What's to see in Vistula? (Toledo, Aurora: apartments, houses, neighborhoods)

[ferraris]

I'll be in Toledo in a couple of weeks, and I don't think I've ever been to the Vistula neighborhood...at least not to my knowledge. As a native Toledoan, I feel like I should take a look.

Any specific buildings or streets that are not to be missed? I've rarely (but not never) felt uncomfortable in supposedly rough neighborhoods, but should I be concerned about safety or being harassed? I'm a 20-something white guy.

Also, is there anything to walk to or any good places to park? It's easier to "walk with a purpose" if you know what I mean, rather than wander aimlessly.

[Tobias C]

As a fellow ballsy 20something year old white guy, I can say I honestly wouldn't have any interest in walking around a lot. If you were going to a specific place, that's one thing, but there's honestly not a whole lot to see in my opinion. I like driving around the area because I like to daydream about what things could be and I personally think Vistula will be a super vital and vibrant neighborhood someday with it's adjacency to Downtown. In my personal opinion it's one of the most dangerous areas of the city. Theres a very definite gang presence in the neighborhood so if you're gonna be poking around as a sightseer (I do it all the time), I'd do it in the daylight.

A majority of the area has decayed and become blight but there are some cool houses still existing that some fairly brave people have maintained and I respect that. Maybe you want to gander at that. For me, the only attraction of the area is Mickey Finns Pub on LaGrange, which is actually a pretty cool bar.

You should still probably go mosey around just a bit. I support such urban exploration

[ryansmith]

The neighborhood is still full of blight and disinvestment. I have walked around the neighborhood, but the hot spots of Italianate architecture aren't all in one spot so tours are easier by car. The most well-known spot in Vistula is probably the Casey-Pomeroy house, which is slowly undergoing renovations: Casey-Pomeroy House Other than that Magnolia? street seems to be where much of the urban pioneer-ism seems to be centered. Walnut street seems to have more blight and housing projects.

[ferraris]

I'm aware that the neighborhood is historic like the Old West End, but nowhere near in as good of shape. Are there dilapidated, but historic homes in the neighborhood? I'm having trouble understanding how you both seem to think there isn't much to see, yet the neighborhood is often touted as an asset to Toledo (or at least a potential asset). I'm mostly interested in the potential, this Blade article shows this house in Vistula:



I'm interested even in seeing run-down buildings like that.

It sounds like I should just drive around the area, I'll be sure to check out Magnolia.

[Tobias C]

There's some historic homes, a few here and there are well maintained but a lot of them are run down to various degrees. There isn't a lot of historic homes though. There's lots of empty lots and crappy uninteresting buildings. A lot of the original homes have been demolished.

It all depends on what you consider things to see. The neighborhood has lost a lot of its original buildings. Some areas feel rather sparse and underdeveloped and many areas are just plain ghetto with hardly any redeeming qualities. To me, Mickey Finns is the only interesting business.

I won't speak for Ryan, but like i was saying, when talking about this neighborhoods future potential, I'm mostly seeing it from a geographical standpoint. Being adjacent to Downtown in my opinion makes it relevant. As far as revitalizing the area goes, there would have to be lots of new infill projects because there's not enough historic buildings left to renovate. Regardless, if Downtown really takes off and housing becomes hard to find, I could see people who want to be downtown, but who get priced out, discovering Vistula and rehabbing it into a vibrant community. I dream of the day that Vistula and Polish Village become safe, livable neighborhoods.

Just go check it out for yourself.

[PreservationPioneer]

I was in Toledo a couple weeks ago, and Vistula was at the top of my list of neighborhoods I wanted to visit. I also took the opportunity to see the Old West End.

Vistula is the oldest neighborhood in Toledo, and this is where you will find the Italianate 1870s architecture and row-houses (what's left of them in Toledo). The density of the neighborhood seems to have been compromised by demolitions, which has left some urban prairie, yet there are still a good deal of historic buildings. Many of them are falling apart, and yet some are also restored. It's probably about half and half. The neighborhood didn't seem too unsafe to me, yet I am comfortable in declined neighborhoods (I live in a declined industrial suburb of Pittsburgh).

The neighborhood obviously hasn't turned around yet, but it still can. It has tons of potential.

Old West End seemed more turn of the century to me, while Vistula was older and more (in my opinion) historic. Both neighborhoods had lots of blight, from what I saw. In Old West End, you have the large, abandoned mansions, and in Vistula you have the abandoned brownstones, cottages, and Victorians sharing space.

[ryansmith]

I love Italianate architecture and, if you agree with me on that, look at Vistuala. I guess I am just trying to subtley let you know that there is a lot of blight... Vistuala has a lot of potential for its architecture and proximity to downtown. A lot of gems have been raised, but a lot haven't.

[ryansmith]

That is an awesome house. There are houses like that sprinkled throughout the neighborhood, but I don't get as excited about them because they are a dime-a-dozen in places like the Old West End. The Italianates are almost all in Vistula though.

Originally Posted by ferrarisnowday

I'm aware that the neighborhood is historic like the Old West End, but nowhere near in as good of shape. Are there dilapidated, but historic homes in the neighborhood? I'm having trouble understanding how you both seem to think there isn't much to see, yet the neighborhood is often touted as an asset to Toledo (or at least a potential asset). I'm mostly interested in the potential, this Blade article shows this house in Vistula:



I'm interested even in seeing run-down buildings like that.

It sounds like I should just drive around the area, I'll be sure to check out Magnolia.

[ferraris]

Well I made my visit. I think starting this thread had lowered my expectations a great deal, so I was actually pleasantly surprised with what I found. There's no argument that the area is declined, but it actually didn't give me much different of a vibe than parts of the Old South End as far as the people in the neighborhood and safety. One thing I was very surprised by was the number of homes in decent shape, or even fully restored. I expected there to be maybe 2 or 3 homes in good shape, but I found probably 10 or so that you could call "fully restored", and a lot more that were in decent shape. (and a lot of boarded up buildings and empty lots, too of course.)

There were also a lot of larger structures, that probably housed multiple families or served as apartments or boarding houses originally. Right now many of them are boarded up, so even seeing them fixed up to a livable condition and diced up as apartments would be preferable to seeing them remain as they are or get demolished. It's not a project I would invest in now, though. I think it would be tough to find tenants in the current market. There's not much to draw people to that area other than the proximity to downtown, and downtown itself is still cheap.

I didn't see much of interest on Magnolia. If I had to pick a single street to show someone, it would be Superior.

One more note, It's really nice how there are "Vistula" banners on Summit, and an inlay in the road where Summit and Lagrange intersect. It's a good sign that there is at least some form of community pride. I'm guessing the revitalization movement is in its infancy, but prior to my visit I had been thinking it wasn't even born yet.

[ryansmith]

I am glad you were pleasantly surprised! There is a grassroots community group, but they have had some major set backs with some large scale disinvestment, like the historic building on Lagrange and Summit... they association wanted it, but someone else forced their way in at the last minute and tore out all the historic charm and left it abandoned. This isn't to say that the Old West End hasn't had set backs like that and still does.... but how frustrating.