HotelChatter

The new hotel has a projected opening month of October, though the website says reservations won't actually open until beginning of December. Guess these guys don't want to take any chances...

Connected to the Convention Center by a glass Skybridge, Hilton Columbus Downtown was commissioned by the city to provide relief to the influx of visitors it receives each year. But luckily, this wasn't just another big box structure to go up without any concern for aesthetics or style.

The abundance of artwork that will bedeck the hotel's interiors (160 paintings, sculpture, photographs and other works, according to Dispatch) are considered a big part of the hotel's appeal. Apparently, $1 million was spent on acquiring, framing, transporting, insuring and installing all the artwork, though the fact that every piece is by a local artist probably helped keep costs relatively low.

Among the contemporary artists featured inside are: Queen Brooks, Susan Cavanaugh, Curtis Goldstein, Ann Hamilton, Stephen Pentak, Aminah Robinson and Lowell Tolstedt. Meanwhile, George Bellows, Emerson Burkhart, Milton Caniff, Alice Schille and James Thurber comprise the list of legendary Columbus-based artists whose works are still celebrated throughout the city.

Dispatch picked out a few of the art pieces worth keeping an eye out for:

"·An impressionistic model of the Downtown skyline made of 30,000 crayon tips by Christian Faur of Granville, to be displayed behind the front desk.

·Historical photos of Broad and High streets taken by East Side resident Kojo Kamau, and destined for a public men’s room.

·A colorful rendering of the Smith Brothers Hardware building created by Goldstein, an Upper Arlington painter, and headed for the executive lounge."

Opening rates for the hotel, in early December, start at $152/night.

[Photo: Hilton Columbus Downtown]