Boody House: 1900

Those bicycles were expensive compared to average wages, but nobody seems to lock them up.

Shorpy viewers are used to seeing huge numbers of single phone lines on multiple crossbeams in old city photos. The few thick phone lines on these poles indicate that Toledo was progressive in the adoption of fewer, larger cables containing many twisted pairs, each replacing many of the old single wires. Note the many empty crossbars on the phone pole on the corner, with iron junction boxes serving to break out lines to each customer. These early cables were insulated with twisted, tarred paper, resulting in a rather ragged appearance in the foreground.

Gotta love the architecture at the top of the tower. Date 1870, simply beautiful.

The low angle light from the left of the frame gives the woman with the netting on and the two guys behind her a startling definition -- almost looks burned in. Bicycles left at the curb and an early version of Cinnabon at the corner. This is a phenomenal photo.

"A Toledo landmark for fifty-five years, the Boody House hotel stood at the corner of Madison Avenue and St. Clair Street. The hotel opened in June 1872 with 133 guest rooms, each with its own fireplace. Hot and cold water ran in each room, a novelty for the day. The building was torn down in 1928 to make way for the Ohio Savings Bank and Trust Company."

Before cars took over, bicycles were considered to be a legitimate mode of transportation. According to the Smithsonian, the first paved roads and first road maps were designed with bikes in mind.