O. A. Hafely Wrap-up

Here's a few final nuggets to wrap up my brief look at O. A. Hafely, the builder who developed so much of the east side of Lorain.

Remember the story that Hafely told (back here) about he got into trouble with the state building inspector when he added a second story to Ford Thompson's funeral home? Well, here's a 1931 city directory ad for the J. Ford Thompson Funeral Directors, showing the building in question.

When I saw this ad, I thought to myself,"Oh, I know where that is!" And I proceeded to drive over there and discover that the building is long gone. So much for my memory.

The building would have been somewhere between the Lorain National Bank drive-through on 6th Street and the church parking lot just west of it. Oh well.

And speaking of long-gone buildings (well, maybe not that long-gone), the Hafely Building itself at the corner of Garfield and Missouri was lost sometime in the last ten years or so. I seem to recall it was a fire that destroyed much if not all of it. (I knew I should have clipped that article!) Anybody out there remember?

Here's what the site, right next to the railroad tracks, looks like today. It makes a nice parking area for city vehicles and the odd truck.

It's a real shame it was lost. The Hafely Building held a lot of memories for many people. For east-siders, it was a nice little commercial strip in a mostly residential area. For years, it was the home of a beauty salon, a barber shop, an Eagle Super Market, and the one I remember most, Wheel & Reel Center. I remember riding my bike over from the west side in the 1970's to visit this store.

Also, when my wife and I lived on Nebraska Avenue in the 1990's, there was a great pizza shop in the Hafely Building: Sorrento's. The pizza was really good, and I liked the idea of a pizza parlor close enough that I could walk to, even though I don't remember ever doing that. The pizza might get cold!