Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Caucasus - Geghard Monastery, Armenia
Armenia • 15 days, 14 nights
Caucasus Road Trip: Azerbaijan, Georgia & Armenia
from
Taktsang Lhakhang, also known as the “Tiger’s Nest”.
Bhutan • 11 days, 10 nights
Festivals & Temples of Bhutan
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
Muc Lien’s 18 Gates of Hell.
Muc Lien's 18 Gates of Hell
Lighthouse and Museum of Jára Cimrman (Maják a muzeum Járy Cimrmana).
Lighthouse of Jára Cimrman
Markers honor 865 war dead.
Sovjet Ereveld (Soviet Field of Honor)
The intaglio leaves a subtle impression on the land along Riverside Drive in Fort Atkinson.
Panther Intaglio
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
The sign declares this the number-one gumbo shop in town.
Gumbo Hut Shioya
The pavlova comes crowned with jewel-like fruit.
Central Park Boathouse
The Village Tavern of Long Grove - exterior.
The Village Tavern
Hunter House Hamburgers
L’Escamoteur
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
USDA and Washington State agriculture officials tagged this Asian giant hornet. Sept. 10, 2021.
What Ever Happened to the Murder Hornets?
about 24 hours ago
The exterior of the Hall of Records.
Atlas Obscura Mailbag: Urban Exploration, Illegal Carvings, and Repeat Vacations
3 days ago
Biosphere 2 campus (2016)
Biosphere 2: How Volunteers Survived for 2 Years in an Airtight Habitat
4 days ago
Places like Forest Grove linger on the edge of wilderness and civilization.
Listening for Echoes of the Forest Grove Sound
4 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States Ohio Columbus Eddie Rickenbacker Childhood Home

Eddie Rickenbacker Childhood Home

The childhood home of one of Ohio's favorite sons, pilot and war hero Eddie Rickenbacker.

Columbus, Ohio

Added By
Jesse Bethea
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
  jessecbethea / Atlas Obscura User
  jessecbethea / Atlas Obscura User
  jessecbethea / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Edward Vernon Rickenbacker was the USA's "Ace of Aces" during the First World War, shooting down 26 enemy aircraft in less than a year. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his efforts, became a successful business executive and survived two horrific plane crashes. 

Rickenbacker was born in Columbus, Ohio in 1890 to an impoverished Swiss immigrant family. His family's true name Rickenbacher, but the spelling was later changed as anti-German sentiment engulfed the country during World War I. When Eddie was still a child, his father William was killed in a drunken brawl, and so Eddie took over as head of the household, lying about his age so he could leave school at sixth grade and go straight to work. 

As a young man, Rickenbacker became enamored by engines and automobiles, eventually becoming a highly successful race car driver just as the nation was captivated by high speeds and the machines capable of achieving them. When the United States finally entered World War I in 1917, Rickenbacker went to Europe as a chauffeur, driving high-ranking officers around France. Eventually he talked his way into the Aviation Section of the U.S. Army Signal Corps, an ancestor of the Air Force. 

At this time, flying was considered a gentlemanly pursuit and military pilots were often aristocrats back home. One of the more popular American pilots at the time was Quentin Roosevelt, the son of a former president, while on the other side of the lines, the battle-hardened German "Flying Circus" was commanded by the Red Baron, who was, of course, a literal baron. 

Rickenbacker, on the other hand, was poor, uneducated and unsophisticated. But he knew about engines, machines and speed. He also knew about hard work and dedication, and while he would sometimes fly recklessly and often put himself needlessly in danger, during the spring and summer of 1918 the air war claimed the lives of so many officers that Rickenbacker was eventually promoted to Captain and given command of the 94th Pursuit Squadron. From April to October of 1918, Rickenbacker destroyed 26 enemy aircraft, more than any other American pilot in the war. 

After the war, Rickenbacker pursued several different business ventures, but made his mark as the president and chairman of the board of Eastern Air Lines, one of the original commercial airlines in the United States. In 1941 he was a passenger on Eastern Air Lines Flight 21 when it crashed in Georgia. Rickenbacker suffered horrific injuries, which included his eyeball being expelled from his skull. After a very long hospital stay, Rickenbacker fully recovered. 

When the United States entered World War II, Rickenbacker was asked to help the war effort as a civilian, flying around the world, inspecting troops, meeting with Allied leaders and giving speeches to American airmen to keep up morale. On one such journey, Rickenbacker's plane crashed into the Pacific Ocean. He and his remaining crew were stranded in rubber life rafts, surviving on rainwater and seagulls that came close enough to catch. After 24 days, the survivors were spotted by Navy aircraft and were quickly rescued. 

Attempts to do anything useful with Rickenbacker's childhood home have proved fruitless. The house is designated as a National Historic Landmark, and the City of Columbus performs some maintenance of the property, but years of discussion and fundraising have still not led to the establishment of a museum for one of Ohio's favorite sons. 

Related Tags

War History World War I Military

Know Before You Go

There is ample on-street parking directly in front of the house, but the Driving Park branch of the Columbus Metropolitan Library is just a couple of blocks away should you desire off-street parking.  

Community Contributors

Added By

jessecbethea

Edited By

Jonny Rinopolis, nspeelman

  • Jonny Rinopolis
  • nspeelman

Published

July 5, 2016

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2015/07/14/City-transfers-ownership-of-properties-near-Rickenbacker-house.html
  • http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2014/07/28/plans-for-rickenbacker-house-museum-crashed.html
  • http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2015/07/14/City-transfers-ownership-of-properties-near-Rickenbacker-house.html
Eddie Rickenbacker Childhood Home
1334 Livingston Ave
Columbus, Ohio
United States
39.949669, -82.962069
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Piece of the Berlin Wall

Bexley, Ohio

miles away

The Topiary Park

Columbus, Ohio

miles away

Ohio Statehouse Fossils

Columbus, Ohio

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Columbus

Columbus

Ohio

Places 14

Nearby Places

Piece of the Berlin Wall

Bexley, Ohio

miles away

The Topiary Park

Columbus, Ohio

miles away

Ohio Statehouse Fossils

Columbus, Ohio

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Columbus

Columbus

Ohio

Places 14

Related Places

  • Redcar’s Sound Mirror, also known as ‘Redcar’s Concrete Ear’

    Redcar, England

    Redcar Sound Mirror

    A World War I relic found in the middle of a modern residential area.

  • Stobs Camp

    Hawick, Scotland

    Stobs Camp

    Built as a training camp, this site became a detainment center for prisoners of war and German civilians during World War I.

  • Grove of Remembrance

    Baltimore, Maryland

    Grove of Remembrance

    This grove was planted more than a century ago by the War Mothers of World War I.

  • Carmunnock War Memorial

    Clarkston, Scotland

    Carmunnock War Memorial

    This 1920's sandstone war memorial was constructed with an unusual drinking trough for horses.

  • Le mémorial de Mort-Homme.

    Chattancourt, France

    Le Mort Homme (Dead Man's Hill)

    A memorial to the soldiers who died in the bloody battles to control Verdun in World War I.

  • Shell in the house.

    Whitby, England

    Bombardment Garden

    The recreated ruins of a house designed to memorialize a World War I shelling on the town.

  • Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland

    Knockagh Monument

    High on a hill, an obelisk stands as tribute to local soldiers from several wars.

  • The base in 2008

    Malborghetto Valbruna, Italy

    Fort Hensel

    The hilltop ruins of a border fortification in the Italian Alps that was much fought over.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.