Last month, I was on a trip to the Sandusky area, and I decided to stop by Downtown Sandusky to check out all of the development going on there. Overall, I was extremely shocked by how much Sandusky has improved since I was last there. Compared to most mid-size Ohio cities, Sandusky seems to be light-years ahead now with lots of development projects, which you'd typically only see in big cities. I think it's long overdue, and it's nice to see the city start to grow into being something more than just Cedar Point. Also, I apologize if this tour is a bit disjointed or not super comprehensive.

 

 

 

Disclaimer: These photos are unedited. If you want to see the edited versions, make sure to follow my Instagram

 

First, we will start with the few pictures I took on the first day. This is East Water Street. Here you can see the new Lake Erie Shores and Islands Visitors Center:

 

 

Next is this site where a large building was demolished - however, the good news is, a new building is coming there soon which will look very similar to the old one. The Cooke Building, which stood on the corner of Market and Columbus, was deemed too far gone to save. I believe it will have first floor retail and upper floor apartments, and if I recall correctly, a small parking deck inside. The facade of the small building still standing here will remain. But overall, they are going above in beyond to keep the building close to the old one.

 

 

 

 

Going down Market Street is this building, which houses Value City Furniture. It's one of the few buildings left in Downtown that still need a lot of TLC.

 

You can see new apartments at the end of the road, but we will come back to that later.

 

More buildings on Market Street:

 

 

Next we have the Feick Building, which is Sandusky's tallest building. It was in very bad shape, but it currently being renovated into office space. I believe it is being used for the project between Bowling Green State University and Cedar Fair, which will give classes on the amusement park/entertainment industry.

 

 

Next we have the Jackson Street Pier and waterfront area, which is the part that has seen the craziest change. Last time I was here, it was just a parking lot with some old and unkept looking buildings behind it. Now, it's a beautiful public space with a bike path and many restored buildings. I feel like Cleveland could take some lessons from Jackson Street Pier for the area behind Browns Stadium. Also, I love the frequent use of rooftop spaces here in Sandusky:

 

 

 

 

Here's where the ferry to Pelee Island, as well as the Goodtime fleet (one of which is pictured here) docks up. There's even a small customs station nearby for people taking the ferry to Pelee. Behind the boat is an old warehouse which is now luxury condos.

 

Here's the view of Johnson's Island (home to the Confederate cemetery) and Marblehead Peninsula behind it:

 

Looking back towards Downtown Sandusky:

 

The view of Cedar Point:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm not sure what they use this orange building for, but I really like the outdoor plaza/seating area:

 

The Jet Express ferry terminal to Cedar Point, Kelley's, and Put-in-Bay:

 

 

 

 

Here's the plaza linking the center of Downtown (Columbus Avenue) with Shoreline Drive/the waterfront:

 

Here's some commercial buildings on Columbus Avenue:

 

Looking down West Water Street:

 

And East Water Street:

 

Next is the State Theater, which unfortunately experienced a tragedy which caused the back half of the building to cave in due to high winds. A large portion of the theater is now exposed and destroyed - but I believe it will be restored luckily:

 

More along Columbus Avenue. I tried the restaurant seen in the far right of this image, BARRA, which had great tex-mex style food. That's another great thing about Downtown Sandusky - the food and nightlife seen is quite high quality and even sophisticated. I like to describe what Sandusky is becoming as the fancy man's version of Put-in-Bay!

 

Another view of the Feick Building with the construction zone around the former Cooke Building in the foreground:

 

Here's Peddler's Alley, which is just a small pedestrian alley with seating for nearby restaurants and a connection to a parking lot:

 

Looking down East Market Street:

 

And West Market Street:

I'd like to see the Green Building get renovated and have its original storefront restored:

 

Jackson Street Parking Lot with West Water Street and the State Theater damage in the background:

 

West Water Street:

 

Hotel Kilbourne, which can be seen here, is a really beautifully restored boutique hotel with a rooftop taco bar overlooking the waterfront. The street is also home to Soda Pops, an old fashioned candy store, and Dandelion, a boutique clothing store.

 

Next, here's this apartment building on East Water Street towards the edge of Downtown:

 

The new apartments on East Market Street and Hancock Street:

 

Lastly, here's some smaller building on East Market Street, on the edge of Downtown:

 

 

Overall, I really enjoyed Sandusky, and I didn't even get to explore all of it! It's a really cool city that has a ton of untapped potential. Even the residential neighborhoods that I didn't photograph are pretty cool. The way the urban neighborhoods are set up, as well as the housing styles, remind me much more of neighborhoods in Cleveland than the typical mid-size Ohio farm town, which I expected Sandusky to look like. But it definitely has a much more urban Great-Lakes city vibe.

 

Want to see more? Check out my photo tour of Sandusky's Cove District, a neighborhood made of boat-houses!

Edited September 2, 20204 yr by Dblcut3

This was excellent.  Thank you for the tour!  Sandusky, IMO, has the best location (potential) in the state.

8 hours ago, ColDayMan said:

This was excellent.  Thank you for the tour!  Sandusky, IMO, has the best location (potential) in the state.

Agreed! I'd like to see Ashtabula do a little bit of what Sandusky is currently doing. They also have a great lakeside location, nearby Geneva, etc. They already have a nice main street area by the water, but there still needs to be a little more work done to it. But yeah, it's crazy how long it took Sandusky to finally capitalize off of Cedar Point's presence and make the city proper more than just the doormat and motel room of the amusement park.

Edited September 3, 20204 yr by Dblcut3

Some pics from our weekend trip to the area in July 2024.

Good stuff!