The SSSOMPI team learned of the Collingwood Arts Center in Toledo Ohio from one of the of the local paranormal teams we meet at the Mid West Parafest. So we made plans to do an overnight investigation.

 

We had gotten there early mid afternoon and were walking the building getting used to the layout. We had just entered the half circle hallway of the theater making our way to the front of the building. I was in the lead and ahead of the team. I tried to open each theater door as I rounded the half circle but found them locked. As I went to open the last set of doors it opened and I had an electric charge from the handle to my hand. Then I feel as if an angry energy had just rush up to the left side of my face, I was not alone. I took two steps backwards and walked quickly to my team. My team member Terri was looking at me and asking what was wrong and I could not speak. I could not gather my thoughts to say a word. It took me awhile to have this effect to wear off. During our tour of the facility our guide let us know that their is a mean nun that resides in the theatre. I do believe I made contact with that nun.

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                                                            Laura Mitchum  

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IT ALL BEGAN WHEN…

Since 1985, The Collingwood Arts Center provides an outlet for creative involvement for the community while preserving a historic space. The campus features the Nelson Theater, The Underground theater, the Gerber House, and a variety of available studio spaces and galleries. Leveraging community partnerships with organizations such as Children’s Theater Workshop, the Arts Commission, AIGA Toledo, Birds Eye View Circus, and the Old West End Association, the Center offers a full range of artistic outlet. The Collingwood Arts Center is the former convent for the Ursuline Order of the Sacred Heart, and later housed the Mary Manse College and St. Ursula Academy. It is a registered historical site.

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MAIN BUILDING

The Ursulines commissioned prominent Toledo architect Edward Oscar (E.O.) Fallis, for an ambitious project of 15 interconnected buildings around three courtyards, essentially a self-contained community including a chapel, library, lecture rooms, art galleries, an auditorium, music building, dormitories, classrooms, the convent, a hospital, bakery, power plant and more. Of the buildings originally planned, only the music and academy buildings, five stories tall, and power plant were ever constructed. The structure was completed and ready for occupancy on September 6, 1905. The style was based on 14th and 15th century Flemish and Norman brick architecture, featuring steeply pitched gables and rows of pointed dormers. Fallis desired a certain ‘antique effect’ for the structure using vitrified bricks and a dark-colored mortar along with a roof of a green Spanish tile intended to harmonize with the building’s dark color. The interior was to have stained oak woodwork and ‘high style’ art nouveau stair railings. Much of the original woodwork and flooring, and many of the original wrought iron, light fixtures and stair railings remain.

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THE GERBER HOUSE

The Gerber House is the white painted-brick home in front of the building that faces Collingwood Boulevard. The Gerber House was built in 1872 before the completion of Collingwood Boulevard. Christian Gerber, a local merchant, spared no expense in the construction of his dream home. From the elegant parlors with 15 foot high ceilings and solid walnut doors to the fixtures on the fireplace mantels, the Gerber House shows the craftsmanship of another era. Cost over-runs doubled the initial projected cost of the house, and in 1875 Gerber declared bankruptcy as a result of overextended credit and poor economic conditions. The Ketcham and Laskey families took possession of the house in later years. The rear part of the house, including the kitchen, was torn down to accommodate attachment of the music and academy buildings. Today, the parlors remain open to the public for art exhibitions, small conferences and meetings, and other functions.

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THE AUDITORIUM

The Auditorium was considered to be a masterpiece of design, allowing an unobstructed view from any seat in the house and built with an elliptical dome at the center of the ceiling, blending in with the curve of the surrounding walls and providing excellent acoustics. Four large chandeliers, with hundreds of glass prisms, hung from the center of the ceiling and could be lowered for cleaning. Two spiral staircases led to the balconies, which were designed with private galleries at the rear which enabled members of the Order to view events without being in the public eye. The structure was built entirely of concrete, with no wood being used, so as to be fireproof. The stone work around the entrance of the auditorium building consisted of bands of alternating color, which is characteristic of many of Fallis’s designs.  The inaugural event in the Auditorium was a lecture on Shakespeare’s Richard III by a Rev. D.J. Stafford of Washington, DC, who was in the region to participate in graduation exercises at both Notre Dame and The Ohio State University. The theater seats 600 and is currently used by local and national theatre groups, musicians, and other performances of a community nature. Its acoustics are uniquely suited to chamber music, piano recitals, stage productions, and other small-group performances. The theater was named after Lois M. Nelson, whose tireless work and vision made the Collingwood Arts Center what it is today.

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THE CHAPEL

A chapel was constructed adjacent to the Academy building in 1918, when the Sisters left the convent at Cherry and Erie Streets and re-located to the Collingwood site. Rooms above the chapel were used as dormitories for the Novices and Temporary Professed Nuns. The chapel was intended to be temporary, though the structure still stands today and is currently home to The Children’s Theater Workshop.

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