Although I never banked at this branch of
Lorain National Bank, located at the intersection of North Ridge Road (State Route 254) and Lake Avenue, I passed it many times on my way to Midway Oh Boy and Dog 'N Suds. I admired its architectural design.
Above is the ad announcing the impending Grand Opening of the branch. The ad ran in the Journal back on August 29, 1964.
Like many people, I felt somewhat wistful when Lorain National Bank was sold to Northwest Bank, and the 'Lorain' in its name disappeared forever. (I blogged about it here).
At least the branch was converted to a Northwest Bank branch. Here's a Google Maps view from 2019.
The branch's location, and modern consumer banking practices in general, probably led to its closing. With Midway Mall no longer a major destination, North Ridge Road not as heavily traveled as in the old days, and the convenience of online banking, there just weren't enough customers to keep it open. Eventually the building was for sale. Here's a 2021 shot from Google Maps.
And here's a 2023 view.
Happily, today the building is being used for its original purpose (rather than becoming a tattoo parlor or payday loan outlet) by
Buckeye Community Bank, who did a magnificent renovation of the property.
By the way, I don't bank there – but I'm really impressed that Buckeye made the commitment to the community by having their own building, and beautifying that intersection by relocating from the shopping center.
Here's
the story from earlier this year in the
Chronicle-Telegram. (I would link to the
Morning Journal more often,
but every time I try to access a story online, I'm told I reached my limit - which is apparently 0 articles per year.)
3 comments:
Dan, Re: Morning Journal article limit: I don’t know if this would be helpful or if you already know this, but Lorain Public Library has their “eLibrary” and with it comes free access to The Morning Journal and tons of other things like Plain Dealer, NYT, WSJ, Consumer Reports and some movie sites.
That old Lorain Nat bank reminds me of the one in Avon Lake at the corner of Walker and Miller Road.Its been torn down for a few years,but the inside was straight out of the early 1960s.I could see someone like Frank Sinatra or Sammy Davis Jr walking out the front door with a wad of cash in hand getting into a high finned limousine getting ready to play the old Aqua Marine Country Club next door.
Nice job by the Buckeye Bank people - the building looks better than before.
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