Apparently, the decision was made to give these access roads new names to avoid confusion with the main highway. Unlike similar road fragments west of Vermilion, however, they were not called ‘Old Lake Road.'
The short road on which the Pueblo had been located for decades was named Pueblo Drive as a tribute, first appearing in the 1963 edition of the Lorain City Directory. The old numerical addresses for the businesses and residences located there (such as 4015 for the Hialeah Tourist Court) were simply retained for their new Pueblo Drive designation.
Today, Charles Akers Construction, Inc. sits at the western end of Pueblo Drive, approximately where the restaurant was located.
****
Unlike many other iconic Lorain businesses (such as the Castle, or Heilman’s), apparently there are no postcards of the Pueblo that have turned up on Ebay. Matchbooks (such as those from Paula Shorf’s collection that I posted on Parts 4 & 5) have shown up from time to time.
A vintage Pueblo Barbecue menu (below) appeared on the Lorain, Ohio By Photos Facebook page in the last few years.
Al Doane’s archives at the Lorain Public Library included what appeared to be a later Pueblo menu (below).
Today, the Pueblo is remembered only by those Lorain Countians old enough to have enjoyed a fine meal or night out there. It remains a colorful piece of local lore that deserves to be remembered not only for the good times experienced there, but for the bold vision of F. J. McFadden in creating something so unique. It’s a shame that it met a fiery demise like so many other Lorain businesses through the years.
Great blog series Dan! Although I certainly passed the restaurant many times as a youngster, I had no clear recollection of exactly how it looked. It seemed to be a larger more unique structure than I thought. Too bad it lasted for only about 35 years before being destroyed. Some years ago I spent some time searching for a photo or postcard of the place, without success. You would think because of its uniqueness it would have been photographed many times. Perhaps someone has some period photographs that will one day surface.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Rick! I’m hoping some photos or perhaps some reminisces surface too because of these posts.
ReplyDeleteThank you, this series (as well as all the others) was very interesting!!
ReplyDeleteTheresa
Dan... I find it strange that my Mom who is 91 years old and had pretty active young life... does not remember this place. I also find it strange that no one has mentioned the "Swastika" looking symbols on the menu shown in this post, Bill N
ReplyDeleteHi Bill,
ReplyDeleteHa ha! I was wondering if someone would ever comment on that! Quite an unusual decorative element. I agree, there’s almost two different camps when it comes to the Pueblo – you either went there and remember it or never heard of it!