Old West End Toledo

We say goodbye to Libbey High School.  An effort to save this historic school failed and its destruction began in earnest on January 9, 2011. 

This structure was designed by Toledo Pulbic Schools employee and Old West End resident Edwin Gee of 2836 Scottwood Avenue. 

Toledo again loses another piece of its unique architectural heritage.

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Happy 175th Birthday, Toledo

 from 

www.oldwestendtoledo.com 

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When I saw the group of men standing in the front yard at 426-28 Winthrop, my heart surged with hope that finally someone had purchased that old magestic apartment house for restoration.  It was only months ago that I had received a phone call from a realtor asking on behalf of a client as to whether this structure stood within the boundaries of the Old West End Historic District.  I assured him that it did.

Why not restore this grand old building?  After all, Kent Library  located only a few short blocks away, has just reopened after a major renovation;  Rosary Cathedral and its parish school had undergone major restoration to its brick and mortar in recent years, and the adjacent and newly-renovated Scott High School stands ready to welcome back its students in January 2012.  On top of all this, the complete reconstruction of close-by Collingwood Boulevard is set to begin in the spring. 

The first time this building was listed in the Polk City Directory was the 1912 issue.  "The Williston" was constructed opposite the fashionable, but long-demolished Miltimore Apartments at the corner of Winthrop with Ashland.  It was to be home for some of Toledo's most elite.  After all, it was erected on part of the farm owned by William Bolles who was adament that his property would only be sold and developed for the most-respectable of Toledo's citizens.

Its most recognizable resident when it opened in 1912 was Michael Owens who rented two flats in the building. 

One can imagine the hustle and bustle of the Ashland/ Winthrop/ Collingwood intersection when the Williston, the Miltimore across Winthrop, and the adjacent Scott High School were filled to capacity.  One can remember the worshippers flocking to the nearby Collingwood Temple and St. Mark's Episcopal Church.  And across the street, the Ursuline nuns and their students at St. Ursula Academy and Mary Manse College bustled around its campus.  Remember the nearby State Theatre when it was packed with movie goers and the hungry ate at the Chances R.

My dreams to see its restoration were dashed on December 13, 2011 as the wrecking crane began its unfortunate task.  Time and neglect had taken its toll.  The Williston is to be no more.  Another addition to the chapter "Lost Old West End".  Another chance lost to save one more structure in our historic district.  Another time to reflect on what we have already lost and other structures to soon follow the Williston's fate.

Who will save the former Epworth Methodist Church (Mary Manse Library) on Delaware at Parkwood?  Who will save the mansions at Bancroft and Collingwood?  Who will restore the many homes that have fallen into disrepair before its too late?  Who has the deep pockets to make a difference? 

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We are always looking for Toledo Polk city directories to add to our research library.  Call us at 419-255-6956 if you have one to donate or sell.  We may just need the one you have to fill in the missing volumes in our incomplete collection.   Years 1901 through 1906, 1908, 1909, 1913 through 1917, and 1919 are a high priority.

Thank you, Anita of Toledo for selling us your 1911 Toledo directory. 

Thank you, Tom of California for selling us your 1907, 1912, and 1954 Toledo directories.

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OUR MOTTO: SHARING VINTAGE TOLEDO PHOTOS, RESEARCH and MORE.

The messages and photos are coming in fast and furious to our newly updated website.  Here are just some of the comments.

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I encourage your comments . If you have vintage pictures that you would like to share, please email them to me for consideration to be included on this site.  Your vintage photos are very important to us and our website guests.

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Lawrence R. Stine 

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Imagine the Old West End of yesteryear: swamps, howling wolves, Indian trails, and virgin forests.  Today only some centuries-old trees of oak and black walnut remain as a picturesque backdrop for the vintage architecture for which the neighborhood is so well known.

By the late 1870s Frank Scott, son of Toledo pioneer Jessup Scott, platted a new subdivision on family land off Monroe Street and west of Collingwood Avenue.  Toledo's leading families began to build "out in the woods" in the west-end.  Business and churches soon followed.

The "woods" district of Toledo would become the most prestigious address in the city by the end of the nineteenth century.  Rapidly growing northward, farm after farm was platted into building lots.  The growth would continue through the 1920s when the last of the available lots had been improved.  The old town of Tremainsville was absorbed by the rapidly expanding west-end of Toledo.

Forming a triangle with roughly Detroit Avenue (The Great Trail) on the west, the Museum area (the Scott property) on the South, and Collingwood Boulevard (Territorial Road) to the east, and with the lost settlement of Tremainsville at the northern point, the Old West End neighborhood is a potpourri of architectural styles popular from the 1870s through the 1920s, many of the houses were designed by Toledo's leading architects of the day, including Fallis, Bacon, Stine, Mills, and Wachter: these architects built for the leading citizens of the day, including Reynolds, Libbey, Spitzer, and Bartley.

Today, the Old West End boasts one of the largest remaining collections of late Victorian and Edwardian homes in the nation.

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