Pretty impressive...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Italinate courthouse converted to Art Deco in 1938

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sandusky is an ultimate tragedy.  There should be no reason the downtown and city shouldn't be "improved" with more shops, restaurants, etc ala a better Galveston as the area is already a tourist magnet for Cedar Point and the Islands. 

Lot's of good memories! Thanks.

^^I blame the residents.

Sandusky is an ultimate tragedy.  There should be no reason the downtown and city shouldn't be "improved" with more shops, restaurants, etc ala a better Galveston as the area is already a tourist magnet for Cedar Point and the Islands. 

 

Unfortunately everything is in Perkins Township on that hideous stretch of Rte. 250.  Once they built the mall out there, businesses began to leave downtown and they never came back.  The attitude of the residents isn't any better, especially that of Perkins residents in regards to Sandusky.

 

It's a shame.  The downtown Sandusky area can be very charming, especially if you take the time to really look around.  But it sees none of the tourism traffic.  A decent hotel in downtown Sandusky could be fairly successful with access to the waterfront and the boats out to the islands and less traffic headaches getting there than out to Perkins or Avery.  But there's nothing there. Just a lot of empty storefronts.

And a few more...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is by far my favorite of Ohio's small urban centers. This should have been our state's largest city. The location is to die for. Sandusky represents all the mistakes made in the state of Ohio. There is no reason this should not at least be our state's Grand Haven or Traverse City. 3-4 million people a year go to Cedar Point. Millions more go to the Lake Erie islands.

 

Historically speaking, I think this was our state's most well-planned city. I love the angled streets and pocket parks. The highways also skirt outside of town, leaving a cohesive, dense core. The problems of Sandusky are mainly economic. Sandusky's economy is about as bad as Toledo's (just on a much smaller scale), and brain drain is a problem. It's a very tough town to land a good job in. Winters get really bad. If you think downtown is empty in the summer, visit during the dead of winter! At least summer produces ferry traffic. To Sandusky's credit, the city is a lot more intact than its economy would suggest. There is still a wealth of great buildings, though many are partially or wholly abandoned. While it should be like Grand Haven or Traverse City, it has a lot more in common with Port Huron. I could see that as a model. Port Huron is finally starting to transition into a tourist town, and they've done a great job with their waterfront.

Good bones badly in need of some flesh! Excellent photo tour.

 

Erie County; proudly upholding the Ohio tradition of historic courthouse bastardization.

This is by far my favorite of Ohio's small urban centers. This should have been our state's largest city. The location is to die for. Sandusky represents all the mistakes made in the state of Ohio. There is no reason this should not at least be our state's Grand Haven or Traverse City. 3-4 million people a year go to Cedar Point. Millions more go to the Lake Erie islands.

 

It likely would have been Ohio's largest city, too, if Alfred Kelley hadn't fought so hard for the Ohio and Erie Canal to end at Cleveland.  If I remember correctly, Sandusky was the original choice.

Has anyone gone to the Sandusky Barge Party? It looks pretty fun, kind of like Athens transplanted to the water. I guess it's on a sand spit in the bay and people camp out on the beach too. Ohio is getting good at these things, and it's something that sets us apart from the tourist meccas in Michigan. Michigan's tourism spots are too classy to do these kinds of things. In Ohio, we clearly have the Midwestern drinking market cornered:

 

http://sanduskybaybargeparty.com/2010_Party_Photos/2010_Party_Photos.html

 

Edit: this kind of reminds me of what people say weekends used to be like off Point Place in Toledo. A bunch of boats would anchor on a sandbar in Maumee Bay, and hundreds of people would just party in the warm waters of the bay. Sadly, I think water pollution/toxic algae is limiting this to just a few weekends a year now.

There's a similar Summer gathering on a sandbar in Lake James, near Angola, Indiana and Pokagon State Park. I heard that someone has outfitted a floating concession stand to cater to the partiers. The gathering has come under scrutiny from time to time because of underage drinking. Given an opportunity, Hoosiers can fully stand up to Buckeyes in debauchery.

Has anyone gone to the Sandusky Barge Party? It looks pretty fun, kind of like Athens transplanted to the water. I guess it's on a sand spit in the bay and people camp out on the beach too. Ohio is getting good at these things, and it's something that sets us apart from the tourist meccas in Michigan. Michigan's tourism spots are too classy to do these kinds of things. In Ohio, we clearly have the Midwestern drinking market cornered:

 

http://sanduskybaybargeparty.com/2010_Party_Photos/2010_Party_Photos.html

 

I stop at that sandbar probably a dozen or so times a season and this is the first time I'm hearing of this.  There's always people there on a nice weekend (drinking, camping, swimming), having something organized to facilitate socialization would be pretty cool.

Sandusky has always been my favorite small city at which to look in your fair state.  I love the formidible- looking building stock in the downtown area.  I would love to see vintage photos of the same area!  It was once a very busy and important place and the city's leaders obviously built on a grand scale.

 

I had never realized that the angled streets were meant to resemble the Masonic compass and square.  It's almost too obvious, now that I know!

 

The amount of limestone used in the city is quite amazing.  It is, of course, very plentiful in the area and was probably quite economical to use.

 

Sandusky is great.

 

This is by far my favorite of Ohio's small urban centers. This should have been our state's largest city. The location is to die for. Sandusky represents all the mistakes made in the state of Ohio...

 

This should have been the largest city instead of Columbus? There have been a few with the moniker "largest city" depending on the era.

Could it be that Sandusky was once near the top itself?

*sigh*

 

I wish I wasn't so far from home!  Summertime is pretty much amazing around Sandusky.  Say what you will but north central Ohio won't keep you bored :)

Sandusky does have one of the best harbors on Lake Erie, and it tried to make up for losing the canal by proposing the first rail road in the state. 

 

Ironically it was prposed to terminate at Dayton, making a connection with the canal up from Cincinnati, so...if completed...it would have been mutually beneficial to both Sandusky and Dayton (as a transhipment point of sorts).

 

Daytonians didnt see it that way because they didnt support the completion of this railroad with a subsidy.  So the "Mad River Railroad" terminated at...Springfield, making Springfield an early railroad junction point.

 

Dayton finally relented and stock subscriptions sold and the Mad River Railroad was opened in 1851, I think, being the first railroad to arrive in Dayton. 

 

Though it got the railroad first, Sandusky wasnt able to profit too much by it because railroads were also built inland cross-country from competitor cities that had canals...Toledo and Cleveland.....

 

Yet, for its days as a lake port, Sandusky has some great old stuff.  I see they remodelled one of those old industrial piers to lofts or offices or something.  That was an impressive hulk, from what I remember form my Sandusky trip of many years ago.  The city should be the tourist hub for the region and the jumping-off port for "the Islands".    It could be cool....an urban destination spot but with water sports and boating and also access to the islands.

 

 

Incidentally, that courthouse tower is indentified on modern navigation charts as a landmark for navigation.