A great place to grow up and raise a family, celebrating Old Orchard

TOLEDO, Ohio — It was a great day for a party, and a neighborhood in west Toledo near the university had a great reason to throw one.

Toledo Old orchard This year the neighborhood celebrates its 100th anniversary.

It has more than 1,200 households, all within about a square mile that stretches from W. Bancroft St. to Central Ave south and north and Secor Rd. to Douglas Road. in the west and east.

Neighbors, former residents and friends gathered at Goddard Field across from the University of Toledo Sunday afternoon to reminisce and plan for the next 100 years.

Tom Meyer of the Old Orchard Neighborhood Association grew up playing at Goddard Field as a kid “almost every day.”

He says the neighborhood has a “magnetic” quality that draws people back even when they leave.

“It’s a whole new crowd since I’ve been here, but you still see some of the old-timers,” Tom said. “I’m glad I grew up here. It’s a fantastic place to grow. Community just connects people for life.”

The afternoon was filled with live music, food trucks, games and more.

Billy Mann, president of the Old Orchard Neighborhood Association, says it’s actually the neighborhood’s 101st anniversary, but they weren’t able to celebrate last year because of COVID. He says that they tried to make the event simple.

“Being together. Celebrating the history of the houses in the neighborhood, and it’s a great opportunity to get family and friends together after you haven’t been able to see them for so long because of the pandemic,” Mann said.

It is one of the most famous areas of the city, taking its name from the large apple and peach orchards that existed on the land before houses were built there in the 1920s.

The neighborhood has homes of all styles, including a significant number of Tudor-style homes that were popular a century ago, according to Old Orchard Neighborhood Association website.

The neighborhood also has long-standing ties to the university, serving as home to students and staff for decades.

The bells that ring hourly from University Hall across W. Bancroft Street are so familiar that neighbors may not even notice them ringing.

Mann believes the neighborhood is still evolving after 100 fantastic years.

“Old Orchard is such a big intersection of so many different groups of people and we have great neighbors with the university and Cricket West. It’s just wonderful when everyone comes here to celebrate.