United Polish Club – Part 1

The view this past Saturday

1968 Journal ad

One of the St. Patrick’s Day ads I posted on Friday was for United Polish Club, which was located at 17th and Long in Lorain. For decades, the Club was symbolic of Lorain’s rich ethnic heritage, and was one of many such organizations that collectively defined this working-class city.

Today the defunct club’s headquarters (above) is a forlorn site. The landmark building was declared a nuisance to public health by the Lorain Demolition Board of Appeals back in October 2013 (as reported by the Morning Journal here).

Since then, the iconic structure has been the subject of many interesting photo studies, including a great but heartbreaking series on the lorain365.com website, which includes links for both inside and outside shots.

Here’s another shot from Saturday.

But rather than be depressed, let’s look back at some happy times at the Club.

Tomorrow’s post will feature some of the happy hoopla surrounding the selection of the queen to reign over the United Polish Club’s 50th Jubilee, which was celebrated way back in 1963.

Another Journal ad from March 1968