On Friday May 18, 1984 with a live appearance by Willard Scott on the NBC Today show Toledo hit the big time! That night a Rally By The River sponsored by Toledo Jaycees was held while in the Sports Arena the International Festival was taking place, big things were happening and Saturday would bring the grand opening of Portside Festival Marketplace.
Saturday arrived with much fanfare, both a land and riverboat parade followed by sky divers landing in Festival park and a flyover by the Ohio Air National Guard. That Saturday and Sunday were filled with live music, clowns, jugglers, speeches, and a sense of excitement over the future of Toledo.
On Friday September 21, 1990 Portside Festival Marketplace closed its doors for good when the city, under then Mayor McHugh, decided it couldn't afford to lose anymore money keeping it open.
The promise of Portside was highlighted in a Blade article at the time, "it will draw about 10 times more spectators than an NFL franchise" "create 700 permanent new jobs" "the marketplace is a critical element to push ahead other projects."
The reality was it lost millions of dollars since it opened in 1984. By the time of its' closing it had an occupancy rate of 25%. According to a Washington Post article the week before the closing "shortly after it opened, stores began to close, and Portside began to lose money."
Here are some of the memories I've kept in my desk drawer since that first splash of optimism along with a video touting Christmas At Portside. What are your memories of Portside Festival Marketplace?
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