An American Abroad

The Murals of Toledo’s Old South End

Toledo’s Central Union Station, where my sons and I have caught the Lake Shore Limited east many times, is situated in the city’s Old South End. I had gone down to the tracks there to photograph an antique steam locomotive as it chuffed through Toledo on its way to Youngstown for a special whoop-de-doo. Like many such events, there was about an hour of waiting and about a minute of what I’d really come to see. Since I was already in the neighborhood, I decided to explore.

This part of town now has a significant Hispanic population, a fact that’s reflected in the public artwork there. Many of the murals had been designed by Mario Acevedo Torero, a Peruvan artist who has an ongoing relationship with students of Bowling Green State University, a large state school about a half hour south of Toledo. The murals were in good condition, with very little overtagging or other defacing.

The murals were painted on the concrete supports for a large overhead highway. They made what might otherwise have been a grim (or even forbidding) environment feel loved, tended to, and peopled.

2015-07-22 21.11.35

2015-07-22 21.12.08

2015-07-22 21.12.19

2015-07-22 21.10.44

2015-07-22 21.11.07

2015-07-22 21.12.40

2015-07-22 21.13.14

2015-07-22 21.14.22

2015-07-22 21.16.48

The murals below adorned the exterior walls of Adelante, a Latino community organization.

2015-07-22 21.19.46

I liked the idea behind the two pieces below. The use of the blank faces encourages viewers to see themselves — or maybe their friends and family members — as the artist’s subjects. Fill in the blank: you, too, can be famous.

2015-07-22 21.22.18

2015-07-22 21.22.30

The one institution that I remember from years back that’s still in operation is the Green Lantern, a classic burger café that’s been continuously operated at the same spot since 1927. I’ve never eaten there myself (I think I popped in for coffee once several years ago), but it gets rave reviews from the diner aficionados on Yelp.

2015-07-22 21.24.43

2015-07-22 21.25.29

2015-07-22 21.24.22

Outsized portraits of American heroes such as Cesar Chavez and Martin Luther King graced the sides of several old buildings on Broadway. These, too, were painted by a BGSU group.

2015-07-22 21.28.19

2015-07-22 21.51.35

It was encouraging to see that even on obviously decrepit and decaying buildings, someone had made an effort to make them look cheerier.

2015-07-22 21.26.11

2015-07-22 21.55.40

Less lawful artwork could be found under the highway and atop a nearby water tower.

2015-07-22 22.01.21

2015-07-22 19.51.31

Oh, and the steam train I came out to see? Here it is: The Nickel Plate Road No. 765. Quite a machine to behold.

2015-07-22 20.56.28

Comments

  1. Love love love this art! Thanks Jim!

    • James Trumm says

      Thanks Cathie. Hope your relocation is going smoothly. As for me, I’ve been having the slightly odd experience of seeing my hometown through the eyes of a traveler.

  2. Cindy Wexler says

    head uptown too – lots of incredible art there.

    • Yes, I’ve got some shots from other places around town. I’ve posted them before, but since I just joined the Toledo Murals Facebook group, I might repost some of it. Glad you like.

Speak Your Mind

*

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.