of the world. Member that?!? What a treat!

[@mikecarmean6446]

I Remember That back in the Mid 60's ❤️ Everyone Came even Couples on Dates... Unforgettable Attraction for the Westside and Remember when they Tore it Down... Very Sad! Hilliard / Westside resident

[@conniebarnes9274]

Wow. My parents took us there as children. We loved it. I believe I have some pictures of us visiting there with other relatives. Please bring it back. lol Thanks for the video.

[@steveboros1961]

Used to go to Great Western all the time!

[@rhinehardt1]

As a kid of 6-8 I loved eating lunch at the Copper Kettle in the basement of the Lazarus annex.

[@chriscalvin100]

Al Myers in the band back there, 3rd from left with the electric guitar (3:25)

[@Zoetropeification]

As a child I remember a few occasions when my Mother drove several extra miles to shop at Great Western just so I could ander around the seven wonders. It seemed to me like they were still there in the early 70's but I could be wrong

[@thomasjordan3241]

Yes, I used to work there. I think they were there into the early 1980's

[@amuro1701]

At least some of the 7 wonders of the world were still there in the late sixties. I remember my mother taking my sister and me to see them. They were in kind of rough shape. Some years later in the seventies I think, the Eiffel tower was still there by itself.

[@mrpeel3239]

Was the Lazarus interior shown a special exhibition at the Ohio History Center?

[@funecheeseofficial3576]

On the thumbnail a old Kroger

[@donaldblankenship8057]

My gramps came to Cols from KY in 1947 and was 1st Blankenship in the phone book. He and my grams would have been extremely impressed considering that wealth meant having a 3-hole outhouse in KY. I grew up in Cols and never saw anything impressive as in this video. I graduated from OSU in engineering in 1984. I also lived there for a year in 2016-17. I can tell you honestly that town is a piece of sh*t.

[@mattvanorder4944]

Super cool and all, but those aren't the Sevens Wonders of the World (aside from the pyramids).

[@coast5663]

Are you stupid ? Or stupit* ?