North 12th Street block dedicated to bishop

7/29/2007

A one-block section of North 12th Street, from North to Bancroft streets, has been dedicated Bishop Eli B. Williams Way, named for the late pastor of the True Church of God of the Apostolic Faith, which is located there, Toledo Councilman Michael Ashford said.

In addition, an Ohio Historical Marker was dedicated at the site. Both events took place Friday.

Bishop Williams is credited with beginning a free, non-sectarian adult education program in 1965 and in leading cleanup efforts of the Warren-Sherman neighborhood.

The building was designed by Toledo architects Edward Thal and Sidney Aftel and was completed in 1914 as the second home of Congregation B nai Israel.

The congregation relocated in 1957 and the building later became home to Bishop Williams church.

The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005 after the Ohio Historic Site Preservation Advisory Board recommended that the building s architectural significance merited a listing.