The Toledo Museum of Art

Toledo's Glass Industry and the Museum's Founding

The Toledo Museum of Art is constant in its mission to provide easy access to art and education for the public.

After the opening of the canals in 1845, Toledo’s industry boomed, and continued to grow into the twentieth century as industries established manufacturing hubs. Even after the canal’s decline, with the establishment of railroads, Toledo continued as a major player in shipping and trade. Edward Drummond Libbey saw Toledo as a growing industrial center, and because of its established trade network and available natural resources he relocated Libbey Glass Company from Massachusetts to Toledo in 1888. Because of his partnership with Michael Owens – an Ohioan who invented a machine that automatically produced glass products like bottles and tumblers – manufacturing became cheaper and more efficient. Toledo’s reputation as “The Glass City” was cemented, and Libbey Owens Glass Company continued to grow, along with the city’s other glass manufacturers. Within a few years, Libbey met and married Florence Scott, a well-educated Toledo native with a knowledge and passion for art. After a trip to Chicago where they visited the president of Chicago’s Armour Institute and trustee of the Art Institute of Chicago, Dr. Frank Wakely Gunsaulus, the inspiration for the Toledo Museum of Art manifested in the Libbeys’ minds. Libbey and six others signed articles of incorporation for the museum on April 18, 1901, with the vision of serving the community with art and art education. The Toledo Museum of Art is recognized as one of the finest museums in the country and continues to honor those who made its existence possible, while showcasing studio glass pieces made locally and all over the world as a tribute to Toledo’s roots as “The Glass City.”

Notes for Travelers

The Toledo Museum of Art provides the public with the opportunity to experience art through multiple platforms and media. The museum provides events for all ages and levels of expertise, including tours, workshops, lectures, and performances. The museum is a network of architecturally unique and renowned buildings in the historic Old West End of Toledo: the main museum building that has been operating since 1912, the Glass Pavilion, the Center for Visual Arts, and a Professional Arts Building. The Glass Pavilion houses a comprehensive collection of historic glass objects, as well as offering glass blowing presentations, workshops, and classes. Since 1992 the Toledo Museum of Art has been adopting and implementing green initiatives to decrease the size of its ecological foot print and currently leads the state with the largest installations of solar panels.

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