Toledo

Its been a few days since Ive written on here. Sorry about that. Ive been going into downtown Toledo to walk around and take pictures of the city. The city is an awesome place to be. Although it wouldn't be my first choice of places to live, it would be great under the right conditions. Unfortunately, the conditions do not exist here in Toledo. Remember that as a photographer, we take pictures of things that we SEE. We merely explain feelings, experiences, and attitudes through images. The lack of maintenance is clearly visible in the the commercial area. Infrastructure of the downtown area has clearly not seen the money it takes to maintain the buildings. As a result, it has deteriorated, requiring even more money to renovate. This in turn keeps people away longer, and the buildings get even worse. Architecture speaks pages and chapters about the era's they have made it through. If renovated in a reasonable fashion, many of the buildings could still be used. Many are still used as warehouses, but usually on the first floor, while the upper levels are all vacant and rotting away. Toledo is an older city. Founded in the early 1800's. It is known as the Glass City, Holy Toledo, and the home of the University of Toledo, Tony Packo's Cafe(only chili to make it into space) and Jaime Farr(star of M.A.S.H.) and the Jeep Wrangler Assembly Plant. Making solar panels for all sorts of purposes, First Solar is located just outside of the city and Toledo does not get to see any revenue from that. With so much to pride itself on, most of the residents of Toledo have moved away to the suburbs. There are now campaigns to "Take Back Toledo" but campaigns like this are usually all talk and once put on the scale, measure up to be just words with little weight behind them. In the end, Toledo is still my hometown. It has many memories with many individuals. To let a city fall apart to the condition that Toledo has is a shame. Like the market, cities go through cycles. Toledo might be at a low point right now, in time it will come back to life promising new memories. As of now, the renovations have been by individuals looking for a personal gain. What it really needs is a push from individuals who truly believe in Toledo. Individuals who think Toledo is a great place to be.