A Few Stops in Toledo (The City in Ohio)

Racing south out of Detroit, we spent less than 24 hours in Toledo, managing to pack in visits to a few sites before we continued southward.

Toledo Botanical Garden

We had hoped to find some interesting birds, but saw the same birds we always see. It was getting a little late in the year for flowers, but I still managed to find some items of interest.

Rosary Cathedral

Rosary Cathedral was completed in 1931, and is the mother church of the 122 parishes in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Toledo. It was designed with thoughts of Toledo, Spain, and is the only U.S. cathedral in the Spanish Plateresque style. Doug says it reminded him of the Elvis Costello/Burt Bacharach song “Toledo”:

But do people living in Toledo

Know that their name hasn’t traveled very well?

And does anybody in Ohio

Dream of that Spanish citadel?

Toledo Main Library

We stopped in at the library to see their Nancy Drew Collection, and were surprised to find a Dale Chihuly glass sculpture and a collection of original illustrations relating to children’s literature.

Jennifer Fisher, The Nancy Drew Sleuths fan club founder and president, donated her personal collection of Nancy Drew books and memorabilia to the library. It contains more than 5,000 objects, the largest public collection in the United States.

Why Toledo? The original Nancy Drew ghostwriter, Mildred A. Wirt Benson, lived here for many decades. She was a journalist at the Toledo Blade from 1944 to 2002, and under the pen name Carolyn Keene wrote 23 Nancy Drew mysteries from 1930 to 1953.

Nancy Drew lunchbox and thermos from the 1970s television show, autographed by Pamela Sue Martin, who starred as Nancy Drew on *The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries.*

Nancy Drew Tonner Doll and clothing set, 2007.

1957 Parker Brothers *Nancy Drew Mystery Game*.

Cover art by Russell Tandy for Carolyn Keene’s 1930 book *The Secret of Shadow Ranch.*

Doug discovered Dale Chihuly’s The Reeds in the library, unbeknownst to me! They’re not my favorite Chihuly, but I’m not complaining. Doug said, “I don’t see a sign that says “don’t touch,” so we did! Then we got out of there quick!