Monday, January 7, 2019

Beachcomber Motel Changes Hands – Jan. 1969

It’s hard to believe that the Erieview Motel was torn down back in April 2017. The long-awaited demolition just doesn’t seem that long ago to me. I guess time flies when you’re having fun watching Lorain tear down old buildings.

But what’s even harder to believe is that the motel – back when it was still known as the Beachcomber – once had a famous owner: George Steinbrenner.

Read all about it in the article below, which appeared on the front page of the Lorain Journal back on December 30, 1968. George Steinbrenner and Lorain Insurance agent William Rieth Jr. bought the building from Arthur Goldstein, who was the retired owner of Lorain’s Style Center. The new owners officially took over the property on January 1, 1969.

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Four years later, Steinbrenner and a group of investors would buy the New York Yankees. Unfortunately, the Beachcomber would still come to an eventual seedy end, despite its high-profile ownership.
At least the photo in the Journal article revealed that the motel once had a huge Quality Courts sign.

Courtesy Striderv Flickr page