The Berwick neighborhood is just south of Bexley and Capital University. The area has strong ties to the city’s Jewish and African-American communities and is known for its large ranch-style homes and big backyards.
Before it was the neighborhood we know today, there was a time when it was home to 9 irons and sand traps. That led one resident to ask Curious Cbus: Where exactly was the Berwick Golf Course and when did it operate?
Using today’s streets as a guide, the Berwick Golf Course roughly bordered College Avenue on the west and James Road on the east, and ran from Berwick Boulevard south to Scottwood Road.
Before the land was developed, it was known as Ambos Park, a spot left wild by its owner as a nature preserve with lakes for fishing. By the spring of 1932, The Columbus Sunday Dispatch reported that, despite the economic depression, the Berwick Construction Company was going ahead with plans to further develop a new subdivision with homes and a golf course.
The company placed ads in the paper touting brick homes adjacent to a new golf course under construction. One article reported that the course would even include a modern watering system for the greens.
That summer the golf course was open, and construction of the Clubhouse was completed a year later. The golf course ultimately operated for just over two decades.
In 1955, it was announced that the east section of the course would be replaced by 145 ranch-style homes with plans to develop the rest of the land by the end of the year. The course operated with just nine holes before being completely razed for new construction.
The price tag for one of those new homes in 1955 was just over $20,000.
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