More Parking for Lorain City Hall – October 1955

TREES GO, MORE PARKING SPACE – Two trees more than 50 years old

were removed today from the lawn area west of city hall building to make

room for additional parking. City workers cut the tops and roots and Van Sickle

Tree Co. equipment removed the stumps.

Here's a short news article for you old timers (like me) who remembered when Lorain's City Hall was located in the "old yellow house" (originally the William Jones mansion). The photo and article, which appeared in the Lorain Journal on October 5, 1955 explains why some very old trees were removed adjacent to the building.

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City Hall Loses Two Big Trees

Vintage postcard in which at least one of the trees can be seen

Two large trees, an oak and an elm, were removed today from the lawn area west of the city hall building to make way for additional parking places.

MANY CITIZENS stood in the drizzle watching city workers and employees of the Van Sickle Tree Co. remove the trees which reportedly were more than 50 years old.

Service Director Wallace J. Chapla said: "We didn't like the idea of removing the trees. It is just another case of clearing the way for progress and alleviating a parking problem."

CITY STREET department workers cut the tree down and cut around the roots. The job of pulling out the stump was done by tree company workers with the aid of heavy pulling equipment mounted on a large truck.

Chapla said another tree located on the west side of the building would also be removed to make facilitate [sic] parking.

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And here's the finished result (below).

Photo courtesy Black River Historical Society

The loss of the trees really paved (no pun intended) the way for the eventual transformation of that property. The replacement of the old, antiquated city hall with the new one really marked the beginning of a new era in Lorain history.