Updated: July 16, 2026
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Every true Columbusite has walked along the Scioto Mile and probably seen at least one of the three bronze deer sculptures, but do you know why they’re actually there? It’s okay, neither did I.
These friendly, relaxed-looking deer were added to the Scioto Mile in 2014, during the big rehabilitation project that turned the riverfront into the park and trail space you see now. The set even has an official name. Artist Terry Allen calls the three deer the Scioto Lounge, and once you hear it, you can’t unsee it. They really are just lounging.
Where to Find All Three Deer
All three stand along the Scioto Mile downtown, and you can catch the whole set on one short walk. Two of the funky bronze deer are behind COSI in Genoa Park. The third is out on the Rich Street Bridge, watching over the city. So don’t worry, everyone. The deer are protecting us.
Seeing all three is easy. Park at COSI or on the street by Genoa Park, find the buck and the doe on the west bank, then walk north to the Rich Street Bridge for the last one. It’s free, it’s outdoors, and the deer aren’t going anywhere. It’s one of the best free things to do downtown, and if you want the skyline behind the bridge deer, come at golden hour.
The first buck is sitting at the top of Genoa Park, watching the many bike-riders and dog-walkers go by.
The second is a doe lounging on the grassy hill by the riverfront.
The third deer is over-looking the river on the Rich Street Bridge.
Who Is Terry Allen?
The deer are a commissioned installation by Terry Allen, and he’s a bigger deal than a set of riverfront statues might let on. Allen was raised in Lubbock, Texas, trained at the Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles (now CalArts), and holds a Guggenheim Fellowship, with bronze work installed in cities around the country. He’s also a celebrated singer-songwriter. His 1979 album Lubbock (on everything) is a cult classic. So the person who gave Columbus its lounging deer is just as at home writing a country record, which is the exact playful-but-serious streak the deer run on. Allen wanted them to be thought-provoking and to mesh with the Scioto area.
What Does “Scioto” Actually Mean?
Here’s the piece that inspired Allen. “Scioto” traces back to a Wyandot word for “deer.” There’s a companion piece of local lore, too. The story goes that so many deer once waded through this stretch of river that their shed hair floated on the surface, which is how it picked up the old nickname “hairy river.” Historians still argue the exact wording, and some credit the Shawnee rather than the Wyandot, but the through-line holds. This was deer country long before it was downtown. Who knew, right?
In an interview with WOSU, Allen said he roamed around the city and ended up at the Scioto mile, “It was supposed to be in this area where people just sort of lounged around and walked around and took it easy and I thought of deer doing the same thing as people just lounging around.”
How the Riverfront Came Back
The riverfront wasn’t always such a relaxing place to chill. For decades, pollution and heavy industry made the river a very unpleasant place to be. But serious restoration efforts in the early 2000s, and the removal of the Main Street Dam in late 2013, opened up much more green space along the shore.
In creating the iconic statues, Allen used forms from a taxidermist to model the deer after but added a few joints in the arms and legs to make them appear slightly more human.
“I did that to make them more accessible,” he told WOSU. “It becomes something that people want to be with and actually touch.”
Scioto Deer FAQ
What is the Scioto Lounge?
It’s the official name artist Terry Allen gave the three bronze deer along the Scioto Mile. Most locals just call them the Scioto deer.
Who made the Scioto deer?
Terry Allen, a Texas-raised, Guggenheim-winning artist and songwriter, on a 2014 commission for the Scioto Mile.
Where are the Scioto deer?
Downtown Columbus, not Dublin. Two sit in Genoa Park behind COSI, and the third leans on the Rich Street Bridge.
How many Scioto deer are there?
Three.
When were they installed?
2014, during the Scioto Mile’s riverfront overhaul.
What does “Scioto” mean?
It goes back to a Wyandot word for “deer.” A separate bit of lore says shed deer hair once floated on the river, giving it the nickname “hairy river.”
And that’s how three bronze deer became one of the most photographed things on the Scioto Mile.
Want to see more? Start with our guide to the Columbus public art you need to see, then browse ColumbusMakesArt.com.
Featured image via Scioto Mile Facebook.
