Sure enough, both the Morning Journal and the Chronicle-Telegram featured demolition shots today of the building coming down on their front page. Well, at least I have a few shots of it before it was demolished in case someone ever wonders what the building looked like!
According to the Chronicle, the bar "had faced various gambling charges and liquor violations." The article also stated that the demolition had been partially paid for by federal funds through the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, which was designed to tear down nuisance properties.
I'll never understand why a 'nuisance' property needs to be torn down; it seems like a waste to me.
Anyway, I can't say that I was ever in Margie's Magpie Inn, so I'm not driven by nostalgia in this case. I did like the stonework on the building, though, as well as the bar's logo, which was based on the old Terrytoon cartoon magpies, Heckle and Jeckle.
Dan, I think if you lived in the vicinity of one of the many nuisance properties in Lorain, you would have a better understanding as to why they need to be torn down.
ReplyDeleteI remember walking past this building, usually on Saturdays, as my friends, my brother, and I took hikes to the dumping areas that were to south on the Black River. We would take the dirt road that you see to the left in the photos and head due south. It was always a covert operation as we were not allowed to venture there. It was always interesting to see what people had discarded, maybe find a treasure, and also to toss aerosol cans in the open fires that sometimes burned there. That building was the landmark to make the right turn to our "playground".
ReplyDeleteI think it was the called The Sands in the 60's. Previous writer is correct about behind the bar took you to the city dump, the Black river and mystery. I wasnt allowed across Colorado Ave.
ReplyDeleteThe city dump an the garage where they maintained the garbage trucks were just south of the. Pepsi bldg on root road. You could access Cromwell park too, with the pond we fished in,and the baseball diamonds. The also had midget car racing events.
ReplyDeleteOn the n.w. corner of root + Colorado ave where burger king /store + are , was john bobers Sohio gas station. On the corner of Colo +Penn ave where the internet cafe nx to dons gas station is was a cut rate store, then it was a laundry .
ReplyDeleteI used to go into the old Sands, back in the 70s, so did my late father.
ReplyDeleteBack in the late 50s and earl 60s we would go to the dump to look for copper, we used to go in off Root Road back then. One time there was a large hole in the ground with a high wire fence around it and in the hole were whole sides of beef that had gone bad. That was someting to see as a kid.