The Bronze Boar is located in the Huron Street Village, situated in the historic downtown Toledo Warehouse District. It was built as a livery stable before the Civil War, and its work horses pulled wagons for an ice company in Toledo. The ice was cut on Lake Erie during the winter and stored in Toledo warehouses that were lined with foot-and-a-half-thick cork walls for ice deliveries during the summer months. Some of us still remember the ice man bringing in the block of ice for the ice box many years ago.

The Bronze Boar was located on land that almost became part of the state of Michigan when in 1835 a war between Michigan and Ohio broke out over a contentious boundary dispute. Both state militias were mobilized and sent to positions on opposite sides of the Maumee River near Toledo, but spent a week struggling through the soggy wilderness and swamps in the area trying to find each other but never did come into contact.

Although it is rumored that Michigan fired the first shots, no one was seriously injured. The War involved more saber-rattling than it did shooting and blood-letting. The only blood drawn in the Toledo war came from a knife thrust into the leg of a Michigan sheriff during a tavern brawl. When the dispute was settled, Ohio was given Toledo and Michigan received the Upper Peninsula in exchange. It has been said that the University of Michigan once considered building its campus here.

Later during the 1940's and 50's, the building was used to store burlap bags for the produce wholesalers in the district.

The idea of the Bronze Boar began in 1990, when owner John Orr purchased a bronze boar at auction in Monroe, Michigan. This sculpture is signed by G. Connary and weighs approximately 200 hundred pounds. Its intricate detail captured John's attention and he had to have it, even though he had no idea what he was going to do with it.
In 1999, when John began making plans to open a new tavern on Huron Street he decided to design it around his prized bronze boar. As you enter the front entrance you are greeted by the Bronze Boar that is displayed overhead.

The entire renovation took six months starting with an empty brick shell of a building. Reinforced steel beams were installed to support the second floor. A staircase was built using 156 solid glass balusters to support the handrails. Care was taken to preserve the historical beauty of the brick walls. All new electric, plumbing and HVAC was installed along with electrostatic smoke filtering and smoke removal systems to ensure a smoke-free environment. Unfortunately, first Toledo and then the State of Ohio soon banned indoor smoking and made all these expenditures meaningless.

Read an article about the Bronze Boar in The Mirror's Playlist