Portside Marketplace Portside was a
festival marketplace in Toledo, Ohio, which failed and closed after just six years of operation. It was developed by the
Enterprise Development Company (EDC), a for-profit subsidiary of the
Enterprise Foundation, founded by
James W. Rouse in 1982 after he retired from
The Rouse Company in 1979. However, The Rouse Company was still involved with development as the marketplace began plans in the late 1970s. The grocery and department store
Tiedtke's, once called "America's first supermarket," closed on September 2, 1973. On May 7, 1975, a fire destroyed the store's former location at 408 Summit Street, the riverfront land on which Portside would be built. By 1984, all of Toledo's four main local
department store retailers had left downtown or closed.
Late 1970s–1984: Development and opening In the late 1970s, in an effort to promote
urban renewal, Toledo mayor
Douglas DeGood worked with leaders from
Owens-Illinois and
Toledo Trust, a Toledo-based regional bank, to develop new headquarters for both companies on the Maumee riverfront. Toledo Trust financed the development of the Portside complex, aiming to catalyze Downtown Toledo's rebirth. The Rouse Company, which also developed the
Harborplace Festival Marketplace in
Baltimore, Maryland and
Faneuil Hall Marketplace in
Boston, Massachusetts, was selected as the developer of the project, but due to James Rouse's retirement from the company in 1979, he spearheaded construction to the newly-founded Enterprise Development Company, which in turn broke ground of the marketplace in 1982. The Portside Festival Marketplace costed $14 million. Trustcorp (formerly Toledo Trust) even dismissed the EDC as manager in 1988. In 1990, Portside was not profitable, and the City of Toledo announced that Portside would cease operations in September of that year for a $5 million to $7 million redevelopment, involving converting the facility into a regional entertainment center that would be expected to open in March 1991. In May 1990, Portside was described as a
dead mall, with papered up windows and locked doors. The marketplace officially closed its doors in September 1990 after just six years of operation. That same time was when the
Water Street Pavilion in
Flint, Michigan, also developed by James Rouse, also closed as a marketplace. The
Buffalo News said Portside "may be the best example of what not to do with waterfront shopping centers."
Redevelopment as COSI A mayoral committee appointed to find the best use for the site heard repeated community requests for an educational family attraction. The city asked
COSI Columbus about its experience and resources, and subsequently the city and the Columbus organization created COSI Toledo, an independent, not-for-profit organization with a board of trustees from
northwest Ohio. A fundraising campaign raised $9.5 million, surpassing the goal by $4.5 million. The state government gave another $10 million. The facility attracted an average of 250,000 visitors per year over its first decade. The award was presented by
Laura Bush at a
White House ceremony in January 2006.
Rebranding as Imagination Station On July 28, 2006, COSI Toledo and
COSI Columbus legally split so each could focus on their own financial troubles. Later that year,
Berrien Springs Public Schools awarded a ''2006 Teachers' Choice Awards'' to COSI for its distance learning program. After voters voted down a second levy in November 2007, COSI Toledo closed due to lack of funding on December 31, 2007. On November 4, 2008,
Lucas County, Ohio, voters approved an operating levy for the science center, enabling it to reopen in fall 2009. ==Gallery==