Here's a photo that should bring back a lot of memories for longtime Lorainites. It's from the files of the Black River Historical Society and, of course, looks south at the Golden Dragon restaurant (and its next-door neighbor, the Corinthian Grill). The photo was undated, but appeared to be one of a series of shots from the late 1960s/early 1970s.
That particular trackside location had hosted a variety of businesses since the early 1920s.
The first business to show up at the 1120 Broadway address was the Nickel Plate Restaurant, in the 1924 city directory.
A billiards hall took over the address in the 1926 edition, followed by a tailor in the 1931 book.
Then, the Nickel Plate Restaurant made a comeback in 1933 with different proprietors, and it continued at that address (sometimes listed as the Nickel Plate Tavern) until the 1964 city directory. In that edition, a business with an inscrutable name – Oriental Restaurant – showed up as a harbinger of things to come.
Perhaps at the time of the city directory was getting ready to be printed, the restaurant didn't have a name yet, because on May 1, 1963, this ad appeared in the Lorain Journal announcing the opening of the Golden Dragon.
I had no idea that the Golden Dragon was Lorain County's only Chinese restaurant in 1963. It was really ahead of its time.
This ad followed in the paper on July 2, 1963.
The Golden Dragon continued to appear in the city directory until 1983, when the whole block's addresses were vacant, in preparation of the construction of the railroad underpass.
Today, sadly, there is no evidence that any of those businesses ever existed at that stretch of Broadway (below).
I never ate at the Golden Dragon, but I do remember getting terrific egg rolls at their annual booth at the Lorain International Festival during its glory days at the May Company location.
Today, sadly, there is no evidence that any of those businesses ever existed at that stretch of Broadway (below).
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12 comments:
And nestled in there was the AlItalia Market. Genuine imported Italian food and goodies. Quite a United Nations of retail in that short section.
i remember a striking blonde that drove a gold cadillac? convertable, who, owned, managed???? GD and lived on E Lake road?? or is it a flashback?
I'm still haunted by the memory of a gentleman who looked kind of like a scruffy Santa Claus who seemed to be always in that vicinity by the GD whenever I rolled over the tracks!
We called him Aqua Lung! Stash Box was across the street.
I never ate at the GD either, but I loved going to the Corinthian; the girl who gave me my first kiss lived upstairs of it. Also, they had those photos of the aftermath of the '24 tornado in the entrance.
I remember across from the Golden dragon was the gateman that controlled the RR gates in his little tower. and the back of the Golden Dragon was once a Railway Express Station
So glad to see this! I remember going there as a child. My parents knew the owners. They always gave you banana candy (hard candies wrapped in brightly colored tissue paper).
That striking blonde was Lillian Zeba, wife of the Golden Dragon's silent owner, Edward Zeba, long residents of East Lake Rd.
Aka duane smith...i remember also the photos of the 1924 tornado.very interesting place.didnt think abt the old train station across the street.i remember the colors for that area and time quite cool for lorain.last lived there consistently in mid '70's then ws attended to by 1 or 2 people.remembered the name as Corinthian which doesnt relate to Chinese.oh well.
Our whole extended family loved going to the Golden Dragon, from the little kids to the old folks. I especially remember the booths with the rice paper doors that could be closed for privacy.
I ate at The Golden Dragon a few times. I liked the booths with the rice paper doors. That place was jumping in the very early 70s when Ford Plant, Shipyards, Lorain Steel, etc. were happening.........Cars used to be bumper to bumper in Lorain on Friday and Saturday night...I remember seeing Mafia wiseguys coming in with their girls.. The guy that ran the place kind of put me off so I started going to Lannie's Chinese Restaurant which had better food anyhow. Golden Dragon began declining soon after that....
I ate at The Corinthian a couple times after they moved out to the shopping center. I got what is to this day, one of the best steaks I've ever eaten, there. It was a Porterhouse so big it hung slightly over the end of the large serving platter with a wonderful, savory, buttery taste and was so tender you could have cut it with a spoon.........I was delighted and went back about 2 weeks later to have another one and they'd closed.....I remember standing outside gazing through the windows into the abandoned interior and being completely despondent......
And I recall The Stash Box, a head shop by the railroad tracks. I was always high as a kite when I went in there.....A dude that looked like Ginger Baker they called Rosebud ran the place........I think he had a tattoo of a Rose or something. It was a pretty busy place back in the day...........
We lived across the street from the Zeba’s, and I remember there going there must’ve been early 70s I was about 56 or seven. I can still taste their golden dragon shrimp, I believe it had bacon wrapped around. It was a sweet, sour sauce. ..and I have been trying and trying and googling to try to find a recipe like it but I’ve never been able to come up with anything! This place was a great memory for me.
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