Monday, March 19, 2018

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
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4 comments:

  1. AnonymousMarch 19, 2018 at 9:07 AM

    I remember going to my friends sister's wedding reception there in the early 70's as a teenager and sneaking a few 7-7's...and having a blast. Sad to see that building and area in the condition that it's in. I grew up a few blocks away and remember how well kept the homes were and also all the corner stores around Washington Ave. and Long Ave. where we'd go into to buy our baseball cards. I moved out of the area in the early 80's and it was going down hill fast by then...sad.

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  2. -Alan D HopewellMarch 19, 2018 at 5:54 PM

    I lived in that area from 1867-69, and fondly remember the neighborhood around the UPC, Ann's Grocery Store, Bonk's Tavern, the Catholic bookstore, and the people who lived around there, kids I went to school with, all gone, just a playground for thugs.

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  3. Dan BradyMarch 20, 2018 at 9:51 AM

    When my friends and I first started to ride our bikes over to Bob's Donuts from the West Side, that whole Central Lorain area by the UPC, Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and Pulaski Park seemed very foreign and exotic to me.

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  4. AnonymousJuly 24, 2024 at 9:19 AM

    Sad to see this was razed yesterday! Was such a cool building that could have been repurposed.

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