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Metroparks - Wildwood and Secor Metroparks
Metroparks preserves many of Lucas County’s most unique natural and historical features, from Ohio’s only “moving” sand dunes to the 35-room Georgian colonial home of an auto baron. Eleven Metroparks and two trail corridors make up the 9,000-acre park system and additional land is being acquired for future parks. Two Metroparks reside in the Sylvania, Ohio geographical area. Each Metropark is located in at least one of the county’s primary natural regions: The Great Black Swamp, Oak Openings, the Maumee River, The Ottawa River and Swan Creek. But no two Metroparks are alike. Each has unique gems that set it apart.
Secor Metropark
10000 W. Central Avenue (six miles west of US 23/I-475), Berkey, OH (Entrances on W. Central Avenue and Bancroft Street)
The contrasts of tall timber, rolling, sandy hills and wet lowlands make Secor an interesting Metropark to explore. The towering tulip trees and northwest Ohio's largest concentration of dogwoods bloom in spring, when wildflowers blanket the moist forest floor.
A focal point at Secor for people and wildlife alike is a pond stained brown by the tannic acid in the oak leaves that drop into it each fall. In spring, the pond is covered by duckweed, which shades the water, keeping it cool. The trunks of many of the trees in Secor's swamp forest widen at the base, an adaptation called buttressing that gives the trees added support in the wet, unstable soil.
Wolfinger Cemetery, located inside the park, is the burial site of many of Richfield Township's earliest settlers.
National Center for Nature Photography
The center, opened in spring 2003 inside Secor, displays the works of some of the country's best-known nature photographers. The one-of-a-kind center is open from noon to 5 p.m. Saturdays, Sundays, Memorial Day, Labor Day and the Fourth of July. Admission is free. Workshops offer opportunities for field experience with nature photographers and naturalists.
Wildwood Preserve
5100 W. Central Avenue (two entrances between Corey and Reynolds roads), Toledo
The prairie community at Wildwood Preserve is home to many diverse and fascinating plants and animals, providing them with critical habitat throughout the year. In spring, it is an essential breeding site for ground-nesting birds such as rufous-sided towhees, field sparrows and American woodcock. Summer brings a spectacular display of prairie wildflowers and grasses, such as rough blazing star, big bluestem and Indian grasses, some reaching 10 feet high.
Wildwood is the former family estate of Robert A. Stranahan, Sr., co-founder of the Champion Spark Plug Company. Metroparks purchased the estate grounds, including the family home, in the 1970s.
The Manor House
The Manor House is an architectural gem. Completed in 1938 as the Stranahan family home, it is an excellent example of 18th century Georgian colonial architecture, and it is decorated accordingly. The house, reminiscent of Mount Vernon with a wide front portico, rests on a bluff overlooking a branch of the Ottawa River. The house has 35 primary rooms, 17 bathrooms and 16 fireplaces.
Several other estate buildings, from a limo garage to stables, are now used for a visitors center, public restrooms and park district offices.
Twenty-two rooms of the house are open for free, guided tours Wednesday through Sunday, noon to 5 p.m., and for a variety of special programs, including musical performances.
The Manor House formal gardens were designed by Ellen Biddle Shipman, a pioneer landscape architect who designed more than 650 gardens from New Hampshire to New Orleans.
Oak Grove School, Victorian Farmhouse
The Oak Grove School is an 1897, one-room brick schoolhouse originally located at Corey Road and Springbrook Drive. It was moved a quarter-mile to its present location in Wildwood Preserve in 1998. The school is open some weekends and for special programs. It is located at the east entrance to Wildwood, near Corey. A Victorian farmhouse located near the Oak Grove School was once the residence of the Albon family, which farmed the land that is now Wildwood Preserve.
http://www.metroparkstoledo.com/metroparks/
Sylvania, Ohio Sports and Exhibition Center at Tam-O-Shanter
The Sylvania, Ohio Sports and Exhibition Center at Tam-O-Shanter is dedicated to providing a safe environment with high integrity, excellence, and hospitality. SSEC at TAMO operates as an arm of the City of Sylvania, Ohio for athletic and exhibition events coming into our community.
Tam-O-Shanter markets the facility to attract a wide variety of events and activities working with local businesses and regional companies to make SSEC "The Venue" for their next event. Large or small, SSEC hosts trade shows, receptions, meetings, birthday parties, concerts, athletic leagues, craft shows, and MORE!
Sylvania, Ohio Tam-O-Shanter Sports is a not-for-profit corporation created by the City of Sylvania, Ohio to operate recreational facilities on its behalf. Tam-O-Shanter has been known to most as the premier hockey facility in Northwest Ohio and is now expanding to meet the needs of a growing community.
Sylvania, Ohio Sports & Exhibition Center
Lourdes College - The Appold Planetarium
Another gateway to the final frontier is the Appold Planetarium at Lourdes College. Thanks to the generous support of James and Patricia Appold and additional donors, the former Copernicus Planetarium now features SciDome, a single projector full dome video system powered by Starry Night that allows real-time 3D sky simulation, full dome shows and multi-media presentations. Starry Night is the world’s most comprehensive astronomy software. Its star field quality allows astronomical detail and teaching capabilities that surpass any other digital planetarium system available.
The center is a fabulous resource for education and learning opportunities at Lourdes and in the community. Built in 1964, the planetarium was the first in Northwest Ohio and was one of only 50 in the country during that era.
http://www.lourdes.edu/
Sylvania, Ohio Area Events
Golf takes center stage each July as the Jamie Farr Owens Corning LPGA Tournament sweeps into town. The tournament now in its 21st year features some of the worlds’ best lady golfers with a purse of over one million dollars.
The Sylvania, Ohio area is home to festivals, car shows, street fairs and the outstanding Sylvania Area Chamber of Commerce’s Arts & Crafts Festival at Lourdes College. The area boasts of event such as Fossil Fest, Fall Festival, a huge 4th of July Fireworks display and the Sylvania Triathlon bringing in competitors from all over the world. The holidays are welcomed in with a Halloween Hike, Holiday Happenings in several areas, Holiday’s in the Manor House and the annual First Light Celebration on December 31.
The area is abundant with children’s activities including the Easter Egg Hunt, Halloween Hike, kid’s trout derby, and the River Ball race.
http://www.cityofsylvania.com
SHOP Sylvania, Ohio
The Sylvania, Ohio area has a plethora of chic boutiques, art galleries, big box stores, fine dining establishments and luxurious day spas. The Wingate Hotel is located in downtown Sylvania, Ohio offering all the amenities of first class hotel in a charming setting.
http://www.wingatesylvania.com/
Entertainment
Franciscan Center at Lourdes College is a beautiful, full-service, state-of-the-art theater and conference center located on the Franciscan Campus in Sylvania, Ohio.
http://www.franciscancenter.org/
Centennial Terrace - is an outdoor ballroom that has hosted many of the great swing and big bands of the 1940’s and 1950’s. Centennial Terrace boasts a 10,000 square foot. Terrazzo dance floor, one of the largest outdoor dance floors in the United States. Centennial Terrace features a wide variety of entertainment styles.
Most Saturday nights still feature big band music favored by many of the area’s seniors and ballroom dance fans. Many national recording artists perform and other summertime staple events include Sunday night “Youth Quake” Teen Dances the “Sylvania Star Spangled Celebration”, the local July 4th fireworks display and a “Disco Party” where some 2,000 adults enjoy reliving their times of the 1980’s.
Centennial Terrace
Discover Sylvania, Ohio today!
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