Our history

Nestled in Franklinton, our building stands as a 100 year old warehouse, turned into creative arts space.

An Early institution

The original 400 West Rich property brings us back to a century-old building initially operated by the D.A. Ebinger Sanitary Manufacturing Company. They were historically credited with designing and manufacturing the first iteration of refrigerated drinking fountains. During the early 1920s, the company owned their own showrooms throughout the New York and Chicago areas, where they introduced their secondary manufacturing focus, porcelain toilets and sinks.

The district of Franklinton at this time had been suffering through a series of minor floods through the 1900s. These would occur with a slight touch of heavy rain, overfilling the nearby Scioto River into Franklinton, which laid below the water level.

Industy infrastructure

During the year 1935, the Ebinger company took the acronym EBCO as they led the forefront of commercial refrigeration and sanitary porcelain manufacturing. Their products evolved into the modern drinking fountain that we know today, and the electric dehumidifier. Eventually, they left the Franklinton area in the 1950s to become OASIS International.

After their departure, the building changed hands through a variety of different owners. Over time however, nothing was done with the property itself and it laid quiet.

Modern ACQUISITION and renovation

In recent 2011, the urban-revitalization focused development company, UrbanSmartGrowth bought the Columbus industrial properties that would eventually build out to become 400 West Rich, Chromedge Studios, Strongwater, and the Vanderelli Room.

These buildings were renovated up to modern code, but not gutted. It was essential for the area to maintain its aesthetic nature and atmospheric feel, to further the development of the community, not to replace it.

A part of a growing community

Here in the Franklinton neighborhood, we cooperate with the good members of our community to do more. We seek to give visitors the opportunity to explore and delve into the arts culture of Columbus. With events such as Franklinton Fridays, we build relationships with groups and individuals to share an experience that can’t be encountered anywhere else.