The Good & The Bad: Toledo, Ohio

[Bear Up North]

Toledo's Oil Refineries

Toledo used to be known as the largest refining center between the Atlantic coast and Chicago. At one (1) time Toledo had four (4) oil refineries, all located on the eastern side of the Maumee River, in east Toledo and Oregon, OH.

These four (4) refineries were Sohio (Standard Oil Of Ohio), Sunoco, Gulf, and Pure. Sohio became a BP company and continues to invest and operate its' huge complex in Oregon, OH. Sunoco continues to refine on Woodville Road in east Toledo.

The Gulf Oil refinery was located on Front Street, on the water, in east Toledo. The brownfield site (or a close-by brownfield area) are now being plotted for a large coking (steel processing) facility that will be built. The Pure Oil refinery was located at the curving junction of Otter Creek Road and Bay Shore Road, in Oregon. My uncle worked there as a scientist.

(Way off-topic: I still have a spinning top that has the Pure Oil logo. This puppy is so well-balanced that you can give it a good spin on a flat and smoooth surface and it will spin for minutes.)

The reason Toledo's refining history comes to mind is that the high gas prices we are all experiencing. North America has a refining capacity issue. Over the years there were probably a large number of refineries that were closed, for whatever reasons.....technology, space, consolidation, age of equipment, etc.

Yes, we all know the reasons behind the refining capacity issue: A world economy that wants refined petroleum, low mileage vehicles, sprawl, a reluctance to invest in new refining facilities because of possible changes to the engines that propel us, etc.

Well, gotta go now. Going for a ride.

Bear On Bay Shore Road

 

[Bear Up North]

Road Trip

This morning Katie wanted to do some spring cleaning AND this Bear wanted to administer some medicine that will take care of "cabin fever". So I took a mini "road trip". The purpose was to scope out possible Toledo (and area) locations for some photoshots. (Raining today, so no photos this trip.)

I started out in an area of central Toledo known as Westmoreland. It is very close to the Catholic grade school that I attended (Gesu). Very slight hills, lots of trees, boulevards everywhere, and some of the nicest large homes. I can't wait to get some pictures posted on Cyburbia. This neighborhood is (guessing) probably circa 1900-1920.

The area near the Toledo Museum of Art was next on my agenda. This museum, considered by many to be in the Top 10 in the states, is undergoing another expansion project. Some of the taller buildings in this area, about two (2) miles fron downtown Toledo, are quite interesting.

Downtown Toledo was my next scope area. The area in and around the 3-year-old minor league baseball park is a hustle of activity. Buildings being renovated, new construction (apartments), warehouses being turned into lofts.....unusually advanced for normally-staid Toledo. (BTW.....the ball park is considered one of the best minor league parks. Very fan friendly.)

I crossed the Maumee River and cruised past The Docks. This is a group of restaurants lined-up on the river, facing the opposite shore skyline. This area is a popular eating and drinking area for Toledo folks, winter and summer. I drove past The Docks and parked by a new "riverwalk" and scoped the view of the skyline from that point. Yes, that will work. (While I was scoping, a couple guys cruised by in a mid-sized boat. I thought that very strange. Too early and too cold to be on a boat.)

Farther down from the new riverwalk area is the Great Lake's freighter, Willis Boyer. This ship, no longer in service, is open for public tours. It is docked just NW of the Anthony Wayne Bridge. (I will get some under-the-bridge photos, too.)

I then drove out past the oil refinery on Woodville Road (Sunoco) and worked my way over to Maumee Bay State Park. This huge park, located on Lake Erie, is one (1) of the few investments that the state of Ohio made in the area. I could see no ice on the lake when I stopped at the beach. (Couple weeks ago we made the national news when a bunch of ice fishermen were trapped on an ice shelf that broke apart from the mainland. That happened close to this park.)

As I was cruising down Otter Creek Road, past the huge BP Refinery complex, I noticed something "new". They have placed very large boulders, about the size of a VW bug, all around the refinery. My guess is this is done for homeland security reasons. It's somewhat intimidating and somewhat scary.

Homeland security is obvious further down Otter Creek when you cruise past the waterworks (fresh water providers) area. Huge inner fences have been constructed, about ten (10) feet tall, with rolled barbed wire atop. Scary, again.

This Bear drove past nationally-famous Tony Packo's.....famous thanx to Klinger on the old MASH TV series. Then it was on to the I-280 expressway, limping along at max thirty (30) mph as the temporary road waves in and around and under the largest bridge and road project in Ohio history.....the Toledo river crossing. When this is finished, the huge cable-stayed bridge will have approaches that are nearly a mile long on each end. It will replace the Craig Memorial Bridge....a drawbridge on an interestate highway! (Very busy interstate, BTW, as any truck traffic from Detroit uses this route to work their way in an east direction.)

I drove back into downtown Toledo and then followed Broadway Street, heading along the Maumee River in a southwest direction. I had forgot about some of the huge riverfront homes on Broadway. Many of the homes are built on the steep riverbank so you can only see the tops of them. Cars line the street because many of these homes do not have driveways because of the steep bank construction.

I drove past the back entrance to the Toledo Zoo and then followed River Road into suburban Maumee, OH. I drove past Dale's Bar, looking to see if friends were there. (They were not.) I continued along the river toward Waterville. The river was filled with hundreds of walleye fishermen. It's walleye spawning season and the Maumee is considered the best stream for that fish in America. (I used to pop on the chest waders and do that river fishing thing. It got too dang crowded for my tastes. People caasting right over your lines, etc.)

I left the river at Waterville and worked my way to the Whitehouse, OH, area. Specifically, I wanted to cruise through the many roads of the very large Oak Openings Metropark. During the park cruise I stopped and watch a large herd of deer, feeding in an open area next to a woodgrowth.

After that, back to home base.....Swanton, OH and the loving arms of my wife.

Bear

 

[Super Amputee Cat]

Toledo used to be known as the largest refining center between the Atlantic coast and Chicago. At one (1) time Toledo had four (4) oil refineries, all located on the eastern side of the Maumee River, in east Toledo and Oregon, OH.

These four (4) refineries were Sohio (Standard Oil Of Ohio), Sunoco, Gulf, and Pure. Sohio became a BP company and continues to invest and operate its' huge complex in Oregon, OH. Sunoco continues to refine on Woodville Road in east Toledo.

Bear On Bay Shore Road

Bear, we have something else in common, other than living in Northwest, Ohio. I also had a relative that worked at Pure: My grandfather. He worked there as laborer.

Pure Oil Refinery, East Toledo

Pure Service Station - 5104 Suder, Toledo

Pure Service Station - 4004 Upton, Toledo

Speaking of refineries, didn't Phillips 66 also have one on the east side? I seem to recall them having for sale signs on the property during the late 1980s.

 

[Suburb Repairman]

I caught a Mudhens game last time I was in Toledo; that is an excellent stadium. I also hit up Tony Packo's while I was up there.

My dad was up in Toledo on business and remarked that there was some downtown revitalization beginning to take place.

People like to harp on Toledo for some reason, but I think I would enjoy living & working up there.

 

[mgk920]

I caught a Mudhens game last time I was in Toledo; that is an excellent stadium. I also hit up Tony Packo's while I was up there.

My dad was up in Toledo on business and remarked that there was some downtown revitalization beginning to take place.

People like to harp on Toledo for some reason, but I think I would enjoy living & working up there.

Also the new I-280 Maumee River bridge a few blocks from Tony Packo's. Yes, there have been some problems and delays in its construction, but it is a *WOW* structure being built to replace that annoying old drawbridge (which will remain in place, downgraded to a city street).

Mike

 

[Bear Up North]

Also the new I-280 Maumee River bridge a few blocks from Tony Packo's. Yes, there have been some problems and delays in its construction, but it is a *WOW* structure being built to replace that annoying old drawbridge (which will remain in place, downgraded to a city street).

Mike

I had mentioned this before, and will again.....

In January, 2004, I attended a Safety Council of Northwestern Ohio meeting and the speaker gave a presentation about the very safe working conditions at the construction site for the new river crossing. Within a month after that there was a horrible construction accident that killed four (4) ironworkers and injured a number of others.

OSHA, and other agencies, have been conducting investigations since that accident and a number of significant fines have been assessed. The bridge's main contractor is called Fru-Con, a very large St. Louis, MO, corporation. This was their first experience with this particular type of bridge.

I was past the site last Saturday. It is a BMF.

Bear