Discover 20 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Toledo (United States). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo Zoo & Aquarium, and Toledo Speedway. Also, be sure to include Fifth Third Field in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Toledo (Ohio).
Table of Contents
Toledo Museum of Art
Gallery displaying art made of glass. The Toledo Museum of Art is an internationally known art museum located in the Old West End neighborhood of Toledo, Ohio. It houses a collection of more than 30,000 objects. With 45 galleries, it covers 280,000 square feet and is currently in the midst of a massive multiyear expansion plan to its 40-acre campus. The museum was founded by Toledo glassmaker Edward Drummond Libbey in 1901, and moved to its current location, a Greek revival building designed by Edward B. Green and Harry W. Wachter, in 1912. The main building was expanded twice, in the 1920s and 1930s. Other buildings were added in the 1990s and 2006. The Museum’s main building consists of 4 1/2 acres of floor space on two levels. Features include fifteen classroom studios, a 1,750-seat Peristyle concert hall, a 176-seat lecture hall, a café and gift shop. The museum averages some 380,000 visitors per year and, in 2010, was voted America’s favorite museum by the readers of the visual arts website Modern Art Notes.
The Toledo Museum of Art's eleventh and current director is Adam M. Levine.[1]
Address: 2445 Monroe St, 43620 Toledo
Toledo Zoo & Aquarium
Animal haven with concerts and events. The Toledo Zoo & Aquarium, located in Toledo, Ohio, is a member of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums, and is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, through the year 2022. The Toledo Zoo & Aquarium houses over 10,000 individual animals that cover 720 species. With a large focus on conservation efforts, the Toledo Zoo & Aquarium currently participates in over 80 species survival programs.
The Toledo Zoo & Aquarium has over 57,000 members and hosts over 1 million visitors a year.[2]
Address: Dartmouth Dr, 43609 Toledo
Toledo Speedway
Toledo Speedway is a half-mile paved oval racetrack located in Toledo, Ohio, United States. It is owned jointly by Roy Mott and ARCA President Ron Drager. It is operated by ARCA and run as the sister track to Flat Rock Speedway in Flat Rock, Michigan.[3]
Address: 5639 Benore Rd, 43612-3803 Toledo
Fifth Third Field
Stadium in Toledo, Ohio. Fifth Third Field is a Minor League Baseball stadium in Toledo, Ohio. The facility is home to the Toledo Mud Hens, a International League team and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers.
The stadium seats 10,300 and opened in 2002. It hosted the 2006 Triple-A All-Star Game and home run derby. The stadium was named one of the best minor league ballparks in America by Newsweek. In the summer of 2007, ESPN.com rated The Roost section of Fifth Third Field as the best seats to watch a game in minor league baseball.
The Ohio-based Fifth Third Bank purchased the naming rights to the stadium. Fifth Third Bank also holds the naming rights to Fifth Third Arena on the campus of the University of Cincinnati and formerly Fifth Third Field in Dayton.[4]
Address: 406 Washington St, 43604-1046 Toledo
Huntington Center
Arena in Toledo, Ohio. The Huntington Center is an 8,000-seat multi-purpose arena in downtown Toledo, Ohio. It was completed in 2009 and cost $105 million to build. It replaced the Toledo Sports Arena, which has since been demolished.
It serves as the home of the Toledo Walleye ECHL ice hockey team, and was the home of the Toledo Crush of the Legends Football League for the 2014 season.[5]
Address: 500 Jefferson Ave, 43604-1010 Toledo
Imagination Station
Museum in Toledo, Ohio. Imagination Station is a non-profit, hands-on science museum located on the Maumee riverfront in downtown Toledo, Ohio. The facility has over 300 exhibits for "children of all ages."
The museum opened in 1997 as COSI. After tax levies failed in 2006 and 2007, COSI closed its doors to the public on the last day of 2007 due to lack of funding. In 2008, voters approved an operating levy to reopen the facility as The Toledo Science Center. This interim name was replaced by "Imagination Station," which opened on 10 October 2009.[6]
Address: 1 Discovery Way, 43604 Toledo
Rosary Cathedral
Catholic cathedral in Toledo, Ohio. Our Lady, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Cathedral is a Roman Catholic church located at 2535 Collingwood Boulevard in the Old West End of Toledo, Ohio. The cathedral is the mother church of the 122 parishes in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Toledo. This cathedral is unique architecturally in that it was designed in the Spanish Plateresque style. It was designed with Toledo's Sister City, Toledo, Spain in mind. Finished in 1931, it was built in the spirit of the great European cathedrals of the Middle Ages.[7]
Address: 2535 Collingwood Blvd, 43610-1432 Toledo
Toledo Botanical Garden
Botanical garden in Toledo, Ohio. Toledo Botanical Garden is a botanical garden in Toledo, Ohio, owned and managed by Metroparks Toledo.
Originally comprising 20 acres (8.1 ha) donated by George P. Crosby to the City of Toledo, the garden now encompasses 60 acres (24 ha). Notable events include the Crosby Festival of the Arts, held in late June; and Heralding the Holidays, a seasonal celebration showcasing the numerous resident artistic guilds.[8]
Address: 5403 Elmer Dr, 43615-2803 Toledo
Wildwood Preserve Metropark
Park in Lucas County, Ohio. Wildwood Preserve Metropark is a nature reserve and historic estate located in Sylvania Township, Ohio. Wildwood is the most-visited of the 19-park Metroparks Toledo district.
Metroparks Toledo purchased the property in 1975 following a citizen-led effort to preserve the grounds of Stranleigh Estate. The Georgian colonial style house and surrounding buildings comprised the family residence of Champion spark plug magnate Robert A. Stranahan, Sr. his wife Paige, and their children, including professional golfer Frank Stranahan.
Wildwood features one of the last remaining public, free-admission gardens designed by Ellen Biddle Shipman. The park also features the former Oak Grove School, a one-room schoolhouse built by the Sylvania Board of Education in 1897.[9]
Address: 5100 W Central Ave, 43615-2106 Toledo
Ohio Theatre
The Ohio Theatre is located at 3114 Lagrange St in the Toledo's Polish International Village of Toledo, Ohio. Built in 1921, it is Toledo's last operating neighborhood theatre. This three-story brick and stone masonry building comprises 8,000 square feet and features stadium seating, the original Mighty 90 carbon arc 35mm movie projectors, and the Marr and Colton pipe organ originally installed in the razed Rivoli Theatre in downtown Toledo. The theatre has a spacious 40' by 60' thrust stage with a 10' by 20' orchestra platform. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.[10]
Address: 3114 Lagrange St, Toledo
St. Patrick's Catholic Church
Catholic church in Toledo, Ohio. The Church of St. Patrick is a parish of the Roman Catholic Church at 130 Avondale Avenue in Toledo, Ohio, in the Diocese of Toledo. It is noted for its historic parish church, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.[11]
Address: 130 Avondale Ave, 43604 Toledo
St. Ann Roman Catholic Church Complex
St. Ann Roman Catholic Church Complex is a historic Catholic church at 1105 W. Bancroft and 1120 Horace Streets in Toledo, Ohio. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.[12]
Address: 1119 Bancroft Street, 43606-4613 Toledo
Anthony Wayne Bridge
Suspension bridge in Toledo, Ohio. The Anthony Wayne Bridge, commonly called the High Level Bridge, was designed by Waddell & Hardesty and constructed by the McClintic-Marshall Company in 1931, and is a downtown Toledo, Ohio landmark named after General Anthony Wayne. It is a suspension bridge that spans the Maumee River. The bridge has some features that give it a unique aesthetic quality, including a sky blue color and various lattice patterns.
Ohio State Routes 2, 51, and 65 cross the Maumee River on the Anthony Wayne Bridge; it also connects Clayton Street to Woodville Road.[13]
Address: Ohio Route 2, 43604 Toledo
Veterans' Glass City Skyway
Cable-stayed bridge. The Veterans' Glass City Skyway, commonly called the Toledo Skyway Bridge, is a cable-stayed bridge on Interstate 280 in Toledo, Ohio. After many delays, it opened in 2007. The bridge has taken traffic and reduced delays on the Robert Craig Memorial Bridge, a bascule bridge that was, until its transfer to local control, one of the last moveable bridges on the Interstate highway system. The Skyway is Ohio Department of Transportation's biggest single construction project.[14]
Address: Interstate 280, 43605 Toledo
Stranahan Theater
Auditorium in Toledo, Ohio. The Stranahan Theater & Great Hall, commonly known as the Stranahan Theater is a 2,424-seat concert hall located in Toledo, Ohio. It was built in 1969 and was formerly called Masonic Auditorium. The theater's foyer is 3,000 square feet and the adjacent Great Hall features 10,000 square feet of meeting space. There is parking for 1,200 cars at the theater.
Fulfilling its primary usage as a concert venue, the Stranahan Theater is used for approximately 170 theater events a year. Broadway shows sponsored by Theater League have included The Phantom of the Opera, Chicago, The Lion King and Wicked. It is also the site of the Pops series of the Toledo Symphony Orchestra, The Nutcracker by the Toledo Ballet, and A Christmas Carol by the Toledo Rep. In addition, the Great Hall is used for about 140+ banquets, receptions, and trade shows each year.
The Stranahan Theater is the largest proscenium stage in Northwest Ohio. It operates primarily as a rental house and is owned and operated by a 501c3 non-profit trust. Former executive directors include Penny Marks and Ward Whiting. Steve Hyman was named Executive Director in May 2014.[15]
Address: 4645 Heatherdowns Blvd Ste 2, 43614-3192 Toledo
SS Col. James M. Schoonmaker
Col. James M. Schoonmaker, formerly Willis B. Boyer, is a lake freighter that served as a commercial vessel on the Great Lakes for much of the 20th century. Named for Medal of Honor recipient James Martinus Schoonmaker, it is currently a museum ship in Toledo, Ohio.[16]
Trinity Episcopal Church
Episcopal church in Toledo, Ohio. Trinity Episcopal Church is a historic church at 316 Adams Street in Toledo, Ohio. It was built in 1863 and added to the National Register in 1983.[17]
Address: 316 Adams St, 43604 Toledo
Woodlawn Cemetery
Cemetery in Toledo, Ohio. Woodlawn Cemetery is a rural cemetery and arboretum located in Toledo, Ohio. It is one of several cemeteries in the United States to have that name, and one of a few to be on the National Register of Historic Places.
Established in 1876, it sits on 160 acres (0.65 km2) of land, 47 acres (190,000 m2) are undeveloped, and consists of 65,000 interments.[18]
Address: 1502 W Central Ave, Toledo
Valentine Theatre
Theater in Toledo, Ohio. The Valentine Theatre is located in the downtown district of Toledo, Ohio at the corner of Superior and Adams Streets. The 126-year-old facility seats 901.
The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 19, 1987. A $28 million renovation of the building carried out by architect Charles H. Stark, begun in 1978 and taking 21 years to complete, was unveiled on October 9, 1999.
On November 23, 2007, a natural gas explosion in the basement caused extensive damage and forced the evacuation of the adjoining Renaissance Senior Apartments. The theater reopened in April 2008 after repairs costing $3.5 million.[19]
Address: Toledo, 410 Adams Street
Craig Memorial Bridge
Bascule bridge in Toledo, Ohio. The Robert Craig Memorial Bridge is a four-lane, double-leaf bascule bridge that spans the Maumee River approximately one mile downstream from downtown Toledo, Ohio. The bridge is named in memory of U.S. Army Second Lieutenant Robert Craig, a Scottish-born Toledoan who posthumously received the Medal of Honor during the Second World War.
Opening to traffic during January 1957, the Craig Memorial Bridge was notable as one of the few movable bridges on the Interstate Highway System as it carried Interstate 280 over the Maumee River shipping channel; it remained as such until the June 2007 completion of the Veterans' Glass City Skyway project. Since the re-routing of I-280, the bridge is now a local route—connecting Summit Street (on the west side of the river) to Front Street (on the east side). As such, the Craig Bridge has assumed the local role of its predecessor—an unnamed bridge that connected Ash Street to Consaul Street until its demolition following the opening of the Craig Bridge. Upon completion of the Glass City Skyway, State Route 65 was extended across the Craig Bridge from North Summit Street to Front Street.[20]