Boston Discount Drug Moves – October 1972

Fifty years ago, Downtown Lorain was going through its major transition, courtesy of urban renewal. That meant that buildings were going to be torn down, and some businesses would have to find new homes.

One of them was Boston Discount Drug store, shown below in a photo that appeared in the Journal back on October 25, 1972. As the photo caption notes, "Boston Discount Drug store, now mostly installed in its new location at 129 Fourth St., Lorain, will celebrate a grand re-opening sometime in November.

"The move was triggered by urban renewal after 12 years in the same location at the corner of Fourth and Broadway.

"The Boston store is the first discount drug store in Lorain. It is owned by Cook-United who also owns Ontario stores in this area."

I've written about Boston Discount Drug before (here).

There are probably very few people that actually remember this store, which was located next to Ted Jacobs. The only reason I do is because you could see this store from the window of Alex Visci's music studio at 356 Broadway, where my brothers and I took our trumpet lessons on Saturday. mornings. While one brother was having his lesson in another room, I remember sitting on a stool in the front room of the studio (where Mr. Visci repaired instruments) and looking out the window, watching the action on Fourth Street. Eventually, Mr. Visci had to move his business to a location above Faroh's on Broadway, when his building was torn down.

Today the building at 129 Fourth Street is part of Spectrum Consulting Services.

All Star Show Featuring Alex Visci - March 1952

Here’s an ad for the All Star Show at the Hotel Antlers Auditorium benefitting the Lorain Jaycees Youth Activities Fund. The ad ran in the Lorain Journal on March 8, 1952.

It was quite an impressive musical lineup, including the Four Aces as the headliners. (I previously mentioned the Four Aces in a post about their November 1954 appearance at O’Neil Sheffield Shopping Center.)

Also appearing on the All Star Show bill were Chicago singer and pianist Al Morgan, known for his  big hit, “Jealous Heart”; singer Bill Darnell; the Four Lads, the popular Canadian singing quartet; and singer Dolores Hawkins, who recorded with the Four Lads in 1952.

But the main reason I wanted to post this ad was that my old trumpet teacher Alex Visci and his Quarter were backing up the four acts mentioned above.

Other local talent appearing at the show were Bob Nickoloff and His Band, the Gene Krugman Trio, impersonator Joe DeSantis and pantomime artist Russ Owens.

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You might remember my weeklong series on the Old Stone Villa last week. Well, while trading emails with Linda Harding about her grandparents and how they came to build the Villa, she casually mentioned that her Aunt and Uncle were Visci’s.

When I mentioned that my brothers and I had taken trumpet lessons from a Mr. Visci, she emailed back, “Yup, that’s him! He and my Dad were very close.

“Alex and Kitty [his wife] would come over every Friday night to play cards with my parents. He was amazing.”

It turns out that Linda’s father is a musician too – a sax player – and that he played with Alex Visci. Linda noted, “They played a lot together, along with my Uncle Louie who played accordion and trombone. Lots of musicians in my family.”

In fact, Linda’s son is a singer/songwriter in New York.

Linda also mentioned Mr. Visci’s favorite nickname for people: Erbs. Linda explained that her father told her “that he [Visci] would call anyone Erbs when he didn’t know their name."

Alex Visci Quartet at Three Sisters Restaurant – Nov. 1963

 

1970s promotional cartoon
of the Alex Visci Quartet
by Bob Lynch

I've written a few times about Alex Visci – the talented musician and popular local bandleader who gave trumpet lessons to so many local kids (including my brothers and me) and made it fun and memorable.

Well, here he is in an ad that ran on November 1, 1963 in the Lorain Journal announcing an appearance at Three Sisters restaurant on Broadway in Lorain.

I almost didn't recognize Mr. Visci in the photo, because his hair is combed way back off his forehead! But he still had his trademark mustache.

I had never heard of Three Sisters restaurant either, and had to consult the city directories to see exactly where it was. Its address was 1942 Broadway, putting it right next to the former location of the main branch of First Federal Savings and Loan.

Tedder's Steakhouse
steak markers
(courtesy Paula Shorf)

What was in that building before Three Sisters?

Well, the brick building at 1942 Broadway has an "1894" inscription at the top so it's been around a while.

Although the address was 'vacant' in the 1912 book, the 1915-1916 book listed the address as the home of People's Cash Market. By the 1919-20 book, the Jacoby Brothers Grocery Company was the tenant.

By 1937, Thomas Grill was listed at the 1942 address – and would continue until about the late-1950s when Tedder's Steakhouse moved in. Three Sisters Steak House took over the address sometime in the early 1960s.

Perhaps some helpful reader (Alan?) can help me with what businesses were in there after that.

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Thanks, Rae for your help – your comment jogged my memory a little (I banked at the First Federal Savings branch next door too) and prompted me to hit the books again.

Three Sisters remained in the city directories listed at that address until the 1970 edition, when the address went vacant. It would be a few years until the Ted Cap Inn showed up, beginning in the 1975 book.

The Ted Cap Inn continued to be listed at that address until around 1986 or 87. After that, the address was vacant again and not even listed in the early 1990s books.

There may have been some businesses after that.

More Alex Visci Memories

Bob Lynch caricature of the Alex Visci Quartet from the 1970's

On Saturday while browsing the greeting cards at Drug Mart in Lorain, I bumped into a gentleman who, like me, had taken trumpet lessons from local musical legend Alex Visci. It reminded me that the two-year anniversary of his passing (at age 99) was only a little over a week ago on February 23rd.

It's still strange knowing that he's gone.

I did a small favor for Mr. Visci once. On one occasion during the early 1980's when I had stopped by to see him downtown, he mentioned that he wanted to put his name on his windows so people would know where his studio on Broadway was. I was working for a exhibit display firm at the time, and I offered to do it using some old vinyl letters I had found at work.

The lettering is still up there above 438 Broadway (below). A litttle beat-up, but still there.

Anyway, while scrolling through vintage rolls of microfilm at the library, I'm constantly reminded of Mr. Visci's long performing career. It is fairly easy to find newspaper ads announcing his quartet's upcoming appearance at various local nightclubs in the 1950's and 1960's. (Though not as easy as finding ads for Joe Zahorec playing at the Lincoln Ballroom.)

Here's one from June 5, 1964, where Mr. Visci's quartet takes backseat to a belly dancer. Although this ad doesn't include one, remember when some nightclub ads in the Journal featured small photos of exotic dancers? I remember as a kid thinking how racy it was – making Lorain seem like some sort of Potterville in It's a Wonderful Life.

And here's something that might be of interest to Mr. Visci's former students: an ad from July 19, 1946 announcing his new course in trumpet playing.

I wonder if the 'new and modern course' included chasing his students around waving a hammer and flipping lighted matches at them? Now that's the Visci Method I remember!

Remembering Alex Visci, 1910-2010

It was especially sad to pick up the Morning Journal today and see that Alex Visci had passed away a few days ago. To those who knew him, enjoyed his music or took trumpet lessons from him (or all three), he was a truly unforgettable character.

My family's relationship with Mr. Visci goes back to the late 1960's, when my older brother Ken began to take trumpet lessons from him once a week, and my younger brother Ed and I soon followed. Going downtown on Saturday mornings for trumpet lessons was a fixture in our house for years.

Mr. Visci's music studio and instrument repair shop was originally in a rather creepy building at 356 Broadway. The building was largely vacant except for a couple of insurance companies, a lawyer and a letter shop. Eventually the building came down thanks to urban renewal and Mr. Visci was forced to relocate around 1974 to 438 Broadway above Faroh's Candy.

Taking trumpet lessons from Mr. Visci was a unique experience. His raspy voice and larger-than-life personality could be rather intimidating to an elementary school student. During your music lesson, you never knew what would happen. He might flip lighted matches at you or pretend to smack you around – but it was all in fun. One of his favorite bits was to tell you to put your hand on the table as he threateningly held a hammer above it, ready to flatten it. (Of course, he would smack the table a few inches away from your hand.) And woe to you if you hadn't practiced your lesson during the week!

I remember that he would make pencil marks on our music books, indicating what exercises we were to practice that week. Sometimes he would make a simple X, and sometimes he would get more creative and draw a skull and crossbones. Once he even drew a teepee with smoke coming out of it and decided to explain why.

"Do you know what that is?" he asked. "A teepee," I replied.

"Do you know why there's smoke coming out of it?" he asked.  I shrugged.

"Because you're gonna get BURNED AT THE STAKE if you don't practice!" he yelled, smacking me in the arm. Then he would laugh that raspy laugh. Then you would laugh along with him until he suddenly stopped and became serious. But it was always a gag.

He had several favorite terms that he would use as nicknames for people. "Bigack" was one. No one knew what it meant. "Erbs" was another. I was surprised to see that according to his obituary, it was his nickname as well.

The memories of those Saturday mornings are still quite vivid. I can still remember the stack of old Life magazines in his waiting area, the pile of instruments waiting to be repaired, the steady stream of old friends stopping in to see him. I also remember being sent over to the Flame Cafeteria to get him a cup of coffee. And when the trumpet lessons were through, Mr. Visci would admonish us to practice and chase us out of his studio and down the stairs, waving a hammer!

He made trumpet lessons fun, and I've never forgot the music principles that he taught me either. Braces later kept me from continuing as a trumpeter and that was the end of my lessons with Mr. Visci.

For a while, like many of his ex-students and friends, I would stop in as an adult to see him once in a while, always bringing him a cup of coffee. As the years went on, he wasn't always sure which one of the Brady boys I was, but he was always glad to see me and asked about my brothers and parents.

As Mr. Visci entered his 90's, he looked pretty much the same as he always did. To me, he became a Lorain icon much like Woody Mathna and Rosie Brest (of "Rosie's Pizza" fame), who also made it to their 90's and seemed as if they would go on forever. It's sad to know that he's no longer with us.

He was a great guy and will be missed.

So long, Bigack.