Harrison Smith Passes Away

10 TV: Harrison Smith, considered by many as one of the architects of city development, died Sunday at the age of 83. Long before the beautiful homes, gorgeous greens and thousands of golf fans, Muirfield Village was just 1,800 acres outside the farm community of Dublin. Smith's law partner, Jeffrey Brown, said he saw the future where others saw nothing but empty fields.

Along with then-Mayor Jack Sensenbrenner, Smith helped shape the growth of Columbus during the 1950s and 60s by realizing the capital city should not be surrounded by suburbs. It needed room to grow. "If you look going around the outerbelt, many of the developments that can see along (Interstate) 270 he was involved in," Brown said. "He was involved with the development of Muirfield, Tuttle Mall, Easton (Town Center), the New Albany Co. and the Village of New Albany."

Smith was very influential outside of Columbus, but he had also had big dreams for downtown. He imagined a downtown where people would work and live. "He wanted downtown to be a 24-hour venue," Brown said. "He wanted to have a mixture of uses. He wanted excitement."

During his last year spent battling pancreatic cancer, Smith made his opinions about downtown growth known. He was outspoken in his opposition to tear down Columbus City Center. Strong, opinionated, and devoted, friends say Smith put the city first. "I think he would want you to remember that he truly loved the City of Columbus, and always tried to do the best for the city and the people that live here," Brown said.