The Castle On-The-Lake (or The Castle if you prefer) first appeared in the City Directory in 1942. According to the Images of America Lorain book, it was built in 1925 as a private residence. I have tried to do some research on the original owner, but unfortunately since Leavitt Road was the western city limits for many years, the early city directories didn't include any address listings west of it.
Shown above is an ad from 1961.
The Castle is one of those Lorain icons that everyone remembers and has some special memory associated with it. For me, it was the choice for dining on the night of my senior prom, as well as my wedding rehearsal dinner.
Be sure to post a comment about your special Castle memory!
I remember sitting in McDonalds as a kid and my Dad (a bartender) telling my brother and I that when it was a private residence it used its location for night time illegal liquour deliveries off the lake during prohibition.
ReplyDeleteThe Castle was built by O. F. Hageman (Otto Frederick). I had researched him years ago as he was married to Mayme Porter. I'm currently looking for that information, There is also a small reference to this in a bio from the History of Lorain which states that "He now resides in a beautiful limestone residence out on West Erie beyond the city limits where he owns a rare tract of land with a 200 foot frontage on Lake Erie."
ReplyDeleteWhat happened to The Castle?
ReplyDelete