On the way home from Brownelm Township last Sunday, we were passing the shuttered Lorain Assembly Plant when my wife asked, "Are they tearing down the old Ford plant?"
Looking over at the huge complex, I saw that it looked like a giant had sat down on a small portion of it and squashed it (above). It's a fairly shocking sight to behold for a Lorainite, even after all these years.
It's sad to drive by the old plant, a little more than five years since it closed. None of my family ever worked there, but plenty of neighbors while I was growing up, plus fathers of a few boyhood chums. These loyal families supported their company by exclusively buying their products and thus I spend a lot of time in my friends' various Ford vehicles, including old Mavericks, Pintos and LTDs.
(As I've said before, I'm a big fan of these old-time advertising mascots from the 1950's, and I like this guy in the ad. Can anyone figure out what it is he's holding?)
Anyway, the gas company ad is a wistful reminder of the days when Lorain was an industrial powerhouse with a future full of prosperity and promise.
Back then it would have been unthinkable to imagine a day when the Ford plant would be closed. Hopefully Industrial Realty Group and Ohio Realty Advisors will be successful in their efforts to market and repurpose the property.