After my post on Monday about the downtown shopping district, I was thinking about how so much of downtown Lorain was torn down in the 1970's as part of the urban renewal plan. So I thought I would scan the newspaper microfilm from that era to see if there were some interesting demolition photos.
I didn't find any photos on the September 1970 reel that I examined – but I did find this rather intriguing map of an early plan for the Loop area. (If you click on it, you can see a larger view.)
Apparently, the original idea for the former location of Heilman's (at right) was a post office, instead of the City Center building that is there now. (See blog entry below from Monday.)
In retrospect, it's just as well that a post office was never built. Since the US Post Office has been cutting costs and selling off grand old post office branches in the last few years, this proposed branch might have been closed anyway (just like Lorain's original downtown branch).
One final observation about the map artwork. If you look carefully at the artist's initials, you can see that the art was done by our old pal, Passing Scene artist Gene Patrick.
2 comments:
As I read this blog and look at the cool pictures from long ago, it really reminds me of a guy here in Seattle, Paul Dorpat. He is sort of the Seattle Historian with his "Now and Then" pictures in the Seattle Times and his many books.
Keep up the good work Dan, I really enjoy this blog.
After reading "Then and Now" books on America and Cleveland, I'd love to see one for Lorain or Lorain County. Your pictures and articles will do for now - thanks!
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