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Midway Mall Reflections – Part 1
Back in January, I received an interesting email from Michael Brown. Michael is a former Lorain Countian who has done very well for himself. He grew up in Grafton in the 1960s, went to Ohio State in...
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Midway Mall Reflections – Part 2
To Michael, it’s not that surprising that the downtowns were unprepared to compete with Midway Mall.“We lived in Grafton from 1962 to 1978,” he noted. “I remember the Elyria downtown chain stores were...
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Harvest House Grand Opening Ad – 1966
One of the images that Michael Brown sent me during our correspondence in January about Midway Mall is the above ad for the Grand Opening of the Harvest House Cafeteria. The full-page ad ran in the...
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The Old Fire Truck in Cascade Park – Part 1
Although I don't mention most of them on the blog, I get emails almost every day from people asking me if I have any information about something they remembered from being a kid.I received an...
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The Old Fire Truck in Cascade Park – Part 2
I reached out to Rick Kurish for help researching the old fire truck that used to be located in the playground at Cascade Park. Unfortunately, I didn’t make it easier for Rick by accidentally (and...
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Just When Was the Lorain Lighthouse Built? – Part 1
The Lorain Lighthouse – known as the “Jewel of the Port” – is celebrating its 100th year anniversary on June 30, 217. That alone should bring a tear to the eye of anyone who lovingly calls Lorain their...
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Just When Was the Lorain Lighthouse Built? – Part 2
There really is no controversy regarding the dates associated with the construction of the Lorain Lighthouse. It just depends on whether you want to celebrate the anniversary of a lighthouse under...
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Dave Zupkovich and His Orchestra Play the Showboat – 1950
I received a nice email from Kelli D’Agnese recently regarding my blog series on the Showboat last month.If Kelli's name sounds familiar, it might be because her grandfather was Peter D’Agnese,...
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Ohio Turnpike Signs That Time Forgot
On a Sunday afternoon in late December 2016, I had to make a trip to Elyria. On the way home, I shot this photo of some ancient street signs located where Lorain Boulevard meets Lake Avenue.The Ohio...
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Demo Update
I hope that COLOR TV sign is saved!Well, it looks like the old motels on the western approach to the city will finally have their date with the bulldozers. According to an article in the Morning...
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Lorain Goes Krogering – April 3, 1936
Although there aren’t any Kroger stores in Northeast Ohio any more, the supermarket chain made its first appearance in Lorain in April 1936. The Lorain Journal and Times-Herald devoted a whole section...
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Oakwood Park – Part 1
Willis Leiter’s Real Photo Postcard of Oakwood ParkA colorized, retouched version of Leiter’s compositionOakwood Park had been in the news again last month (here), so it’s a good time for this post....
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Oakwood Park – Part 2
It’s a good thing that Google Maps has an outdated view of Oakwood Park from July 2014 (above). At least we can see how Oakwood Park used to look before the park improvements began late last fall.It’s...
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Thew Shovel Demolition
Undated aerial photo of Thew Shovel(Courtesy Dennis Lamont)Courtesy P. C. CampanaI guess I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the demolition of many of the original Thew Shovel buildings that’s...
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Cincinnati Red Stockings Coverage in the Elyria Independent Democrat...
To end this week, here’s something of interest to you baseball fans courtesy of regular blog contributor Rick Kurish– although it’s really more for devotees of the Cincinnati Reds than our Cleveland...
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Penfield Avenue Looking North – Then & Now
Vintage postcard postmarked January 19, 1910Although the look of Downtown Lorain was altered forever by the 1924 tornado, the buildings of the Central Lorain business district have remained largely...
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Cleveland Indians Home Openers – 1947 & 1957
Well, today is the Indians’ Home Opener – so I thought I’d better prepare something appropriate.At the top you see my genuine Twins Enterprise, Inc. Collectible MLB Bobbing Head Chief Wahoo Doll fron...
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How Lorain’s Highland Park Became Central Park
A scene at Central Park todayLast week I featured an article about Oakwood Park that ran in the Lorain Daily News back in late August 1939. Here’s another article that was part of that newspaper’s...
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Central Bakery Easter Ad – 1957
I was fairly surprised to discover that I haven’t mentioned the longtime Lorain business Central Bakery too much on this blog over the years. So, it’s a good reason to post the above Easter-themed ad...
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Loading up the Lakeview Park Easter Basket – 1957
If there’s one photo that you can count on seeing almost every year in the Morning Journal and Chronicle-Telegram at Easter, it has to be the ceremonial placement of the large, concrete eggs in the...
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