In 1993, the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library undertook the awesome task of making its extensive collection of photographs available free to the public on-line. Approximately 80,000 images are now available through Images In Time , the largest on-line searchable collection of photographs in Northwest Ohio.  Search Images in Time >>

The pictures range from the 1870s to present day, with the bulk taken between 1880 and World War II. The majority of the photographs depict scenes in the city of Toledo , although much of Northwestern Ohio and Southeastern Michigan are represented. Photographs depict the downtown area, with a large number of Toledo area industries (Jeep, Toledo Scale, Libbey Glass, Owens-Illinois, Libby-Owens-Ford, etc.), schools, hospitals, and parks represented as well.

Images In Time provides visitors to the web site the opportunity to search the database by house address or street name, or by a subject or keyword.

About the Block Card Collection

The Block Card Collection was created by the Lucas County Auditor's Office to have a visual record of properties in the county for tax assessment purposes. Ranging from approximately 1937 until about 1965, the job was part of the Works Projects Administration (WPA). Please note, because these photographs were collected for tax assessment, a building demolished before 1970 may have seen the photograph destroyed as well.

Search tips

Specific Address: Enter the address you wish to search. If that address is in the database, that image will appear. Please note there is no need to include: street, avenue, boulevard, etc., or city, state.

Street Name: You may also enter just a street name that may result in multiple addresses matching that street name.

Search by phrase: Entering a phrase with a Toledo connotation, such as Old West End, will return images with the words old west end together, in that order. The broader the term, the broader the scope and scale of the images that will be returned.

Search all of the words: Entering Old West End and searching all of the words will return images containing the words old west end, together or separately, in any order. There is no need to use ' and' between each word.

Refine Search: To narrow down a broad search, you can access the Terms associated with your search dropdown menu. This allows you to refine your search in the parameters already predetermined.

Hyperlinks: To the left of each picture are the exact terms used to index that picture. These hyperlinks allow you to search similar images and topics without re-entering the database.