COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State University is announcing a restoration of historic Mirror Lake and the surrounding district focusing on safety and sustainability.
In November 2013, the university began exploring ways to make the lake more sustainable. A series of modifications over many decades had resulted in a body of water that was both polluted and leaking, requiring consistent maintenance and creating thousands of gallons of waste water daily.
The restoration announced today will return Mirror Lake to a more natural and sustainable state — closer to its historical form — while emphasizing improved stormwater management, reducing chemical water treatments, increasing overall biodiversity, and more.
The overall Mirror Lake District, including Browning Amphitheater and Oxley and Pomerene Halls, is being renovated to create modern learning environments for students and faculty in data analytics, linguistics and the history of art — while retaining its significance, ambience and appearance as an early and iconic area of campus. The experience of walking through the district will be much the same as it would have been throughout the past century, but the facilities will be upgraded dramatically to 21st century standards for safety, sustainability and functionality. During the first phase of this project, which began last spring, Baker Commons was renovated to house the Office of Student Life’s disability services.
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