Toledo’s Near West Side: Kuhschwanz-ONYX

 

A nice spring walk from the Erie Street Market, down Nebraska to Detroit, and back again.

 

 

http://timault.tripod.com/onyx_neighborhood_map.html

 

"Just south of Dorr Street, ONYX is a neighborhood named after its community development corporation, Organized Neighbors Yielding eXcellence. ONYX is bounded by Dorr Street, Interstate 75, Swan Creek, and the Conrail railroad tracks.

The ONYX neighborhood developed as streetcar lines along Dorr Street made the area more accessible to downtown Toledo. Architecture of the homes in ONYX dates back to the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, with gable front Folk Victorian, Neo-Colonial, and rectangular Arts and Crafts designs. Newer constructions which have replaced some of the older homes in ONYX are of Shed and Split-Level design. These homes sit upon moderately sized lots along a rectangular grid system.

Hamilton Park, on the western edge of the neighborhood, has a basketball court and picnic grounds. Gunckel Park, at the eastern edge, has a baseball diamond, tennis courts, and picnic grounds.

Although the neighborhood’s commercial district faced many demolitions in the early 1970s, ONYX has been active in revitalizing the businesses along Dorr Street. The nearby downtown and Toledo Warehouse District offer much in goods and services, and the Swayne Field and Franklin-Bancroft Shopping Plazas are a few miles north."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

St. Anthony was closed in 2005.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I see Toledo is getting some new homes.

One thing stands out: until well into the 20th century, construction density was far more compact  than in recent years.  I'm not sure if developers in the first couple of decades in the 20th century felt Toledo would continue growing to approach a million in population size (thus land was at a premium)  or, if access to public transportation was so coveted that streets with Streetcar lines necessitated dense development to provide transportation access to the maximum number of people. More recent development is decidedly suburban-like,  characterized by large open lots, plenty of open spaces between them and no hint of the old urban densities in new construction. Such changes also change the personality of a city. I personally like the old denser development rather than urban open spaces imitating suburbia. The new senior housing somewhat recaptures the urban scaled feel of the old (walkable, human scaled for pedestrians, neighborly) but one project hardly reflects a new direction in development. Thanks for sharing, nice photos!

One thing stands out: until well into the 20th century, construction density was far more compact  than in recent years.  I'm not sure if developers in the first couple of decades in the 20th century felt Toledo would continue growing to approach a million in population size (thus land was at a premium)  or, if access to public transportation was so coveted that streets with Streetcar lines necessitated dense development to provide transportation access to the maximum number of people. More recent development is decidedly suburban-like,  characterized by large open lots, plenty of open spaces between them and no hint of the old urban densities in new construction. Such changes also change the personality of a city. I personally like the old denser development rather than urban open spaces imitating suburbia. The new senior housing somewhat recaptures the urban scaled feel of the old (walkable, human scaled for pedestrians, neighborly) but one project hardly reflects a new direction in development. Thanks for sharing, nice photos!

 

Thanks - I think that the price of land, reliance on streetcars and foot travel, and the 'unnecessity' of a big yard in the early 20th century led to the density. This neighborhood seems pretty average for Midwestern urban densities; not much space between the houses, decent back yards, but nothing like the post WWII suburban areas that surround Toledo. It's hard to know how big its citizens thought the city would grow, though many Toledo boosters had their eye on Chicago as the future of the city. Of course, this part of Toledo would have to be rebuilt to much higher densities, like Detroit, if this were to happen. And well, the answer to that possibility is visible in these pictures.

Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you!!!

 

Please keep these Toledo tours coming!

Thanks for the pics.

 

What a weird neighborhood name.

This west-central area of Toledo west of I-75/Old West End (which contains some of the cheapest real estate in the United States) looks a lot like West Oakland. The similarities between the basin neighborhoods of Oakland and Toledo are uncanny (downtown scale, shipping port facilities, rail facilities, near downtown neighborhoods, etc.). Oakland is the Toledo of the West Coast.

 

The only differences are Oakland has million dollar houses everywhere, San Francisco tech wealth is flooding the city, trust fund hipsters are taking over entire formerly working class neighborhoods, and Google busses are transporting Silicon Valley workers to the big tech HQ's 40 miles away. Oakland still has all the negatives of a hardcore Rust Belt city like Toledo, but just with a lot of hyper-gentrification to offset it (thanks to BART). If Toledo could land some Silicon Valley tech money, it could be the next Oakland...Detroit is doing it, and hopefully, some of the most recent Detroit investment will spill over to Toledo the way it spilled over from San Francisco into Oakland. I've got some glimmer of hope Detroit and Toledo will level off in their decline soon and become the next hot spots. That ultra-cheap and gritty West End of Lake Erie has architectural bargains too great to ignore.

 

Overall, Toledo has stronger housing than Oakland (Old West End Toledo bests any Victorian on the West Coast besides San Francisco proper), so the potential is there in the Glass City. There also are still enough key corridors with structural density to be pedestrian-friendly (Huron Street, Madison Avenue, Adams Street, Lagrange Street, Main Street in East Toledo, Broadway in Old South End, etc.). Toledo doesn't really deserve to be in its sorry economic state. It's a city that punches well above its weight, and though it's very rundown and abandoned, it still looks better than its dismal economy leads you to believe.

 

I could see Toledo's Warehouse District becoming the Jack London Square of the Midwest.

Downtown Toledo could become Uptown Oakland.

Lagrange could become Temescal.

Old West End could become Adams Point.

East Toledo could become Eastlake and Fruitvale.

West-Central Toledo could become West Oakland.

The South End could become Rockridge.

 

The list goes on. It just will take a lot of money and population growth.

Speaking of bargain real estate, the Tillinghast-Willys-Bell House on Bancroft just sold again, probably cheaper than just about any property in San Francisco.

 

http://www.toledoblade.com/Real-Estate/2015/05/16/Historic-mansion-purchase-fulfills-family-s-long-dream.html

 

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2210-Robinwood-Ave-Toledo-OH-43620/34670830_zpid/