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Toledo Travel Guide, Ohio

Getting to Know Toledo, Ohio

Toledo City in Ohio, USA, was founded in 1817. The city, the fourth largest in Ohio, is also known as the Glass City because it was home to a burgeoning glass industry in the 1800s. The industry paved the way for innovations in the production of construction materials, windshields, windows, bottles, and glass art. The impressive collection of glass art dating back to the period is housed at the Toledo Museum of Arts.

Also known as the Auto Parts Capital of the World, this was the site of many big automotive manufacturing companies. The manufacture of large auto parts became a focal industry, and it is still a major industry in the area up to this day. It was also here that the Jeep was manufactured in 1941 by the Willys-Overland automakers.

Today the city handles a large bulk of international trade and has shipyards, industrial centers for the manufacture of glass, plastics, vehicles, and has power-train assembly plants.

How It All Began

In the 1860s, Toledo was a French trading post eventually ceded in 1763 to the British. It became a significant inland port of the US Northwest Territory when railroads and canals opened the locality to local trade.

Toledo was the site of several skirmishes with the native Indians. The Battle of the Fallen Timbers is the famous war between the Indians and the United States for the control of the Northwest Territory. The U.S. won this war, and the Americans confidently settled in the area. There were more battles with the Indians. There was also the famed boundary dispute with neighboring Michigan.

The city of Toledo was not immune to internal strife. There were race riots in 1967 that resulted in destruction, injuries, and death. Teacher strikes in 1976 and 1978 closed schools for weeks, and the ugly dispute between the local government, firefighters, and police caused mysterious fires.

In the 1980s, the city saw development with the government’s efforts to showcase its culture and education systems. There was a flurry of the construction of bigger downtown buildings, and the push for tourism.

The city reflects the mix of cultures, and this inspired the annual Taste of Diversity, an event where ethnic food provided by the city’s top restaurants is sampled free by an avid public. Slowly but surely, the city reinvented itself again.

Getting to and Around the Glass City

There is no lack of transportation to and around the city. There are direct and connecting flights to U.S. major cities at the Toledo Express Airport in Lucas County. The Detroit Metropolitan Airport, which is a few minutes’ drive away from Toledo, has regular schedules of domestic and international flights.

Toledo is linked to the East and West Coasts by the Ohio Turnpike at I-80 and I-90. A network of triad highways—interstate, federal, and state—links the city to all key places in the country. Interstate 75 runs through Michigan in the north and through Florida in the south.

There is East-West rail service from Amtrak and daily Greyhound and Trailways buses traveling to the city from Detroit. Traveling along the Maumee River and Great Lakes allows more ways to get to the city.

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Star Diner
travel tip by travelller posted more then 30 days ago
Quick, sassy and excellent food, especially if you're into diner food with pretty waitresses and a good atmosphere. Star Diner was the place to go for a great burger or a copious breakfast or brunch. They also have a variety of...
Beirut Restaurant
travel tip by itachan posted more then 30 days ago
What a wonderful evening, and what amazing food. The Beirut Restaurant deserves its praise, we had such a nice evening dining there, we would very much like to return again! They have a wide variety of exotic and specialty dishes, we...
Toledo Museum of Art
travel tip by marius_f posted more then 30 days ago
Art museum, when packed with lots of exhibitions can be overwhelming and when you leave you feel you couldn't really remember everything. The Toledo Museum of Art is exactly the opposite. Though they have a wider collection of...