Toledo landmarks featured in downtown walking tours

The Toledo Blade
By MEGAN GREENWELL, BLADE STAFF WRITER
Article published Friday, July 8, 2005

Pat Nowak, center, briefs tour guests on the history and details of the Erie Street Market, where she serves as executive director. Next week's tour will be of Fort Industry Square. (THE BLADE/ALLAN DETRICH)

Joe Louis boxed there. The UAW rallied there. Elvis Presley reportedly sang there.

All three are part of the history of the Erie Street Market, the subject of the first of this summer's walking tour series focusing on Toledo landmarks.

Pat Nowak, the market's executive director, led the tour along with Discover Downtown Toledo volunteer guides.

"It's fun to encourage people to learn their city," said tour guide Mary Bell, who is retired after working 37 years for Toledo Public Schools. "Lots of people remember how it used to be."

Indeed, most of the people taking the tour were 60-somethings who have lived in Toledo most of their lives and remem-bered the structure, formerly known as the Civic Auditorium, and "how it used to be."

They shared stories of attending flower and car shows in what is now the Civic Center Promenade as well as seeing the Shrine circus where food vendors now sit.

"This was the most special place to come down to. I hope it's restored to being the hub of Toledo," Ms. Nowak said.

She used most of the lunchtime tour to talk about the future of the market in the context of the structure's 92-year history. Her plan for the market includes restoring many of the features of the 1920s-era building, she said.

The meat and seafood shop that opened in the market last month are reminiscent of the butchers and other vendors that lined the walls during its early days as a venue for fresh food sales, Ms. Nowak said.

And although Elvis has left the building for good, other musical groups will perform on the Civic Center Promenade stage.

"We're finally getting it to what it was intended for," she said.

Fred Folger, a self-described Toledo history buff who has led Discover Downtown Toledo tours for three years, told the tour group about the history of Swan Creek. He also reviewed some of the less glamorous moments for the building, such as the time it served as a storage space for city lawn mowers, snow plows, and other equipment.

"Everything goes full cycle," he said, comparing the auditorium at the Erie Street Market becoming too run down to host sporting events and the current state of the Toledo Sports Arena. "That's why the history is so interesting - and important."

Marilyn Olson, one of the youngest members of the tour group, said she has lived in Toledo 10 years but never learned the history of the city. She saw the walking tour begin as she was coming out of the market, and she decided to join in.

"I was mostly just curious," she said. "Who knew that Elvis was here?"

In fact, Ms. Nowak said, there is no written record of Elvis ever performing at the structure, but there are people who remember when it happened.

Photos on the walls of the new Civic Center Promenade depict other major events in the building's history, including a flower show and a union rally.

Mrs. Olson said now she is interested in learning about the history of other local buildings.

"I know there are other old buildings all around downtown, so I may stop by to learn about those too," she said.

Contact Megan Greenwell at: mgreenwell@theblade.com or 419-724-6050.