The First Baptist congregation built this stone church on East Broad Street in 1898. Before it went up, the Dispatch predicted its main entrance would recall "the great golden door" of the Transportation Building at the World's Fair. More than a century later, the same building hosts country singers and DJs under the original stained glass.
From church to concert hall
The conversion took a while. Renovations wrapped up in 2006, and the building opened as the Bar of Modern Art, a nightclub and restaurant most people called BoMA. In 2010 it became The Bluestone, a concert and event venue.
The bones of the church are the draw. The massive stained glass windows stayed, the stone walls stayed, and the building still spreads across three levels with five separate spaces, from the old sanctuary to a loft and a patio. Concerts happen in the big main hall, where the ceiling goes up a long way and the sound has room to move.
How shows work here
Most concerts are general admission, with a wide open floor in front of the stage for dancing. There is also a balcony with seating and space for wheelchairs, which is the move if you want a seat with a view.
The calendar leans country and electronic, with rock tours and tribute nights mixed in. The building also books weddings and private events, so the concert calendar shares the weekends with brides and office parties.
Age rules depend on the show. Some nights are all ages, some are 18 and over, some are 21 and over, and guests under drinking age may pay a surcharge at the shows that allow them in. Your ticket says which one you have.
Parking and getting there
The Bluestone is at 583 East Broad Street, right off I-71 at the east edge of downtown, on the same stretch of Broad as the Columbus Museum of Art.
- The venue has its own parking lots beside and behind the building. There are far more spaces on nights and weekends than during business hours, which works in your favor for a show.
- That on site parking is rare this close to downtown. Get there a little early on a busy night and you will be fine.
- If you are coming from the Short North or the Arena District, a ride is quicker than the walk.
Good to know
- Doors, ages and bag rules are set by show. Check your ticket.
- More of what plays here shows up on our country and dance pages.
- For a seated night in another old downtown building, the Palace Theatre farther west on Broad Street is the other end of the scale.