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| 1969 Phone Book ad |
The road was eventually overshadowed by I-90 and the new, limited access Route 2. But until then, the highway was pretty important to many businesses that depended on its steady stream of traffic.
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| Courtesy jumpingfrog.com |
The story of Vian’s is one of a highway business that started out in the 1930s as a roadside restaurant with cabins, and slowly grew to eventually include a motel in the 1950s. Through the years, the business became not only a Lake Road icon, but a symbol of the entrepreneurial spirit of its owner.
The business and all traces of it are gone now. Today, Vian’s former location is occupied by the Residence condominium complex (below).
But I hope you’ll join me next time for the rest of my multi-part series in which we travel back in time to revisit a well-remembered piece of Sheffield Lake roadside history.
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| Vian’s former location, currently home to The Residence |
Up until now,I didn't know what the 6 and 2 in "Route 6 and 2" stood for; thanks, Dan!
ReplyDeleteAlan must be a young man or not from the area?
ReplyDeleteBorn and raised in Lorain, turned 60 on 23 December.
ReplyDeleteHappy Belated Birthday, Alan!
ReplyDeleteDoreen Hart, Vian's Granddaughter, has now seen your blog. She is impressed. Hopefully she can give you a little more history if you need.
ReplyDeleteSO COOL to see this. I learned to ski at Vian's in the 70s. We kept our boat on one of the piers and the hoist was there into the 80s. Had many great times there.
Thanks again Dan for sharing all of this.
Hi Kerry!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your reminisce and I’m glad you are enjoying the posts! I hope Doreen and the rest of the family are enjoying the posts as well, and I would be happy to do a follow-up post with any additional information (or corrections) that the family would like to see, as it is their story. ( I met Doreen’s husband in the fall of 2014 when I talked briefly to him in their driveway about their famous Hart signs in Avon Lake on Route 6 and did a post about them.)
Dan