The city's general aspect has changed little since El Greco painted his famous View of Toledo. Its chief landmark, the alcázar (fortified palace), was originally a Moorish structure, restored in the 13th cent. and transformed (1535, 1576) to serve as residence for Charles V and Philip II. It was largely destroyed (1936) in the Spanish civil war, when the Nationalists, with their women and children, shut themselves up inside and withstood a Loyalist siege for two months, until relieved by Franco's forces. After the war the fortress was again restored.
Toledo is surrounded by partly Moorish, partly Gothic walls and gates. Of Moorish origin also is the Alcántara bridge. The Gothic cathedral, begun in 1226, is one of the finest in Spain and houses El Greco's Espolio and other paintings by him in its lovely baroque chapels. Among the other many famous buildings are the Church of Santo Tomé, with El Greco's Burial of the Conde de Orgaz; the Church of Santa María la Blanca (12th-13th cent.; formerly a synagogue); the Convent of San Juan de los Reyes (15th cent.), with five Gothic cloisters; the Hospital of San Juan Bautista (15th-16th cent.), which has some paintings by El Greco; the former Tránsito synagogue, in Mudéjar style; and the Greco Museum.
Toledo is of pre-Roman origin; known in ancient times as Toletum, it fell to the Romans in 193 B.C. The city became an early archiepiscopal see; its archbishops are the primates of Spain. In the 6th cent. Toledo prospered as a capital of the Visigothic kingdom, and it was the scene of several important church councils. Its greatest prosperity began under Moorish rule (712-1085), first as the seat of an emir and after 1031 as the capital of an independent kingdom. Under the Moors and later under the kings of Castile, who made it their chief residence, Toledo was a center of the Moorish, Spanish, and Jewish cultures and thus a great center for translation (its School of Translators was revived in 1995). Toledo sword blades were famous for their strength, elasticity, and craftsmanship; the art was introduced by Moorish artisans, and it is still carried on. Other important products were silk and wool textiles.
In the 15th cent. Valladolid superseded Toledo as chief royal residence, but Emperor Charles V resided in Toledo during much of his reign (1516-56). Its decline began in the 16th cent., but at the same time Toledo gained importance as Spain's spiritual capital. The seat of the Grand Inquisitors, it was also the center of the mysticism symbolized by El Greco, whose name has become inseparable from that of Toledo.
Gen. Anthony Wayne built Fort Industry there in 1794 after the battle of Fallen Timbers. The city was settled (1817) as Port Lawrence on that site and in 1833 was consolidated with nearby Vistula as Toledo. In 1835-36 occurred the "Toledo War," an Ohio-Michigan boundary dispute, which was settled by Congress in favor of Ohio when Michigan became a state.
Toledo grew and prospered with the opening of the canals in the 1840s, the arrival of numerous railroad lines, the development of the Ohio coal fields, the tapping of gas and oil deposits in the late 19th cent., and the establishment of the Libbey glassworks in 1888. When Samuel M. Jones became mayor in 1897, an era of municipal reform was initiated. Jones died in 1904 and was succeeded by Brand Whitlock. The Toledo plan of labor conciliation (1946) has been adopted by other cities.
The city is the seat of the Univ. of Toledo. Points of interest include the Toledo Museum of Art with its Glass Pavilion, a large zoo, and the Anthony Wayne suspension bridge (1931). The site of the battle of Fallen Timbers, a national historic landmark, is in a nearby state park.
City (pop., 2001: 68,382), capital of Castile–La Mancha autonomous community, south-central Spain. On the Tagus River, it was the stronghold of the Carpentini, a powerful Iberian tribe, when it was conquered by Rome in 193 BC. In the 6th century AD it became the Visigoths' capital in Spain. Under the Moors (712–1085) it became a centre of Hebrew and Arabic culture, and it was noted for the manufacture of swords. Taken by Alfonso VI in 1085, it became the capital of New Castile and, in 1230, of the united kingdom of Castilla y León. Toledo was noted for its policy of religious tolerance toward Jews and Arabs during the 11th–15th centuries. It lost importance after Philip II moved the capital to Madrid in 1560. The French occupied Toledo during the Peninsular War (1808–14), and Nationalist forces besieged it (1936) in the Spanish Civil War. Known for its great wealth of notable architecture, the entire urban area is a national monument. It was the home of El Greco.
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The largest city named Toledo is located in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Lucas County. Named after Toledo, Spain, it is located on the western end of Lake Erie, on the Michigan border. It is the principal city in the Toledo Metropolitan Statistical Area. In the 2000 census, the city proper had a population of 313,619, fourth-largest in the state. According to the US Census, the metropolitan area had a population of 650,955, while the Combined Statistical Area had a population of 711,952. Residents of Toledo are usually referred to as Toledoans. 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. Several large glass companies have their origins here. Owens-Illinois, Owens Corning, Libbey Glass, Pilkington North America (formerly Libbey Owens Ford), and Therma-Tru have long been a staple of Toledo's economy. Other off-shoots and spinoffs of these companies also continue to play important roles in Toledo's economy. Fiberglass giant Johns Manville's two plants in the metro area were originally built by a subsidiary of Libbey Owens Ford. Many other companies that service the glass industry also began in Toledo, such as Toledo Engineering and Glasstech.
Toledo had also been known as "The Auto Parts Capital of the World". Several large, Fortune 500 automotive related companies had their headquarters in Toledo. Electric AutoLite, Sheller-Globe Corporation, Champion Spark Plug, Questor, and Dana Corporation are examples of large auto parts companies that began in Toledo. Only Dana Corporation is still in existence as an independent entity. The Jeep vehicle has been manufactured in Toledo since 1941 as well. Willys-Overland was a major automaker headquartered in Toledo until 1953.
The National Arbor Day Foundation has designated Toledo as a Tree City USA.
From the Federal Writers' Project - The Ohio Guide - 1940
On January 15, 1936, the first building to be completely covered in glass was constructed in Toledo. It was a building for the Owens-Illinois Glass Company and marked a milestone in architectural design representative of the International style of architecture, which was at that time becoming increasingly popular in the US.
In the end, the state of Ohio was awarded the land after the state of Michigan was given the Upper Peninsula in exchange. Stickney Avenue in Toledo is named for One and Two Stickney.
The area that would become Adams Township was settled around 1833, a few years before Toledo became a city. It had been chartered as Carey Township in 1856, but the name was changed to Adams in 1860. With a growing population, there was a desire by the residents to incorporate the township under the name "Adams Heights", but the area would eventually become part of Toledo in the 1960s. Toledo Rogers High School is located in what was Adams Township and was a member of the GLL for athletics until the area became incorporated into Toledo, and then it became a member of the City League.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 84.1 square miles (217.8 km²), of which, 80.6 square miles (208.8 km²) of it is land and 3.5 square miles (8.9 km²) of it (4.10%) is water.
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 (97.5 mm) of precipitation falls. The driest month is January, when 2.00 inches (50.8 mm) of precipitation falls. The warmest temperature ever recorded in Toledo was 105 °F (41 °C) on July 14, 1936. The coldest temperature ever recorded was -20 °F (-29 °C), on January 21, 1984. The record high in the month of January by Toledo was set January 7, 2008 with the high temperature at which was broken at Toledo Express Airport.(Source:http://www.erh.noaa.gov/cle/climate/tol/normals/tolnrtjan.html)
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.
Historically, before the industrial revolution, Toledo was a port city on the Great Lakes. But with the advent of the automobile, the city became best known for industrial manufacturing, although these industries have declined considerably in past decades. The Big Three all have factories in metropolitan Toledo, and automobile manufacturing has been important at least since Kirk began operations early in the 20th Century. The city is home to two Fortune 500 companies: Dana Corporation and Owens Corning. Another Fortune 500 company, formerly located at One SeaGate, is Owens-Illinois. O-I has recently relocated to suburban Perrysburg. One SeaGate is currently the location of Fifth-Third Banks Northwest Ohio headquarters. 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 home to several other large companies. Faurecia Exhaust Systems, which is a $2 billion subsidiary to France's Faurecia SA, and Pilkington North America, which is a $900 million subsidiary to Britain's Pilkington Ltd., are located in Toledo.
Toledo is the primary market city for northwest Ohio, a region of nine counties with a population in excess of one million. As such there is a high concentration of retail establishments and medical facilities in Toledo. The city's location near 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 of the city of Toledo 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.
Private high schools in Toledo include Maumee Valley Country Day School, Central Catholic High School, St. Francis de Sales High School, St. John's Jesuit High School and Academy, Notre Dame Academy, St. Ursula Academy (Ottawa Hills), Cardinal Stritch High School (Oregon), the Toledo Islamic Academy, Freedom Christian Academy, Toledo Christian Schools, Emmanuel Christian, the David S. Stone Hebrew Academy (Sylvania),Apostolic Christian Academy and Toledo School for the Arts.
The Midwest Uran Newspaper and Toledo Journal are African-American owned newspapers. It is published weekly, and normally focuses on African-American issues.
'** Low Power stations (containing "LP" or numbers in their calls) had to move, due to digital station conversions on a specific station number, or the channel they are broadcasting on is being withdrawn from television broadcasting. Therefore, the station on that channel had to move to another channel number.
| Club | League | Venue | Established | Championships |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toledo Mud Hens | IL, Baseball | Fifth Third Field | 1897 | 3 |
| Toledo Walleye | ECHL, Ice hockey | Lucas County Arena | 2009 | 0 |
Freight rail service in Toledo is operated by the Norfolk Southern, CSX Transportation, Canadian National, Ann Arbor, and the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway. All except the Wheeling have local terminals; The Wheeling operates into Toledo from the east through trackage rights on Norfolk Southern to connect with the Ann Arbor and the CN.
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According to Toledo Sister Cities International, Toledo also has five "friendship cities":