Zanesville, Ohio, USA
Created | Updated Oct 4, 2010
Zanesville is a great place to visit, if you need to go somewhere to not do something - or even if you have an insane need to drive on a bridge and turn left in the middle. It's for this reason that Zanesville is known as the Y-city. One of the most distinguishing marks of the town is its bridge that spans two rivers and is in the shape of a Y. Built in 1814, the Y-bridge is something locals find hard to tell outsiders about. How would you feel when you ask for directions and someone tells you to drive on the bridge and turn in the middle? If you have a thing for bridges, you can also check out the S-bridge near Zanesville in New Concord, OH (that is where John Glenn is from) although you cannot drive across the S-bridge. Who knows what inspires the people of South East Ohio to make so many letter shaped bridges. Maybe boredom.
Transportation
As almost as every other city in America, Zanesville basically has no public transportation to speak of, so you will need a car. If you even make it to Zanesville without a car you have either braved the Grey Hound bus system or have discovered some new mode of transportation. Once you are in Zanesville, any city map should do fine for navigation.1
Eating
As many other American cities, Zanesville has many of the fast food restaurants people are familiar with - McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's 2. If you are one for experiencing the local flavour of food instead of eating what you can already get at home, here are some places to check out.
Adornetto's Pizzeria
Adornetto's Pizzeria has been a part of Zanesville since 1958, and if you are only going to be able to visit once you should try the salads and pizza, although it does offer a few other Italian dishes to chose from. There is definitely something addictive about the salads as people have been known to drive over an hour to get one.
Tom's Ice-Cream Bowl
If you feel more like dessert than dinner, you can head to Tom's Ice cream Bowl. Here, you can get ice cream (of course), fresh roasted nuts, or chocolate, while taking in the feel of a 1950s ice-cream parlour.
NightLife
Restaurants and bars are scattered throughout the city, but remember if you are going out drinking to take a DD3 with you. There is a taxi system if you get caught out alone (if you ask the bartender they will usually call a taxi for you) although they are expensive and take some time to pick you up (on New Years Eve, taxis are offered for free if you ask the bartender).
Going to the movies is one of the most popular forms of weekend entertainment. Besides being dumbfounded that there is only one cinema in Zanesville that shows new film releases, visitors are then elated to find that the highest ticket price is US$4.00 (that is cheap for most people).
We, Americans, love our cars. We love them so much that we drive them around for recreation on weekend nights4. The most popular sight to do this in Zanesville is Maple Avenue. The reasons being are that this is where the movie theatre, and a lot of restaurants are located. It's a long stretch of road, and everyone else is around as well. If you exceed the age of 21, you are probable not up for this because any local of that age has gone past their cruising times and are now old enough to be in the bars.
There are a few theatres you could attend but they usually only have plays for a couple of weeks every few months. The thespians that populate these stages are locals who perform in their spare time. These theatres are hidden in the historical districts of town.
Where to Stay
A hotel or a friend's house. There are no hostels in Zanesville. Any good Internet search should help with your hotel choices.
Internet Sites
Local Media
WHIZ (NBC)
WHIZ, or more commonly, whiz5. WHIZ is the local television/radio station and the name actually stands for 'We're Here In Zanesville'. www.whizamfmtv.com
The Times Recorder
The Times Recorder, also called 'The Times Distorter' by the locals because of the daily mistakes6, is the local news paper. www.zanesvilletimesrecorder.com
