Friendship Walk at University Square

Project Summary

Friendship Walk is a public art project embedded into the sidewalks adjacent to the University Square plaza. The word friendship is a prominent feature in Carmen Ohio, the university’s alma mater, which was composed more than a century ago. The line, “How firm thy friendship, o-hi-o” is the final line of the first verse, and singing it is a tradition for Buckeyes. This art installation not only displays that important line from Ohio State’s alma mater, but it also displays the translation of the word friendship into 141 languages, including sign language and braille, that are known to be spoken at Ohio State.

Campus Partners, working with landscape architects, MKSK, began to develop the idea in 2017.  The translations are designed as metal inscriptions inlayed into granite pavers. The pavers were then set as the sidewalk along East Fifteenth Avenue. Enlisting the expertise of The Ohio State’s Center for Languages, Literatures and Cultures, the Center correctly translated the word friendship for all 141 languages.

A list of the translated languages can be downloaded (PDF).