Deanville was a small residential neighborhood and historically significant African-American settlement located at the southwest corner of Sylvania Avenue and King Road in Sylvania Township.
Continue reading “Deanville”Author: retrotoledometro
“Rattlesnake Corners” and the Eastern Massasauga
Before development, the area around present-day Central Avenue and Holland-Sylvania Road in Sylvania Township, historically known as “Rattlesnake Corners,” was a flat, marshy landscape along the edge of the historic Great Black Swamp. An ideal habitat for the Eastern Massasauga rattlesnake, or “swamp rattler,” the region consisted of wet prairie, sedge meadows, marshy ground, scattered oak openings, and poorly drained lowlands interspersed with slightly elevated prairie ridges. Tall grasses, cattails, shrubs, tamarack, and oak groves would have covered much of the land, while shallow seasonal ponds, muddy depressions, winding creeks, and groundwater-fed wetlands provided excellent overwintering habitat in crayfish burrows and saturated soils below the frost line. This blend of wetlands and nearby drier hunting areas supported abundant frogs, mice, voles, and other prey, creating an ideal environment for massasaugas long before drainage projects, farming, roads, and suburban development transformed the area.
Continue reading ““Rattlesnake Corners” and the Eastern Massasauga”“Rattlesnake Corners” and Fred Behrendt.
In October of 1895 Fred and Alvina Behrendt took over operations of a roadhouse/tavern at the crossroads of what is now the intersection of Central Avenue and Holland-Sylvania Road, then called Rattlesnake Corners, or “The Corners,” for short. I won’t repeat here what has already been written about in great detail in 1895.
Continue reading ““Rattlesnake Corners” and Fred Behrendt.”Madhatter Music Company, 143 E. Wooster St.
“It felt like the sort of place that had existed for decades...”
Stepping outside of Toledo to capture this one. Madhatter Music Company was opened by Billy Hanaway and Ed Cratty in 1988. The store was named after their band, Madhatter.
Continue reading “Madhatter Music Company, 143 E. Wooster St.”Nirvana, 4962 Monroe St.
Opened in 1979. Originally the location of Hygiene Products Company (c1946). It was John Nuding’s Mobile Home Center (c1960) and O’Henry’s Old Toledo (1976). Was later incorporated into the adjacent Sweet Water Cafe and renamed Sweet Hall. Has also been: Mr. Roberts (1984). C.J. Barrymore’s (1986). China Gate by Wang (1988). Demolished 1997.
Continue reading “Nirvana, 4962 Monroe St.”Head-Quarters, 1638 Sylvania Ave.
Head-Quarters opened in 1969 and was located on the north side of Sylvania Avenue between Jackman Road and Berwick Avenue, former site of Sylvania Avenue Hardware. Head-Quarters was owned by Rick Campbell who also owned the Dry Mouth Cafe (formerly Firehouse). Campbell later relocated/reopened his store to 3340 Dorr Steet in 1974 in the former Tabard Inn. The 1638 building was demolished in 1999.
Continue reading “Head-Quarters, 1638 Sylvania Ave.”Firehouse, 5815 Secor Rd.
Originally the Trilby Volunteer Fire Station located on the west side of Secor Road just north of Alexis Road. The Firehouse, a live music venue, opened in the former fire station in early 1969. In 1970 it was renamed the Dry Mouth Cafe, operated by Rick Campbell who was the owner of Head-Quarters. It then became Half-A-Sixpence clothing store in 1971. In 1981 it was the Sawmill Lounge. In 1986, Rosie’s. The former fire station was demolished in 2005 to make way for a Walgreens.
Continue reading “Firehouse, 5815 Secor Rd.”Steve Mason Billboard, 3328 W. Central Ave.
In 1987 Steve Mason from WRQN camped out on a billboard sign at Westgate. Seems like this was big deal at the time, but there is little discussion about it in the news archives.
Ponderosa Steakhouse, 3330 W. Central Avenue – Westgate.
The Westgate Ponderosa opened in late 1969. It closed in c2007 and was replaced by El Nuevo Vallarta Mexican Restaurant. The building was demolished in 2014. El Nuevo Vallarta relocated.
Continue reading “Ponderosa Steakhouse, 3330 W. Central Avenue – Westgate.”Crystal Theatre, 421 Superior Street.
The Crystal Theatre opened on June 4, 1906 and “quit” in November that same year. The Temple Theatre replaced it on January 13, 1907 but quickly called it quits on January 23, 1907. The Interurban Union Station moved in that same year. Newspapers show it was also the location of the Orpheum Theater c1910s and the State Theatre in 1921. In 1922 the Royal theater relocated to 421 Superior from 425 Summit Street. The Royal went through a few name changes over the decades, keeping Royal in the name. The Royal closed in 1968. The block on which it stood is now a parking lot, with the exception of one office building on the northwest corner of Adams and Superior that houses the Noir Hybrid Lounge and Bar on the first floor. Where the Covert House used to stand.
Continue reading “Crystal Theatre, 421 Superior Street.”