Windows in Columbus Historic Districts: Repair, Replacement and Approval

Historic window replacement in German Village, Victorian Village, Italian Village or another Columbus historic district needs a Certificate of Appropriateness from the city’s Historic Preservation Office and a building permit before work starts. Repairs, and windows from the city’s approved list, can be cleared by staff without a hearing.

A project that fits the staff rules moves on paperwork alone, while anything off the list waits for a monthly hearing with a window sample. That makes the choice between repair, a listed window and an unlisted one the main factor in how long the job takes.

Four city commissions review exterior work in Columbus historic districts, and your address decides which one handles your windows. All four meet at 111 N. Front St. at 4:00 p.m., and the city notes that dates can change, so confirm with the Historic Preservation Office before you plan around a hearing.

Swipe the table sideways to see every column.

The Brewery District used to have its own commission. Since February 1, 2024, its applications go to the Historic Resources Commission, which also covers the Columbus Register districts and individually listed buildings across the city.

Staff can approve four kinds of window work without a hearing: repairs, listed replacement windows, low-profile storm windows and restored original openings. They come from the Historic Preservation Office’s staff approval list:

• Repair of historic windows.
• Replacement of inappropriate, deteriorated or damaged windows with new windows from the approved list, backed by photos and the manufacturer’s brochure.
• Low-profile storm windows, with the manufacturer’s information.
• Restoring an original opening with appropriate new material, with drawings.

Anything else, including a replacement window that is not on the approved list, goes to the commission at its regular monthly hearing. In that case the approved list asks for a window sample. For most owners the fastest route is a repair or a listed window, documented well enough that staff can decide from the file.

The city keeps two lists of windows, dated January 19, 2022, reviewed by all five historic commissions that existed then (the Brewery District Commission has since merged into the Historic Resources Commission): one for all-wood windows and one for clad, composite and fiberglass windows. A window on these lists can be approved by staff, although staff still decide whether a given model and muntin pattern suit your particular house.

All-wood windows on the list

• Kolbe Heritage
• Loewen All Wood
• Weather Shield Primed 610
• Marvin Wood Ultimate
• Sierra Pacific (formerly Hurd) All Wood
• Trimline Liberty L300
• JELD-WEN Siteline Wood
• Pella Architect Series Reserve Wood
• Lincoln Wood

Clad, composite and fiberglass windows on the list

• Fiber Frame 2100 Series awning (fiberglass)
• Pella Impervia (fiberglass composite), casement replacement only
• Marvin Elevate (fiberglass exterior, wood interior), new construction in German Village only
• Universal 700 Series (aluminum)
• JELD-WEN Siteline aluminum-clad wood
• Marvin Ultimate Next Generation 2.0 aluminum-clad wood
• Kolbe Ultra Series Sterling aluminum-clad wood
• Trimline Eclipse EC300 aluminum-clad wood
• Lincoln Standard Double-Hung aluminum-clad wood
• Loewen Standard Double-Hung aluminum-clad wood
• Pella Architect Series Reserve aluminum-clad wood
• Quaker Brighton LS aluminum-clad wood
• Weather Shield Premium Series 8120 aluminum-clad wood

Vinyl windows do not appear on either list. That does not settle every case on its own, since an unlisted window can still go to a hearing, but it tells you how the commissions have ruled so far. Ask the Historic Preservation Office whether a newer edition of the list exists before you order.

Being on the list is only half of it: the notes attached to the approved lists set design rules for every historic window replacement in the districts. These are the ones that most often change what a homeowner planned to buy.

• Glass must be clear, with no decorative pattern or texture, unless a commission approves otherwise.
• Sashes with muntins must be simulated divided lite, with muntins fixed to both faces of the glass and a spacer bar between the panes.
• Composite, fiberglass and aluminum surfaces must be smooth, without faux wood grain.
• New windows must be sash kits (sash packs) or full-frame units. Insert windows, also called pocket windows, are not approved.
• The style of exterior brickmould, casings and subsills goes to staff for review.

The pocket window rule matters because inserts are a common replacement method outside the districts. An insert sets a smaller frame inside the old one, which shrinks the glass and thickens the frame, and that changes how the window reads from the street.

Applications for a Certificate of Appropriateness go through the city’s Citizens Access Portal, where you open a Planning application and choose your commission. The city no longer accepts PDF applications by email.

A clean application usually follows this order:

1. Photograph every window you plan to repair or replace, inside and out.
2. Pick the work: repair, a window from the approved list, or an unlisted window.
3. Gather the manufacturer’s brochure and specifications, plus drawings if an opening changes.
4. Submit through the portal. For a hearing, the German Village Society advises applying about a month ahead.
5. After the certificate, pull the building permit. In Columbus, replacing windows needs a permit but no plans, and creating a new window opening needs both.

The certificate comes first. The approved list states that it is required before work begins, so schedule the installer only after it is issued.

Repairing historic windows sits on the staff approval list, and it keeps the original wood, glass and proportions that the commissions exist to protect. Historic window replacement can be approved too, but it has to clear the list, the design rules and sometimes a hearing.

Repair covers a lot of ground. Rotted rails and sills can be rebuilt, loose glazing reset, sash cords and weights restored, and weatherstripping added without changing how the window looks from the street. Paired with a low-profile storm window, which staff can also approve, an old sash gets an extra layer against drafts.

Our historic window restoration team works on this kind of sash, and our 50-year window restoration project is one example.

A house on the National Register of Historic Places is not automatically under window rules. The National Park Service states that listing places no obligations on a private owner using private funds; federal standards apply only with federal money, permits, grants or tax credits.

The rules in this guide come from the city: its historic districts and the Columbus Register. A home can be on the National Register and outside any local district, or inside a local district without being individually listed. The address check with the Historic Preservation Office settles which case is yours.

For an older home outside the local districts, our guide to replacing windows in historic Ohio homes covers the wider options.

The rules above come from these city and federal pages, read in September 2026, the window lists through an archived copy of the city’s PDF. Meeting dates and lists change, so confirm current details with the Historic Preservation Office:

• Columbus Historic Preservation Office, Approved Window Lists, January 19, 2022
• German Village Commission, city page
• Victorian Village Commission, city page
• Italian Village Commission, city page
• Historic Resources Commission, city page
• German Village Society, Columbus commissions for historic districts, resident guide
• National Park Service, National Register FAQ, federal guidance