Exploring Ohio/history is important

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This past year I've had a blast exploring and discovering Ohio. The thing that kills me though is seeing how much of history has been destroyed. I find as a whole, people enjoy replacing the old with the new and that's not always a good thing. My husband and I were wanting to go to Cleveland again soon and we want to check out some stuff we didn't the last time we were there and one of those places is the old arcade which was America's first mall. It was built in 1890. I've seen pictures and it looks beautiful. I want to see the inside for myself. The thing is there really isn't much there. It's just an old building and no longer serves as an actual mall. There are a few restaurants in there and a few random businesses and the third floor was converted into hotel rooms. I wish I could have seen the mall in all its glory. The pictures are absolutely beautiful. I love old architecture. I believe our history needs to be protected and preserved. In a way, the building has been preserved but it isn't what it once was. I'd love to have seen it turned back into a mall. There are still some booming malls out there but so many haven't been able to survive with online shopping. It's so sad seeing so many stores and things from my childhood go out of business or changing from what they were. I understand change is inevitable with time but sometimes I wish we could keep some things the way they were. To me, the magic is in the history. I've loved exploring and experiencing history with my son. It's been fun learning new things. This past year has been all about exploring my own backyard. I've loved learning with and teaching my son things along the way. I've found hands on learning has been the best way to learn. We've explored the outdoors and some museums among other things. I've loved watching his face light up with interest in a subject he never really cared for until recently. It's one thing to hear about something it's another to see it. He never understood my love or fascination with all things history. I love learning about old buildings and things that came before. I love malls so the old arcade seemed to bring my 90s childhood together with my love of history. Last weekend we got to go to Cincinnati. We checked out the Heritage Village Museum but only got to see the outside, in my opinion Sauder Village which is closer to home is MUCH nicer but I got a Cincinnati library card and got the discovery pass so I was able to get tickets for free so I can't complain too much. It was still neat seeing the old buildings. We went to the Findlay market where we got soft pretzels, scones, and a loaf of Cuban bread. All were absolutely amazing. I made Cuban sandwiches with the bread, and it was delicious. We also went to Jungle Jim's which was HUGE. It's the biggest grocery store you'll ever go to. It had a bit of everything. The international section was amazing. We all picked out some international snacks to try. We also ate at Tickle Pickle but went to the one in Kentucky because it was closer to where we were. We also went to the Cincinnati library so I could get a permanent library card. I was shocked at the size of the library because I'm from NW Ohio and while Toledo has some bigger libraries it's nothing like the Cincinnati library which consists of two buildings both of which have three floors. It's just a shame that I couldn't actually get any books because I wouldn't get right back to return them. I can however, get another discovery pass to get free access to another museum the next time we go. History is so important, and I don't think people realize how much history we come in contact with everyday everywhere we go. Everything we see now will someday be our history. We need to preserve what was so we can appreciate what is. We all came from somewhere and everything that came before us is what helped us get to where we are. I love exploring it all. I especially love learning about local history.