Mirror Lake could regain the island and bridges that it had more than a century ago once Ohio
State University finishes renovating it.
The university is exploring three design concepts, including a throwback to the lake of the late
1800s, when it was more serpentine and spanned by a bridge. The other concepts either would make
the surrounding area more like a grassy park or like a plaza with sprawling pavement and more
seating.
Ohio State released drawings of the concepts this month and is asking students and staff members
to weigh in online before the university moves ahead.
Renovation started late last year when workers
emptied the lake as part of a study to make it less of a fiscal and environmental
drain. Ohio State replenished the lake at a rate of about 50,000 gallons of water per day,
bought from the city. The study will determine whether OSU can supply the lake from
groundwater.
Along with the environmental study, OSU wants to give the lake a makeover.
It has taken several forms in its 150 years. The landmark started as a bog fed by Neil Run. When
it was expanded in 1895, workers added an island and lined the lake with stone. Decades later, it
got an electric pump and a fountain.
The retro update would make the lake’s outline longer and more irregular. It accents the grotto
on the north side of the lake, a feature that has been popular in survey results, said Steve
Volkmann, an OSU landscape architect.
New landscaping would rim the edge of the lake under the concept modeled after a traditional
park. The shape of the lake would stay roughly the same, but the fountain would be removed to make
it more like a reflective pool.
The plaza design creates an “urban” look, Volkmann said, circled by a wide, paved path and
sparse landscaping. It adds seating in an open space to the east and along a southern slope leading
up to Pomerene Hall. “Seating is one thing that everybody would like to see more of,” Volkmann
said.
Ohio State plans to pay about $28,000 for the environmental study. Other than design fees, the
project to revamp the lake hasn’t cost anything yet, Volkmann said.
Online comments sent to OSU have been mixed, but many support the old look.
“We have a wonderful opportunity to restore some of its former natural beauty as well as
increase the restorative value of such a wonderful space,” one read.
“I don’t want Mirror Lake to become a concrete jungle. The more trees, grass and flowers, the
better,” another commenter wrote.
Once they gather feedback, Volkmann and a design firm plan to combine some of the most-popular
ideas into a final plan. At the same time, workers will drill near the lake to test whether
groundwater in the area can be used to fill the lake. If not, they will look for more-efficient
ways to use city water.
cbinkley@dispatch.com
Speak Your Mind