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Monday, October 23, 2023

Right side of the law

 

Right side of the law

A more recent but not "New" post, this explore is from a month or so ago. I yet again find myself with not enough time to explore anything new but just enough time to crank out a shitty blog post so here we go.


About a month ago in the swamps down south also known as Toledo, the Toledo Warehouse District Association was hosting an event called "Wander The Warehouse District". This event was held to drum up support for the revitalization efforts of Toledo's Warehouse District. Basically you pay them $15 and you can tour a few of their new "refurbs". I found out about this through my grandma who lived in the area. I originally wasn't planning to go but considering this would make a nice day out with her I figured what the hell and made the trip.


Looking over the list of stops I was actually looking forward to this, I figured I wouldn't be able to get inside these places easily anyways so what's the harm being a normal person for a day. However as much as I try to escape crime it always comes back to me, immediately upon walking up to the ticket booth I was robbed on site, the lady informed me that the event was in fact not free and I had to pay FIFTEEN BUCKS! (Before this I was under the impression it was free)

My reaction to having to spend fifteen American dollars.

Not wanting to spoil the day out with gran I reluctantly forked over the cash and received my Gucci Louis Vuitton Supreme Nike Apple Lamborghini Ferrari Lockheed Martin designer orange paper bracelet. 


The first stop on today's trek was the Barber Farris Building, a former produce warehouse built in 1917. This building was hard to miss with its strange pink walls and bright green boards. 


The Building is being developed by IBC Properties into a mixed use space.

The attention to detail in this render is great! It realistically portrays how people in Toledo can't fucking park.

Date Unknown.

Walking inside we were greeted by very eager relators who were very excited to tell us all about money.

The inside kept the weird greenish blue color that the outside boards used to be.

The downstairs had been completely gutted for commercial use (Probably overpriced cafes and weird art places). The renovators had done a surprisingly good job at making the structure sound again. These types of buildings are in the heart of the new "Trendy" areas so they will be spared from the excavator's claw.

I was yelled at for stealing food from the refrigerator, old habits die hard.

Heading up the world's least qualified to carry 100s of people staircase we were now in the "Residential Area" 


Walking freely around a construction site instead of trying to avoid making contact with any other human was a strange feeling for me.

I really hope they don't paint over the brick and wood.

This is what a college student considers to be a "Fully furnished" Kitchen.

Nice View.

For being $15 to walk around what was a glorified advertisement there was a shockingly large amount of people here, as if today couldn't get any worse.

Fuck This.

As crowds began to pour into the Barber Ferris we decided to call it quits.

Onwards!

The next stop on our warehouse wandering was the Overmyer Building/ Commerce Paper CO. Now I am a huge sucker for the paper industry so I was hyped to explore this place.



The Overmyer Building was constructed in 1912 to store groceries and other goods for the Overmyer Company until around 1941, when the Commerce Paper CO (At the time known as Union Paper CO) began using the warehouse to store product.


Eventually in 2016 the Commerce Paper CO shuttered the building leaving it in limbo. In 2017 the developer RKP group would begin renovations on the site converting the building into loft apartments.  

This may be the first time I've seen "new" stuff dumped in a warehouse.

The new layout feels very claustrophobic.

This facility has found a new way to kill trees.

Compared to the Barber Ferris building the people here didn't really seem to give a fuck about your presence. 

I'm glad they kept the original staircase.

Heading upstairs I found myself in the most claustrophobic hallway I think I've ever been in


Weird floorplan.

Killer view!


I was disappointed to find that the upper floors of the building were blocked off and full of workers, Normally this wouldn't be an issue as god made high vis for a reason, but seeing as I would have to park grandma on the first floor and didn't want to leave her alone for a half hour while I try to sneak around an empty ass warehouse, I decided to just move on.

Weiter!

The next stop was when I started to realize just how much I had been scammed. We arrived at what seemed to be the fully renovated offices of the Knight Insurance Company

No thanks.

Upon walking in I had my water bottle confiscated and was literally told that "The owner isn't a very nice lady". Great first impression guys. Apparently this part of the tour was you got to see some random rich person's penthouse on top of their office. No Thanks.

Incredible urbex content.

Yet again raiding the fridge is iLlEgAl guess they didn't have food insurance.

Adiante!

The next stop was a fucking flower store like just a straight up flower store A FLOWER STORE!


Videre!

The final stop on our money wastin' forbidden fridge food tastin' warehouse wander was the Hotel Royal. 

Hotel Royal in 2017.

The Hotel Royal is another one of those hotels that was constructed with the railroad to provide a layover for people traveling between Chicago and New York similar to the Park Hotel, Which is actually directly across the street.


The Hotel Royal was opened originally in 1900, 9 years before the Park Hotel was constructed. Comparing the interiors of the two it's obvious that this hotel was targeted towards the more wealthy clientele.


I really liked this one over the others as it appears to be an individual/small group of people renovating the hotel with love and care instead of some massive corporation with dollar signs in their eyes.

I really like the random exposed walls it contrasts well with the plain white.

Some of these apartments are larger than my fucking house.


Won't have this view for much longer as plans are underway to demolish the Park Hotel.

Staying true to it's origins the downstairs features hotel rooms and a lobby.



I saw these exact signs in the Park Hotel.

For some reason this is the only photo I took in the hotel rooms.

The gift shop seems to be a little lacking.

If you are interested in living or staying in this historic hotel make sure to check them out at https://hotelroyaltoledo.com/

Anyways that is all from me for today I gotta go to bed. I will proofread this tomorrow so enjoy the spelling mistakes! 

Mutagen Out!

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