Wednesday, November 17, 2021

New Rt. 58 Overpass at NYC Tracks – Nov. 1960

Sixty-one years ago this month, a new bridge over the New York Central Railroad tracks at Amherst on Route 58 (Leavitt Road) was being completed. It was part of a new highway replacing the old two-lane road from State Route 113 to N. Ridge Road.

The above photos showing the completed overpass appeared in the Lorain Journal on November 25, 1960.

A few days later on November 29, 1960 the newspaper ran the aerial photo below.

The view of State Route 58 with its new railroad overpass is looking north from Middle Ridge Road.

Here’s a modern Google Maps view for comparison.
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UPDATE
As mentioned in the comments section, here are a few images showing where the lakes were located. First up is this recent Google Maps view. The lakes are shown, but are no longer there.
Next is this Historic Aerials image showing the area in 1962.

Last is this image (courtesy of Dennis Thompson) that apparently shows the lake just north of Sliman's in the process of being filled in, circa 1986.
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8 comments:

  1. AnonymousNovember 17, 2021 at 9:12 AM

    Doesn't look like anything south of Middle Ridge Rd survived the next 60 years. All of the buildings appear to be replaced with new ones.

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  2. MarkNovember 17, 2021 at 9:40 AM

    Its not clear on the "now" picture where the 2 lakes are at. Wonder if they are further out than the picture captures... or if they were later filled in.

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  3. Dan BradyNovember 17, 2021 at 10:18 AM

    Hi Mark,
    What’s funny is that if you Google “Middle Ridge and Leavitt” you can see where the lakes were in the map illustration. But if you click on the Aerial (Layers) photo view then you can see the lakes are no more. The lake north of the tracks was parallel to them on the east side of the highway. The lake south of the tracks appears to be where a Nordson parking lot is located today.

    On the historic aerials website, it looks like the lake south of the tracks was filled in during the 1980s.

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  4. AnonymousNovember 17, 2021 at 11:35 AM

    I believe the south lake was where the old Sliman's baseball field used to be. The dealership has since expanded its parking lot and used some of the old ballfield. I don't think the lake was ever on any Nordson property.

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  5. Dan BradyNovember 17, 2021 at 11:45 AM

    Thanks for clarifying that – I appreciate it. Looking at the aerials, I did see a baseball field right where the lake was. And what I thought was a parking lot must be the auto dealership inventory. Thanks again!

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  6. Dennis ThompsonNovember 17, 2021 at 12:38 PM

    Dan, I'll forward a photo from 1986 that shows the pond actually being filled in.

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousNovember 17, 2021 at 5:55 PM

    There used to be a automobile junk yard where the baseball field was.It was owned by Slimans.My uncle bought a "56 Ford V8 engine from a car from the junkyard.From the carburetor to the oil pan the whole motor only cost $75.00.

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  8. MarkNovember 18, 2021 at 8:49 AM

    Thanks for all the legwork on this guys... mystery solved!

    ReplyDelete