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| April 4, 1975 Journal page |
Well, the weekend is here – and perhaps you're thinking of heading out tonight to enjoy a drink or fine meal at a Lorain County establishment.
If you were perusing the above entertainment page of the Journal fifty years ago, you would have a quite a few choices. Unfortunately, all of these businesses are gone today, relegated to the Island of Forgotten Nightclubs®.
There's an interesting article about Camelo Santiago and his Latin American Orchestra performing at the Civic Center Annex in Downtown Lorain. I don't remember this band, as it slightly predates my entrance into the local latin music scene (which I wrote about here). But I played with some of the musicians in the photo, heard of some of them, and went to Admiral King with at least one (Robert DeLeon).
Otherwise, it's fun to check out the various ads. Italian Gardens was one of the businesses in the building that was originally the home of Lum's Restaurant.
Many of us remember Emerald Valley Nite Club. I even played there with my high school friend Bob Berstiling and the
Four Links. Bob's father played Emerald Valley with his own band, so I'm sure that's how we got the gig.
I remember the distinctive
Tropicana Restaurant in Avon Lake. My old boss
Franc Powell designed and installed the well-remembered mosaic on the outside of the building.
I never heard of
The Schilling (formerly
Donny's) at the intersection of US Route 20 and State Route 301 in Elyria. But Michael Stanley and his band were performing there.
Silver Dollar Lounge & Restaurant is another one I'd never heard of. The ad helpfully points out that it was formerly
Roman Villa.
The Angry Bull was at 651 Broadway (no relation to the similarly angry and same-named
toro out in Huron). Hey, there's Go-Go Girls every night!
Other ads include
O'Henry's Pub,
Beaver's Den and
Whiskeyville Still (next to the Lorain County Speedway). This version of the Whiskeyville Still became
T. J. Light Co. in 1978.
Looking at these ads makes me think how hard it is for local restaurants, bars etc. to survive today without the advertising that newspapers provided. Grouping all of the ads in one spot as shown in the page above made it easy for the person trying to decide where to go. The inclusion of an ad in the paper guaranteed that it was open for business.
Today, neglected and outdated websites, ancient (and phony) reviews, and reliance on social media (which not everyone follows) to promote all make it hard to know if a business is open and worthy of a visit.
