Huron’s Showboat Grand Opening – June 17, 1971

 

Fifty years ago, one of the more unusual restaurants on the shores of Lake Erie opened: “Showboat,” located at the foot of the Huron pier. The ad for it above appeared in the Lorain Journal on June 17, 1971.

As noted in an article in the Journal that ran the day before, “The building takes on the shape of an old river boat and to add to the effect, the inside is all of nautical design. There is a great view of Lake Erie and the Huron Harbor from the upstairs dining area. Boat decks are available for those who want to come by water.

“The owners, Jake Claus and Walter Messenburg, plan a grand opening for tomorrow evening with dinners being served from 5 until 11 p. m.”

Here are two nice color postcards of the restaurant (both currently on eBay).

Here is a Showboat “wooden nickel” also currently on eBay.

(I first wrote about Showboat back on this 2016 post.)

Although Showboat eventually closed, it’s still incredible that Mr. Claus and Mr. Messenburg were able to make their restaurant dream a reality, and a successful one at that.