Bowling Green (Ohio)



Bowling Green is a small college town in Northwest Ohio about south of the Michigan border. Surrounded by miles of flat farmland, Bowling Green is best known for its public university, Bowling Green State University (BGSU), and its national tractor pull event. Locals often shorten Bowling Green to BG - pronounced "Bee Gee".

Understand
Bowling Green is primarily a college town. Bowling Green State University is known for its education, music, and aviation programs. As a result, many events have an educational bent, music and the arts are popular in town, and clear days are hallmarked with frequent flybys of propeller-driven airplanes.

The city also functions as the county seat and the largest city of Wood County, Ohio. The only other large city in the county is the Toledo suburb of Perrysburg. It lies on the edge of the Toledo Metropolitan area and caters to locals in nearby towns and farms by offering shopping, education, and entertainment, much like the city of Findlay to the south. Because of this Bowling Green is a melting pot between college and country culture.

History
Bowling Green was settled in 1832 near the center of the Great Black Swamp, and was named by its settlers after Bowling Green in Kentucky. It got its start as a city thanks to the oil boom in the 1880s and the resulting clearing of the swamp. The college was established in 1910 as Bowling Green State Normal School to train teachers along side its sister college in Kent. By the 1930s it became a fully fledged university. During World War II the University helped train Navy personnel. After World War II ended, the influx of returning soldiers and their baby boomer children greatly increased the size of the university, as well as the surrounding city. While current events are university focused, many relics of the oil days remain in and around the Bowling Green area.

Since its founding, the university has taught many notable people including Olympians, scientists, captains of industry, and Hollywood actors.

Climate
Bowling Green has four distinct seasons. The spring brings plentiful cherry blossoms. The summer can have sweltering and humid heat, but the hydrangea and hibiscus bloom. During the fall the temperatures drop and the trees change the color of their leaves to shades of red, orange, and yellow. Winters in Bowling Green can be highly variable. Some winters are mild with only a few inches of snow accumulation. However sometimes winters can be quite harsh with blizzards and several feet of snow accumulation or ice storms. A constant of all seasons are frequent windy days. A windbreaker is recommended, even in the early summer.

By plane
The nearest major airport is the Detroit Metro Airport at just over an hour north of Bowling Green by car. Some passenger flights may also go to the closer Toledo Express Airport which is only a half hour north of Bowling Green by car.

By car
Bowling Green is on I-75 at exit 181, and it is a quick drive south from Toledo, a  drive north from Dayton, and a  drive south from Detroit. Regional car services include: a city subsidized van service with low rates, B.G. Transit Reliable Taxi, Supercab, BG Airport Shuttle, and Bill's Limousine.

By bicycle
A community group Bike BG offers slow bike rides throughout the city once a month.

By car
Bowling Green is next to Interstate 75, and its Main Street is also an important local highway (Old US 25). Outside of the downtown area and campus, it may be time consuming to go without a car.

Free parking is available along both sides of Main Street in the downtown area. However getting a spot can be difficult during business hours and late at night from Thursdays to Saturdays.

The city operates public parking lots in the downtown area. The university also offers public parking in many of its parking lots. These are both available for small fees, and may be free during certain hours, especially during the weekend.

BGSU and the city both have parking enforcement units! BGSU uses automated plate readers and human patrols to quickly catch parking violations. Those parked illegally will almost certainly get caught, and the small fee at the kiosk is much better than a moderate fine. Most public parking lots that charge a fee have replaced their coin operated meters with an automated kiosk that lets you register your licence plate number, eliminating the need to go back to your car to place a permit on it.

There are a few car rental agencies in town, and one on campus.

By bus


Some residential areas will charter a private bus to make regular stops between their neighborhood and campus. The city also sometimes runs buses between parking and major events downtown, such as the Black Swamp Arts Festival.

By taxi
Taxicabs are very inexpensive at $3-4 per fare (as of January 2019).



By foot
Most of Bowling Green is about as walkable as any American city, with a few exceptions.

BGSU is even more walkable then the rest of Bowling Green. Almost every major building is within of another.

The Downtown area too is similarly extra walkable, as it is less then long. Walkability is helped by shaded building passages, ample crossings, and frequent benches.

Wooster Street opposite of the university is unpleasant to walk due to a lack of shade and close proximity to vehicle traffic. Many locals choose to cross the street to the University Sidewalk, or walk down Clough Street (Pleasant shaded residential street parallel with Wooster).

By bicycle
Bowling Green tends to be cyclist friendly. Most destinations have ample bike parking.

On-campus bike parking is widely available outside each building. Some buildings, such as the Art Building and the Student Recreation Center have newer green roofed racks that can keep your bike dry in light rain. Watch out for small delivery robots with low profiles when cycling on campus.

The downtown core of BG should be bypassed by cyclists who are passing through. Because of heavy traffic and low visibility around corners biking on the street is less easy here, and biking on the sidewalk is illegal downtown. For cyclists visiting downtown as a destination there are some anchored stands for bicycle parking.

Sports


A popular fight song is "Ay Ziggy Zoomba" (pronounced Aye Zigg-e Zoom-ba). If someone shouts, "Ay Ziggy Zoomba", you should respond "Ay Ziggy Zoomba Ze!". Games against rival school the University of Toledo are often shorted to TSUN, meaning "That school up north".



Eat
Bowling Green's downtown area has a small town atmosphere with plenty of dining establishments to choose from, including sports bars (and other "bar" food), pizza, Italian, and family dining.

The area near I-75 and the extreme north and south ends of Main Street have many chain restaurants.

Dining halls
On campus, most restaurants are condensed into halls. The most notable ones are listed below.

Drink
As a college town, Bowling Green has a number of pubs and bars. During the school year, and especially Thursday through Saturday, bar traffic is at its highest. During the day and during breaks, traffic slows down quite a bit.

Pubs




Sleep
Thanks to the Interstate Bowling Green has more hotels then usual for a city of its size. As a result, these hotels are all near either the highway or the university which is adjacent to the highway.

Stay safe
On campus you can use any of the blue emergency telephones in an emergency. These will immediately call dispatch and report your location, and flash an alarm.

Getting around
Drivers on Wooster Street should drive with caution. Many drive aggressively and jaywalking is common. Trucks often turn onto main street at a tight, low visibility, and busy intersection. Don't be afraid to slow down and yield, even if you are in the right. There are some unusual on demand crosswalks on Wooster. Slow down and drive with caution when the light blinks yellow, and fully stop when the lights blink red.

Watch where you walk - Campus operations sometimes leaves manholes open to access the vast tunnel network under the campus, mind the signs and don't fall in.

Bowling Green has a lot of nightlife, but please don't drink and drive. There is a free bus service from Thursday to Saturday from the downtown area to BGSU, which is close to many hotels. If the bus is not available, consider a designated driver, or use one of Bowling Green's taxis that can take you to your hotel safely.

Be on guard for ticks in natural areas if you leave designated paths. Make sure to check for ticks when you return.

Weather
Bowling Green experiences all manner of severe weather. The most common storms are thunderstorms with possible hail, but tornadoes during the summer pose the biggest threat. After a heavy rain, some areas will suffer from flash flooding. Bowling Green can also experience cold weather and rarely blizzards during the winter. Very rarely Bowling Green can experience minor earthquakes as it is directly next to a fault line. These earthquakes are usually low magnitude and rarely cause even minor damage, but may startle animals.

Police
Depending on where you are in Bowling Green, you may be served by one of two police departments.

Stay healthy
Bowling Green contains a number of family doctors and dentist practices.

Telephones
The local area codes are 419 and 567, with 419 usually belonging to older organizations. BGSU maintains an online directory for phone numbers on campus. The area code must be dialed on all calls.

Most major wireless carriers have a retail presence and 4G coverage in Bowling Green, and there are a few independent electronics shops that may repair phone hardware or offer SIM cards.

Post
The ZIP code for general city addresses is 43402, and the ZIP code for university addresses is 43403.

Smoking
BGSU is a non-smoking campus. Vaping and chewing tobacco are allowed outside, but smoking is only allowed in certain parking lots. The university may charge smokers with trespassing, even if they are not students.

The seal
It is rude to split up a group while walking around the University Seal, or to walk around it to the left. However, walking to the right of the seal is seen as a good luck charm. Standing on the seal (watch your balance!) at midnight for a kiss is a sign of future romance, and also a sign that you won't graduate.

Wood County
Bowling Green is in the center of Wood County, and all of these are not more then a half hour away by car.

Urban

 * Perrysburg: An affluent Suburb of Toledo on the north end of Wood County. Home to the Levis Commons shopping complex and the historical Fort Meigs. An easy north of Bowling Green on I-75 or Dixie Highway.

Nearby cities

 * Toledo: The nearest major city to Bowling Green. An easy drive north of Bowling Green on I-75.
 * Van Buren: A quaint village with a large state park.
 * Findlay: An industrial city with an abundance of Victorian architecture, specialty shops, and restaurants. An easy drive south of Bowling Green on I-75.
 * Sandusky: A city with lakefront resorts and the Cedar Point amusement park. A drive east of Bowling Green.
 * Huron: Home to the BGSU Firelands campus and the Huron Playhouse. Around drive east of Bowling Green.
 * Fostoria
 * Ann Arbor: A larger college town which is home to the University of Michigan. About drive north.
 * Lake Erie Islands: These islands are more remote vacation hotspots. Drive to Lake Erie and take a ferry or private boat.