Another Look at That Diner

Here's a neat photo from the archives of the Black River Historical Society. Although the little boy was obviously the subject of the undated photo, in the background we get a nice shot of the diner that used to be in front of and slightly east of the old Lorain City Hall.

Back here in this post, I mentioned that it was actually a Ward & Dickinson Dining Car, and if you look closely at the photo above the boy's head, you can see a wheel. By the time the diner became Helen's Diner (at left) in the late 1930's, the wheels had been covered up.

It's a little tricky trying to figure out the time frame for this photo. I can't quite make out the year in the license plate of the car behind the little boy, and I'm no good at identifying antique cars either.

But comparing it to the above photo of Helen's Diner, as well as a 1937 photo (at right) confirms to me at least that this photo predates the other two. There is no visible shrubbery as in the two photos, and no billboard above it either. Plus the diner has a slightly rundown look to it, as opposed to the neat appearance it had as Helen's. So I'm guessing it's from the early 1930's.

Anyway, it's still strange to think that the diner ended its career as the Dew Drop Inn (below) decades later, and that its location is roughly the same as that of the steps to the current Lorain City Hall.