The Ohio History Center, the state museum and research center beside the Ohio Expo Center in Columbus, will remain closed through 2030 while it undergoes a major rehabilitation, WOSU reported in a story published by WYSO on Oct. 30. The building shut abruptly in September over a problem with its fire-safety system, and what began as an emergency closure has now become a four-year project.
The rehabilitation is funded largely by $58 million from the state for fiscal years 2027 and 2028, WOSU reported. Upgrades to the building were already planned as part of a broader overhaul of the Ohio History Connection’s campus, and work has begun, the station reported — the fire-safety failure moved the timeline from planned renovation to full closure.
The center has been the Ohio History Connection’s headquarters and anchor museum since it opened in 1970. For more than five decades it has housed the organization’s flagship exhibits, its archives and library, and the staff who run a statewide network of historic sites — which is why a closure measured in years, not months, reaches far beyond one building in Columbus…