Early 1960s Lorain Promotional Brochure Part 1

I bought this vintage Lorain promotional brochure on eBay a few months ago. My best guess is that it dates from the very early 1960s. (That's because McDonalds on West Erie – which first showed up in the 1960 city directory – and the Ford Assembly Plant – which opened in 1958 – are both mentioned, and there are no zip codes listed in the business address listings, since zip codes weren't introduced until 1963).

The brochure is kind of a snapshot of the Lorain of my youth – and yours as well, probably.

The 'Points of Interest' page is interesting because mixed in with the usual Lorain attractions is one I've never seen promoted before: the world's largest tower type windmill. I'm assuming that the brochure is referring to the one on Kolbe Road that's just north of Jaeger Road. (More about it in a later post.)

Next is the "Places to Dine" page.

Plenty of well-remembered Lorain establishments mentioned on this blog are represented, such as the Airport Tavern, Brady's Restaurant & Drive-in, Castle-on-the-Lake, Heilman's Marine Room & Grill, Hoop Drive-in, Howard Johnson's, McDonald's, McGarvey's and even Urbas Cafe (which I blogged about last week).

Sadly, almost every single Lorain restaurant is either long gone or renamed. Of course, the Castle is still around as El Arrierio Mexican Restaurant. And Rosie's Pizza is still in the old location of the Pizza House. (By the way, I had a Rosie's pizza this past weekend and it was great!)

Note how someone really liked Merkle's Kitchen – enough to pencil it in on the brochure!

The "Places to Stay" page is similar in that with the exception of Motel Plaza in Vermilion and Kayann Apartments in Lorain, most of the businesses are gone; only a couple are still around with new names or new functions. (The Grandview Motel is now the Parkview Motel; Beth Shan Motel & Trailer Court is now the Shoreway Motel & Trailer Park; the 5100 W. Lake Road address of Johnson's Trailer Court is now the home of Jack & Diane's Lounge.)

There's Merkle's again – this time as scribbled in as Merkle's Manor. By George, that place must have had a good P.R. agent!

Next: the rest of the brochure, along with an unbelievable map