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Toledo Arts Zone

Aug 22, 2007 Toledo Blade story

The 22-block "arts zone," which has yet to be delineated by signs or officially named, also will serve as a catalyst for economic growth, making Toledo a more desirable place for businesses and young professionals, proponents said.

The art district is in a southeast portion of downtown and covers parts of the warehouse district on St. Clair Street. It is bounded by Huron Street, I-75 and the Amtrak station, and the Maumee River and the planned Middlegrounds Metropark.

The arts zone is part of the Live Work Create Toledo development initiative, a partnership involving the city and the Arts Commission of Greater Toledo. The initiative got under way this year, and has set a goal of attracting 30 artists and five creative or art-themed businesses to Toledo annually. It also aims to help bring 40 new artist working and living studios or galleries to the downtown area within five years.

Mr. Finkbeiner said the city will provide $50,000 in community development funds for the program to match the $100,000 the arts commission raised in private-sector donations. "We want to replicate what other cities like Columbus, with their Short North neighborhood, have accomplished in attracting artists to their cities, and enhancing the beauty of their cities as well as their economies," he said.

The news conference was in a gallery on Jefferson Avenue inside the former Secor Hotel, which now houses studio spaces for about 20 artists. The building is one of four artist collectives within the new arts zone, along with the Olive Street studios, a network of studios on Morris Street, and a building at 136 North Huron. More than 40 artists are working within the new district, said Marc Folk, executive director of the arts commission.

Map of Toledo Arts Zone

Click to enlarge:

Columbus's Short North District


From the Short North Wikipedia entry:

The Short North is heavily populated with art galleries, specialty shops, pubs, nightclubs, and coffee houses. Most of its tightly packed brick buildings date from at least the early 20th century, with traditional storefronts along High Street (often with brightly painted murals on their side walls), and old apartment buildings and rowhouses and newer condominium developments in the surrounding blocks.

The Short North is also known as a substantially gay neighborhood, and even the local businesses that do not explicitly cater to gay clientele typically sport the gay pride flag.

A reputation for diversity and an artistic, Bohemian atmosphere has marked the Short North, with land prices and local rents rising steadily from the 'art boom's' humble beginnings as a squatter’s neighborhood in the 1980s. Prior to the boom, the neighborhood had suffered prolonged decay and from latent, street-level crime and gang violence as Columbus affluent residents followed the economic bubble outward--into the suburbs--during the 1960s and 1970s.

With full-fledged rebirth and the visual arts community having reached a critical mass, the Short North hosts the "Gallery Hop" every first Saturday of the month, when its numerous art galleries open their doors late into the night to jam-packed streets and sidewalks populated with street musicians and other performers.

Live Work Create Toledo

My notes from a Feb 22, 2007 ReUrbanism meeting that mentioned Live Work Create Toledo


It seems the Uptown District is not included in the Arts Zone.

Monroe Ave for the Arts

My notes from a June 2005 ReUrbanism meeting:

So what happened to the Monroe Ave for the Arts idea? I think this proposed arts avenue stretches beyond the new Toledo Arts Zone.

Past Toledo Talk arts threads

Toledo Mayor Jack Ford is seeking job creation through art. Ford presented a $25,000 loan to Orobs Fine Arts, a shop on the 1800 block of N. Reynolds Rd. that opened in November. Ford says the art business can help boost Toledo's economy.
It is in the city’s best economic interests to develop an internationally recognized arts event here to promote the city as an arts destination. Economists estimate that for every dollar spent on the arts, it generates another $1.40.

I like this idea, and I think it's great the Mayor has an interest in improving the Arts in Toledo. But there will be those who will have a valid point in questioning how this will be funded, and wondering about money for road repair, police protection, neighborhood cleanup, etc.

Some of Toledo’s best-known regional arts and community assets - from black-tie traditions to avant-garde artists - are working in a new medium: red ink. At least four of the area’s major venues have posted a string of deficit years: the Toledo Opera, the Arts Commission, COSI, and Citifest. All this worries Mayor Jack Ford, an arts devotee and the man who offered in his inauguration speech the notion of Toledo as an "elegant city." Two years later, he may be looking to taxpayers for some help. In short, a levy. In the coming month, he said, he plans to appoint a committee that will review the pros and cons of a levy and other funding devices.
Are the "arts" in Toledo being used to improve our economy? In his last three state of the city speeches, Mayor Ford mentioned the arts as an economic engine. Regular public meetings about the arts were held throughout 2002 with a prelim plan released in Sep 2003. A dedicated website ( www.toledoarts.org ) launched in Oct 2003. The arts plan was officially released during the Mayor's Summit on the Arts at the Art Museum in Nov 2003 where guest speaker Richard Florida spoke about how the arts can be used to improve a region's economy. Dr. Florida's ideas [pdf] have both supporters and detractors. Dr. Florida uses the gay and bohemian indexes to determine a city's prosperity. Lastly, there's hardly any local interest for an arts levy. An article by Dr. Richard Florida titled The Rise of the Creative Class.
Red Ink Studios believes in using art to help revitalize an area's economy. They chose Flint because of the problems that city has had with the auto industry scaling back there over the years.

City rankings for the arts

2005 rankings :

Category 2: Mid-Sized Cities
(Populations of 100,000 to 499,000)

1. New Orleans, La.
2. Albuquerque, N.M.
3. Scottsdale, Ariz.
4. Las Vegas, Nev.
5. Honolulu, Hawaii
6. Atlanta, Ga.
7. Savannah, Ga.
8. Ann Arbor, Mich.
9. Miami, Fla.
10. Pittsburgh, Pa.
11. Tucson, Ariz.
12. Colorado Springs, Colo.
13. Cleveland, Ohio
14. Minneapolis, Minn.
15. Kansas City, Mo.
16. St. Louis, Mo.
17. St. Petersburg, Fla.
18. Providence, R.I.
19. Alexandria, Va.
20. Tampa, Fla.
21. Cincinnati, Ohio
22. Tacoma, Wash.
23. Buffalo, N.Y.
24. Athens, Ga.
25. Salem, Ore.

Columbus was ranked 20th in the Big Cities category with populations of 500,000 and over.

created by jr on Aug 22, 2007 at 09:38:52 am
updated by jr on Nov 30, 2007 at 10:31:48 am     Comments: 0

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