The Scoop on the Loop – Part 2

Vintage postcard circa 1907

Apparently, getting rid of the Loop had been talked about for a while. After all, it was dangerous to have streetcars turning around in one of the main intersections of the business district.

This article from the Elyria Republican of August 9, 1907 mentions the removal of the Loop as one of the proposed improvements to be undertaken by the streetcar company.

But it was not until 1919 that the removal of the Loop actually happened. This article on the front page of the April 4, 1919 Lorain Times-Herald noted that track removal would be starting soon.

 And on June 12, 1919, this article on the front page of the Lorain Times-Herald noted the historical significance of what was happening.

The article observed, “For a quarter of a century the loop at Broadway and Erie-av has been the city’s principal storm center. It has caused political quarrels and score of franchise controversies.

“This morning a gang of workmen began tearing up the rails of the loop and it is no more. Cars are being run to West Erie-av and are being turned on the Y near the interurban station. 

“Before many hours all that will be left of the loop will be the trolley wires over heard and they will soon come down. A Y at the intersection of the streets will replace the loop and cars will be run to a new loop in north Broadway.”

The passing of the Loop even made the pages of the Elyria Evening-Telegram on June 13, 1919.

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Although its tracks have been gone for more than a hundred years, the Loop lives on in the memories and vernacular of longtime Lorain residents and local historians.

It will be interesting to see if newer residents of the city perpetuate this nickname. Or is it already dead?

Perhaps some savvy restaurant owner at or near that intersection will revive the name.

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I did a Then & Now post on the Loop back in 2016 here, with some of the same postcards, but without the historical perspective.