By Robert Smith
Guest Column
A community-led vision for the Art Tatum Historic Business District invites the world to Toledo’s cultural crossroads.
For more than two decades, the African American Legacy Project has chronicled Toledo’s Black experience through photographs, oral histories and exhibits that tell a story of resilience and pride. Its ongoing effort to preserve the Dorr Street narrative is more than an act of archiving -it’s a vision for the future.
Dorr Street, as we have often said, is woven into the DNA of Toledo’s African American community. For more than two decades, our vigil – if you will – has focused on elevating not only the conversation about our community but also the optimism and hope that sustain it, while seeking practical ways to lift our entire city.
In truth, the proposed Art Tatum Historic Dorr Street District represents far more than a nostalgic gesture; its creation should reflect renewal and resurgence. It is a tribute to this community’s enduring ability to foster growth, creativity and vision- nurturing an unmatched opportunity to influence a global community. Toledo has the chance to blend remembrance with renaissance, creating a cultural center that honors its roots while reaching across generations, cultures and continents.
A Legacy Ready to Rise Again
Built in Toledo, there are two names that echo worldwide – Jeep and Tatum. Both are iconic, both impressively resolute and lasting. Both speak to Toledo’s history and traditions, one industrial, the other cultural. And now, a quiet, captivating vision from the African American Legacy Project (AALP) whispers: bringing Tatum home just feels right.
There are moments when a community must decide whether to simply remember its past – or build upon it. For Toledo’s Dorr Street corridor, that moment has arrived.
Once the heartbeat of African American life and enterprise, Dorr Street was more than a stretch of asphalt. It was a place of purpose where neighbors gathered, churches sustained our souls and small businesses symbolized pride and progress.
Anchored in History, Aimed Toward Tomorrow
In 2009, The African American Legacy Project celebrated Mr. Art Tatum’s 100th birthday, honoring the Toledo-born jazz genius centennial by celebrating his extraordinary gift that transformed the world’s understanding of music. That celebration also recalled a unique historical connection: there was only one musician who could fully understand the assignment – historically, culturally, and personally – and that was another piano genius who lived just a few short blocks from Tatum: Professor Stanley Cowell.
A student of Tatum, Cowell had been visited by Tatum himself, encouraged by Cowell’s father. Tatum played for the young piano prodigy, who absorbed the lesson and carried it forward and that evening performed with a depth and brilliance that echoed his mentor. To honor that lineage, Cowell was introduced by his dear friend, the late Judge Charles Doneghy. Tatum, Cowell, Doneghy all spiritually, culturally and cerebrally connected. The event not only celebrated Tatum’s enduring influence but also highlighted the living, personal dimension of Toledo’s musical heritage wile connecting past, present and future.
That moment helped inspire AALP’s long-term vision: to ensure that Tatum’s name – and the creative spirit he embodied – remain at the very heart of Toledo’s cultural identity. Today, that vision takes tangible form through the development of the Art Tatum Historic Business District – a living, breathing extension of Tatum’s story, where culture drives commerce and history shapes opportunity. Toledo has an opportunity to blend remembrance with renaissance – creating a cultural center that honors its roots while reaching across generations places and spaces.
Learning from the Past, Building the Future
Cities like Kansas City, Birmingham and Cleveland have successfully revitalized their cultural corridors by making history the heart of modern economic development. Toledo’s opportunity is to do the same – but in its own key.
The Art Tatum Historic Business District can fuse the best of both worlds:
- Heritage preservation that protects Dorr Street’s legacy
- Small business support that nurtures new entrepreneurs
- Cultural programming that draws visitors and inspires pride
These elements together can turn a corridor into a cultural center of gravity – a place where memory fuels momentum.
Supporting neighborhood vitality and community pride, it isn’t much of a stretch to imagine Art Tatum at the center of Toledo’s next wave of economic development, cultural resurgence, and inclusion. His influence continues to resonate worldwide – inspiring generations of musicians, artists, dreamers and thus passionate about his music. Decades after his passing, Tatum’s artistry still draws new listeners and new visionaries with every note played in the key of life. Generation after generation, his legacy stands tall.
The African American Legacy Project has created a subsidiary to represent stakeholders and community members who want to play an active role in shaping this future. Together, we can restore vitality to a once-thriving corridor – not through nostalgia, but through strategic, place-based reinvestment.
This is more than a naming opportunity. It’s our chance to Bring Tatum Home and allow his name to once again elevate the community where he played his first note and help further illuminate the city that shaped him. We must ensure that this proposed historic district does more than exist – it must flourish as a living, breathing ecosystem of possibility.
A Call to Harmony
If Art Tatum’s music teaches us anything, it is that true beauty emerges through collaboration -through blending distinct voices and visions into something far greater than the sum of its parts. The Art Tatum Historic Business District has the potential to do the same for Toledo.
It can be our masterpiece – if we play in harmony.
The vision, the passion, the opportunity is clear.
The moment… belongs to all of us.
Join us for a serious conversation about The Art Tatum Historic Business District during The AALP’s regular First Tuesday meeting scheduled for 11:00 am, Tuesday, Nov 4, 2025 at The African American Legacy Project, 1326 Collingwood Blvd, Toledo [OH] 43604
“Tatum scared me to death. When I finally heard him live, I gave up playing for two months.”
— Oscar Peterson, Down Beat interview
“Tatum made us see that mastery could come from our own neighborhood. He showed us what was possible.”
— Stanley Cowell, speaking at his Owens Community College tribute performance (2009
In city after city, historic districts outperform newer areas in economic vitality. Property values rise faster, small businesses thrive longer, and public investment goes further.”
— Donovan Rypkema, PlaceEconomics