Toledo is on the western end of Lake Erie. It is the county seatGR6 of Lucas County, and the principal city in the Toledo Metropolitan Statistical Area. In the 2000 census, the city proper had a population of 313,619. As of July 1, 2005, however, the U.S. Census Bureau listed the city with a reduced population of 301,285, allowing Toledo to maintain its place as the fourth-largest city in the state. Toledo is known as the Glass City because of its long history of innovation in all aspects of the glass industry: windows, bottles, windshields, construction materials, and glass art, of which the Toledo Museum of Art has a large collection. The Jeep vehicle has been manufactured in Toledo since 1941. Automotive glass supplier Libbey Owens Ford has long been a staple of Toledo's economy.
Recent eventsSee 2005 Toledo Riot
GeographyToledo is located at (41.665682, -83.575337)GR1. The city sits astride the Maumee River at the southern end of Maumee Bay, which is the westernmost inlet of Lake Erie. Toledo is north of what was formerly the Great Black Swamp, giving rise to another nickname, Frog Town. An important ecological site, a sandy oak savanna called the Oak Openings region, lies just west.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 217.8 km² (84.1 mi²). 208.8 km² (80.6 mi²) of it is land and 8.9 km² (3.5 mi²) of it (4.10%) is water.
ClimateToledo, like many other cities in the Great Lakes region, experiences a continental climate, characterized by four distinct seasons, with significant variations in temperature and precipitation between them. The city's location just off the western end of Lake Erie moderates its climate somewhat, so that it is less extreme than if the city were further from the lake. The city also shares many climatic characteristics with the Ohio Valley, such as slightly warmer winters and increased precipitation that is more evenly spread throughout the year.
The warmest month of the year is July, when high temperatures average 87°F (30°C), and overnight low temperatures average 68°F (20°C). January is the coldest month, when high temperatures average 33°F (1°C), and low temperatures average 22°F (-5°C). The wettest month of the year is June, when 3.84 inches (97.5mm) of precipitation falls. The driest month is January, when 2.00 inches (50.8mm) of precipitation falls. The warmest temperature ever recorded in Toledo was 105°F (41°C) on July 31, 1999. The coldest temperature ever recorded was -16°F (-27°C), on January 21, 1985.
DemographicsAs of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 313,619 people, 128,925 households, and 77,355 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,502.0/km² (3,890.2/mi²). There were 139,871 housing units at an average density of 669.9/km² (1,734.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 70.23% White, 23.55% African American, 0.31% Native American, 1.03% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 2.28% from other races, and 2.57% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.47% of the population.
In 2000 there were 128,925 households in Toledo, out of which 29.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.2% were married couples living together, 17.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.0% were non-families. 32.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 3.04.
In the city the population was spread out with 26.2% under the age of 18, 11.0% from 18 to 24, 29.8% from 25 to 44, 19.8% from 45 to 64, and 13.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 91.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.7 males. There was a total of 139,871 housing units in the city, of which 10,946 (7.8%) were vacant.
The median income for a household in the city was $32,546, and the median income for a family was $41,175. Males had a median income of $35,407 versus $25,023 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,388. About 14.2% of families and 17.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.9% of those under age 18 and 10.4% of those age 65 or over.
NeighborhoodsToledo consists of the following neighborhoods,
The Toledo Metropolitan Area consists of the following suburbs
Toledo is best known for industrial manufacturing, although these industries have declined considerably in past decades. The Big Three automakers all have factories in metropolitan Toledo. The city is home to three Fortune 500 companies: Dana Corporation, Owens Corning, and Owens-Illinois. Owens-Illinois has recently relocated to suburban Perrysburg. HCR Manor Care is an up and coming Fortune 1000 company headquartered in Toledo. Though the largest employer in Toledo was Jeep for much of the 20th century, this honor has recently gone to the University of Toledo. Manufacturing as a whole now employs fewer Toledoans than does the healthcare industry, now the city's biggest employer. In 2001, a taxpayer lawsuit was filed against Toledo that challenged the constitutionality of tax incentives it extended to DaimlerChrysler for the expansion of its Jeep plant. The case was won by the city on a technical issue after it reached the U.S. Supreme Court in DaimlerChrysler Corp. v. Cuno, 547 U.S. ___ (2006).
Toledo is the primary market city for northwest Ohio, a region of nine counties with a population in excess of 1 million. As such there is a high concentration of retail establishments and medical facilities in Toledo. The city's location at the intersection of I-80/I-90 and I-75 (i.e. 'The Crossroads of America') has made it a popular hub location for transportation companies such as UPS and BAX Global. Toledo is also the nation's third busiest rail hub, 15th-busiest air cargo hub, and one of the busiest ports on the Great Lakes.
To promote economic development, the City of Toledo has announced that it will cover the 88 square miles of the Toledo area with Wi-Fi internet access for government, business, and personal use. This will create the nation's sixth largest Wi-Fi network, and will be funded with private dollars. http://ci.toledo.oh.us/index.cfm?Article=2041
Education Colleges and universitiesThese higher education institutions operate campuses within the city of Toledo:
Nearby are the following other higher education institutions:
Toledo Public Schools operates public schools within much of the city limits, along with the Washington Local School District in northern Toledo. Additionally, several private and parochial high schools are present within Toledo including Maumee Valley Country Day School, Central Catholic High School, St. Francis de Sales High School, St. John's Jesuit High School, Notre Dame Academy, and St. Ursula Academy. The sixth Catholic high school in the area, Cardinal Stritch High School, is located in nearby Oregon.
MediaThe following are media outlets located in the city of Toledo. Also serving the city are a number of other radio and television stations, and newspapers located outside the city limits, including many such media outlets in the Detroit, Michigan, area. Some of these newspapers and broadcasting stations are listed below, with the city of publication or license noted when occurring outside of Toledo.
NewspapersThe Blade, a daily newspaper, is the primary newspaper in Toledo and was founded in 1835. It considers itself to be one of the best local newspapers in the United States. Page one of each issue asserts 'One of America's Great Newspapers.' The city's arts and entertainment weekly is the Toledo City Paper. In March 2005, the weekly newspaper Toledo Free Press began publication, and it has a focus on news and sports. Other weeklies include the 'West Toledo Herald,' 'El Tiempo', La Prensa, Sojourner's Truth, and the Toledo Journal, as well as type A magazine, a quarterly publication focused on Toledo's anarchist community. Toledo Tales provides satire and parody of life in the Glass City.
MagazinesClamor was a bi-monthly magazine published in Toledo, Ohio. The focus of the magazine is alternative culture (covering art, commentary, cultural criticism, photography, interviews, politics, and music), often from a politically left-wing perspective.
The Old West End Magazine is published monthly and highlites 'The Best in Urban Historic Living'. Monthly issues are also published on the Old West End Association web site. http://www.toledooldwestend.com/main.aspx
Television stations'** Low Power stations (containing 'LP' or numbers in their calls) had to move, due to HDTV station conversions on a specific station number. Therefore, the station on that channel had to move to another channel number.
Radio stationsThe University of Toledo fields teams in many intercollegiate sports, quite anumber of which enjoy loyal followings by Toledo sports fans. The Toledo Rockets football team plays at the Glass Bowl, while the basketball teams compete at Savage Hall.
The Mud Hens are one of minor league baseball's oldest teams, having first played in 1896. Fifth Third Field, however, is a new stadium, having been completed in 2002. In 2005, the Mud Hens won the International League Governor's Cup Championship by beating the Indianapolis Indians and again in 2006 by defeating the Rochester Red Wings. Fifth Third Field also made record-breaking attendance with over 590,000 fans, the most in Mud Hen's history. The Mudhens are the AAA affiliate of the Detroit Tigers.
The Toledo Sports Arena is home to the Toledo Storm of the ECHL (formerly East Coast Hockey League), and has also hosted many other sporting events. Inverness Club is a famous golf club and course frequently featured on the tours of the Professional Golfers' Association of America (as well as the PGA Tour and LPGA).
Toledo Speedway is a local auto racetrack that features, among other events, stock car racing and concerts.
Major routesAmtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides service to Toledo. Amtrak Train 29, the westbound Capitol Limited, is scheduled to depart Toledo at 4:57am daily with service to Waterloo, Elkhart, South Bend, and Chicago. Amtrak Train 30, the eastbound Capitol Limited, is scheduled to depart Toledo at 10:45pm daily with service to Sandusky, Elyria, Cleveland, Alliance, Pittsburgh, Connellsville, Cumberland, Martinsburg, Harpers Ferry, Rockville, and Washington, DC. Amtrak Train 49, the westbound Lake Shore Limited, is scheduled to depart Toledo at 5:35am daily with service to Bryan, Waterloo, Elkhart, South Bend, and Chicago. Amtrak Train 48, the eastbound Lake Shore Limited, is scheduled to depart Toledo at 1:30am daily with service to Sandusky, Elyria, Cleveland, Erie, Buffalo-Depew, Rochester, Syracuse, Utica, Schenectady, and Albany-Rensselaer. Train 48 splits at this point with one section proceeding to Boston via Pittsfield, Springfield, Worcester and Framingham. The other section continues to Croton-Harmon and New York City.
Notable residentsFamous Toledoans include:
Toledo linked with Toledo, Spain as Sister Cities in 1931, creating the first Sister Cities relationship in the world. In total Toledo has eight Sister Cities, as designated by Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI):
