Vern Riffe Center for Government and the Arts

Office space, conference space, workshops and an art gallery? Yes, this building has it all. But before we get down to the semantics of the building itself, let me tell you a little bit about it’s namesake.
Vernal G Riffe was the longest serving speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives. Respectfully known as Mr. Speaker, Vern was a moderate Democrat and very strong leader. He often was able to sway even the Republican members of the House. He also fought constantly for funding and further development in southwestern Appalachian, where he hailed from.
Due to his large impact upon Ohio government, it should be no surprise that the building that stands tall over the Ohio Statehouse be named after Vern Riffe. The building holds office space for many government officials from the House of Representatives, state officials and even the Governor. The Riffe Gallery is located on the first floor and holds exhibits of Ohio artists and works from the state’s museums and galleries.
I had a week long conference here in 2006 on the top floor. All I can say about it is that there were GORGEOUS views of Columbus and of the Statehouse from the top!

If you’re like me, I am sure you that whenever you see a skyscraper, you often wonder about what goes on in the floors and floors of offices. What on earth requires such a large building? The Vern Riffe Center for the Government and the Arts breaks it down for you: there are government offices and art venues in this skyscraper.
Now the average person who does NOT work for the Ohio state government would not I am sure ever want to just randomly venture to the Riffe Center just to catch a glimpse of people typing away at their computers and making copies. But, the average person would most likely be interested in stopping in the Riffe Center (conveniently on the corner of High & State, across from the Statehouse) to check out the art gallery located on the first floor.
The art gallery is FREE and has (mostly) local artists highlighted in a theme that changes every three months or so. The themes are always very intriguing (Deep Space, The I Of The Text, Against the Grain) and include paintings, sculptures, and other forms of artwork. It’s easy to find, as all you need to do is walk into the doors from HIgh Street and the entrance to the art gallery is directly in front of you.
The art gallery is open (so you can plan your trip):
Tuesday 10 — 4 p.m.
Wednesday and Friday 10 — 5:30 p.m.
Thursday 10 — 8 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday noon — 4 p.m.
If you travel up the escalators, you will find that there are also 2 theaters in the Riffe Center, which feature plays, ballets and dances (I took salsa dance lessons here once). But, you must do research first to see what is playing and when.
Beyond that, the rest of the building is, as mentioned, a series of govenrment offices that are not of any interest to the public (in most cases they are not accessible without a badge). But definitely stop by while you’re downtown to check out the art!

I recently attended a conference on Youth Violence held here at the Vern Riffe Center in their Conference facility and was well impressed! I’m surprised that I could pay attention to the speakers as the view from the 31^st floor was just breathtaking! Here’s the yeahs and nays —
Yeahs — Great downtown location, amazing views, plenty of meeting space
Nays — Parking (many conference participants had trouble finding spots, my suggestion = take the bus), interrupted cell reception (its a government building. We were told it was possible), reception area is a bit cramped for the number of people the conference rooms can accommodate