The above ad, which ran in the Lorain Journal on July 4, 1952, promotes the fact that the Central Bank Company, located at Broadway and 20th Street in Lorain, was the only local bank to offer a “Drive-In Teller” service at that time. It was in the rear of the building with access from 20th Street.
The “Drive-In Teller” window was even featured in the film LORAIN – An Industrial Empire in Ohio’s Vacation Land.
Of course the Central Bank building is long-gone (except for the pillars), but here’s roughly the same view today as seen in the film.
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| Courtesy Google Maps |
Ironically, it now seems that most banks seem to have done away with direct customer contact in their drive-throughs, favoring the clunky pneumatic tubes.
It’s been a long times since I put my savings book in a drawer at the drive-through. In fact, most banks (except for First Federal Savings of Lorain) have done away with the books!
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I know you’re probably wondering – what about “Miss Vacationland” of 1952 mentioned in the ad?
Well, the pageant was held at Lorain’s Lakeview Park on July 4, 1952. The winner was Sandusky’s Darlene Nancy Miller, 18, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Warren J. Miller. First alternate was Gloria Jean Lehnert, 19, of Amherst, and Second alternate was Dolores Lohrer, 19, of Sheffield Lake.
A crowd of 40,000 watched the pageant.
I can't believe that I am old enough to remember when "drive through" banking was a new innovation in convenience banking! The first drive through that I remember was at the Lorain County Savings and Trust Bank (now Huntington Bank) on the corner of Cleveland and Church Streets in Amherst. The bank opened in 1959 and at their grand opening they were giving each visitor a new Lincoln cent, which had changed the reverse side of the coin to feature the Lincoln Memorial. The new coin was just about to be released to circulation, and I thought it was pretty cool that I had one before everyone else!
ReplyDeleteThinking of convenience banking, how about the advent of the ATM machine? Not long ago there was an item in the news that the first ATM went into service in June 1967 someplace in England. I clearly remember when the Lorain National Bank on Kansas Avenue installed one of the first ATM machines in the area in 1977. The ATM machine is so ubiquitous today that it's hard to believe that they first appeared in the area only about 40 years ago. I won't even mention the current on-line banking options which exist today!
I put myself through college by working as a teller--primarily drive-thru--at City Bank in Lorain. It's a fond memory for the most part, and it no longer exists, having been bought out more than a couple of times by bigger and bigger banks each time.
ReplyDeleteI preferred the drive-thru, mainly because the transactions were to be few and simple. One memorable customer used to ride through on her three-wheeled bike and try to send plastic sandwich bags full of loose change through the tube. We always had to send a teller out to wave her off and divert her to the drawer lane.