Ohio Supreme Court Justice Florence Allen featured in new mural in downtown Columbus.

Ohio Supreme Court Justice Florence Allen featured in new mural in downtown Columbus.

Positioned on a busy corner in downtown Columbus stands a mural dedicated to historic Ohio leaders who dedicated their lives to advancing social change.

One of those was Florence Allen, the first woman elected to the Ohio Supreme Court, in 1922.

“Florence Allen makes perfects sense,” said Rev. Tim Ahrens, senior minister at First Congressional Church, which helped spearhead the project. “You don’t get to be the first woman justice without having made an impact. She was an influential jurist who worked with others to advance the cause of social justice.”

The mural at the corner of East Broad Street and Cleveland Avenue is part of the Washington Gladden Social Justice Park, named after Reverend Gladden, a civil rights activist and former pastor at the First Congregational Church. The park opened last week.

The church owns the land on which the park sits and the park is part of a public-private partnership between the park’s planning board and the City of Columbus.

When conceiving who would be featured on the mural, the park’s planning committee said Justice Allen was a natural choice.

“It was not easy to be a woman and an attorney at that time” said Tom Worley, chairman of the park planning board. “She showed herself to be competent very quickly. She sought office, was elected by the public, and was rewarded by a federal judgeship.”

For more information on the park and its mural, visit www.socialjusticepark.org.

To learn more about Florence Allen, visit the Supreme Court website.