Lake Road Inn Ad – May 27, 1924

Here’s another vintage ad announcing the opening of an establishment coinciding with Decoration Day. It’s for a place that I’ve heard about, but don’t have much information about: Lake Road Inn.

The half-page ad ran in the Lorain Times-Herald on May 27, 1924.

Lake Road Inn was located in Avon Lake at Lake Shore Electric Stop 41, which puts it in the eastern end of the city near the highway’s intersection with Cove Avenue.

There is surprisingly little information available about the Inn itself; I’ve never seen a photo. Any entry in a local history book about it usually mentions that Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians played there (which is indicated in the ad above). 

“The Lake Road Inn Co.” in Avon Lake Village did appear in the “New Incorporations” listings of Department Reports of the State of Ohio (1923) as being filed on April 26, 1923. The Inn was also part of the reminisces of gasoline station owner Ted Kekic in a 1968 Lorain Journal interview.

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UPDATE (May 29, 2021)

Fortunately, several local history experts have come to my aid to help make this post more complete – sharing their research and archival materials and helping to provide a timeline for the Inn. 

Historian and archivist Dennis Lamont reached out to Tony Tomanek, President of the Avon Lake Historical Society, who provided some wonderful material, including an article with a photograph of the Inn. Bradley Knapp also generously shared his research. My thanks go out to these gentlemen.

Ad from the Cleveland Plain Dealer of May 29, 1923

Note that both the article and nearly full-page PD ad announce that Lake Road Inn was now under the same management as that of The Carlton Terrace Restaurant in Cleveland. That would seem to align nicely with the 1923 incorporation date mentioned in the original post.

Bradley Knapp noted that Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadian Orchestra were at the very beginning of their career when they performed at Lake Road Inn, having only made their first recording a few months earlier.

Unfortunately, Lake Road Inn suffered a common fate as many other entertainment establishments in those days – being destroyed by fire. Here is the front page of the October 13, 1926 Lorain Times-Herald with the sad story.

Under the heading, LAKE ROAD INN BURNS DOWN, the article noted, “Lake Road Inn, Avon Lake village, rendezvous of northern Ohio dancers and diners, was burned to the ground shortly after 11 a. m. Wednesday.

“Inadequate fire protection coupled with the fact that Lake-rd in the vicinity of the inn is blocked to traffic while street repairs are under way prevented any concerted attempt to save the building.

“Origin of the blaze is unknown.

“Wednesday’s fire adds another chapter to the series of mysterious blazes which have been reported along the Lake-rd between Lorain and Cleveland during the last year.”

This article notes that prior to the fire, the Inn had been closed down for the previous six weeks by the Lorain County Sheriff due to alleged liquor law violations.

A small article in the Times-Herald the day after the fire noted that it was being investigated by both Avon Lake and Lorain County authorities.

Lake Road Inn was never rebuilt.

To read a well-researched history of Lake Road Inn and its mysterious demise after the gambling raid, be sure to check out Socialites and Scofflaws – Avon Lake’s Past by Sherry Newman Spenzer.