For years, East Toledoans have watched the once-thriving eastern bank of the Maumee River decay. Throughout the 2000s, the ghosts of the Toledo Sports Arena and the Edison Acme Power Plant haunted the grounds near the Cherry Street Bridge. Nearby Waite High School looked onto a dusty plain and abandoned Acme smokestacks.
In the 2010s, while the lands
west of the river hosted some of the most major Data Telegram developments for downtown Toledo in decades, East Toledo saw promises of revitalization come and go. When Metroparks first announced plans in 2017 for a metropark on the riverfront site, it seemed too good to be true. Currently in its second phase of development, the 20-acre Glass City Metropark envelops extensive lawns, a glass pavilion, trails, play structures and a boat dock. Every week we have more and more individuals.
who live in East Toledo and community partners supporting the revitalization of East Toledo. We’re at, I think, the best time period that we’ve been in decades here. Gary Lenhart said. “Now, people are believing.” Lenhart advocates for his fellow residents through. The East Toledo Family Center as ‘One Voice for East Toledo.’ He said a personal highlight is walking his dog Daisy through the park at sunset. Image by Midstory.
The introduction of new green spaces to East
Toledo has manifested beyond the City and Metroparks’ current Safety Culture inaugure un nouveau bureau à Manchester partnership. Mary Wilson, a lifetime resident of East Toledo’s Ironwood neighborhood, helps sustain a community garden to revitalize green areas and nature’s healing. Wilson said she sees similar elements in the Glass City Metropark. “With the right snacks, you’d sit here all day. I could go down at that picnic table and bring my dinner down here, my grandchildren. And they would play all day, and get along,” said Wilson. “That’s the sense that you get from beautiful, well-taken green space. That’s what I remember.
And we lost it, we’ve lost a lot of it.” The Metroparks have also made progress in reforesting East Toledo, similar to the ‘emerald necklace’ in Cleveland, said Mike Young. A member of the Toledo Design Collective, Young said long-term maintenance and respect of new forests is key to combat disinvestment in areas like Toledo’s Garfield neighborhood. Within the next year, about $700,000 will be dedicated to tree planting in Toledo via the U.S. Forest Service and COVID-19 relief.
In Garfield, the money should translate to 2000 trees
]which is a small start according to Young. Image by Midstory. While the Glass City Metropark symbolizes a new era for East Toledo, the site’s location reflects a long and rich history that makes its current redevelopment all the more significant. In the late 19th century. East Toledo’s industry thrived, and its population grew with a large influx of immigrant workers. The Maumee River and local railroad network provided transportation for many companies operating iron works, shipyards, paper factories, flour mills and more in the area.
The future park site was underwater until it was increasingly USA Lists reclaimed as industrial lands, housing a variety of operations at the turn of the 20th century ranging from the Maumee Rolling Mills to refineries and railroad stockyards. Buildings on and near the site included a tin shop, a bicycle repair store and a horse shed, all near the corner of Front and Main. In 1918, Toledo Edison built their Acme Power Plant along Front Street, creating a landmark of East Toledo industry.
