Amherst 150th Anniversary – August 1964

Back on August 1, 1964, the city of Amherst was about to celebrate its 150th Anniversary. Above is a handsome full page ad that ran in the Journal on that day promoting the Sesquicentennial event.

In addition to the usual suspects consisting of now-extinct Lorain businesses, the listing of ad sponsors include some Amherst companies: Arnold's Cookie Jar, Amherst Food Fair, Essig's "Carry-Out" Beverages, Cherry Knoll Spring Water, Garland Funeral Home, Gerbick Pontiac, Dewey Road Inn and C. J. Springer - Real Estate Broker.

This ad for Central Bank ran in the same edition of the Journal. 

(These days, the 1814 date shown in the ad is no longer used for when the city was founded. Instead, 1818 is now the generally accepted date, based on when Josiah Harris settled in the present-day Downtown area.)

The Journal covered the first day of the 1964 celebration with the front page article below on August 3, 1964.

What’s Cooking at the Hot Dog Heaven Construction Site

The original Hot Dog Heaven building
(Courtesy TripAdvisor.com)

Yesterday’s post was about a restaurant that suffered a disastrous fire that wasn’t able to rebuild. Today’s post is about one that’s rebuilding right now.

The construction of the new home of Hot Dog Heaven in Amherst is well underway. It’s interesting watching it slowly take shape.

I’m glad the new building will reflect the warm, homey appearance of the old house it used to call home, rather than some slick, soulless fast-food joint. Here’s an architectural rendering of what the new building will look like when done. The design is quite clever in that it will look like the old building, expanded and enlarged.

The funny thing is, I’ve eaten at Hot Dog Heaven more often since it moved temporarily into the food truck at Hastee Tastee. The service is pretty fast and it’s much more convenient than it was going inside the old building. I’ve joked with the staff a few times that they should just move the food truck across the street to the old location. But the new location will have a drive-through, which will be great.

The view on Sept. 24, 2021

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In a manner of years, it’s quite possible that people will wonder what that stretch of Cleveland Street looked like before the new, enlarged Hot Dog Heaven was built. Thus, here are a few Google maps views showing the two houses that were torn down to make way for the new restaurant.

100-Year-Old Amherst Home – August 1971

Here’s yet another blog post about a house. But unlike the subject of yesterday’s post, this house is not a new one; it was one hundred years old back in August 1971.

The full-page article above is another of the charming home stories written by Hermaine Speigle, and it appeared in the Lorain Journal back on August 22, 1971. It profiles Mr. and Mrs. Alfred J. Kreeger and their beautiful home located at 792 South Main Street. 

As noted in Ms. Speigle’s article, “The white frame house, now nearly 100 years old, was Alfred’s birthplace. He brought his bride, the former Emma Brill of Brownhelm, to it in 1929. Since then, everything in the home and much of the house itself has been restored, refurbished, remodeled or designed by its owners.

“They have scouted antique shops and auctions to find furniture which Alfred repaired and refinished. Every piece in their dining room, including a large walnut, carved chest used as a sideboard, was acquired “beat up,” and made useful and beautiful in Alfred’s basement workshop.

“Unique in their living room is a rocker which was a wedding gift to Alfred’s parents, and a marble top table which dates from the birth of Lincoln.”

Alfred was quite a craftsman. The article notes, “Alfred generally prefers to take these pieces down to basics, removing paint and varnish and separating the parts to re-glue them before sanding, staining and varnishing. His pieces are renewed, inside and out, before he’s finally ready for buffing down the gloss with ground pumice stone and boiled linseed oil.

“My furniture never needs wax or polish, it’s perfect as is,” he says proudly.”

The house – now one hundred and fifty years old – still looks perfect too.

Courtesy Google Maps

Amherst Shopping Mall Proposal – June 11, 1971

Back in the 1950s and 60s, the west side of Lorain enjoyed a major population explosion, resulting in the need for new shopping centers to provide the growing number of residents everything they needed to buy. Westgate Shopping Center and Lorain Plaza Shopping Center soon become regular stops for west side shoppers.

With the new Ohio Route 2 expressway built just south of Lorain in the 1960s, Amherst would experience its own growth spurt and the need for more shopping as well. Thus it’s not surprising that fifty years ago in June 1971, the plans for the new Amherst Shopping Mall were unveiled, to draw shoppers from both cities.

Amherst Shopping Mall? Yes, at that time the developer expressed certainty that the shopping center would be an enclosed mall. It didn’t happen, however, and today the somewhat scaled-down collection of stores is known as Amherst Plaza Shopping Center. 

There was supposed to be a standalone movie theater there too. Read all about the original proposal in this article, which appeared in the Journal on June 11, 1971.

Here’s a close-up of the map (drawn by Gene Patrick) shown in the 1971 article. Note the inclusion of Dewey Road.

And here’s a present day Google Map of the area. I always knew that the parking lot at Amherst Plaza was huge. I guess it’s because those extra buildings, the theater, etc. were never built, and the L-shaped store arrangement replaced the original mall idea.

As longtime contributor Dennis Thompson noted a few years ago in a comment, the portion of Dewey Road north of the highway (seen on the 1971 map) was renamed Liberty Bell Street.

Amherst’s Triangular House Gets National Attention – 1961

Did you know that a home in Amherst was featured in the October 1960 issue of American Builder, and the January 1, 1961 edition of the New York Times because of its unusual design?

The house is triangular in shape and is still located on Rainbow Drive. William E. Brandt, president of Brandt Construction, was the designer and builder.

Read all about it in the article below, which appeared in the Lorain Journal on Jan. 6, 1961.

Here’s the floor plan and a photo, courtesy of the Lorain County Auditor website.

Curious enough to drive over there and take a look? With the weather the way it is, let’s go for a convenient Google Maps drive instead.

Its good to see that the house retains its original early 60s charm.

Shinrock Elevator Demolished – November 1970

From October 30, 1970 Journal

Promotion ledger
(Courtesy of eBay)

Fifty years ago, Shinrock Elevator, a longtime Amherst landmark was demolished, and the city lost a link to its farming heritage.

Almost symbolically, the elevator was torn down by the technology company whose business success would give Amherst, Ohio global visibility.

A nicely written history that appeared on November 5, 1970 in the Amherst News-Times explained. “One of Amherst’s old landmarks is gone this week as Jerry Eschtruth, wrecking contractor, completes clean-up operations after demolishing the old grain elevator on Maple Avenue,” the article noted.

“Nordson Company has purchased the land, from its parking lot on Jackson street west to and including the old elevator. Also included were the old freight station, the old Mischka coal yard, the storage buildings and the buildings housing the laundromat.

“Present plans are to leave the laundromat and use the freight station and storage buildings for company storage. Because of unsuitability for storage and the danger of fire, the elevator building was torn down.

“The elevator was constructed some time between 1985 and 1900. Although Amherst histories list the start of many old local businesses and industries, including a cheese factory, shear mill, brewery, whiskey distillery, grist and saw mills, gas, water and telephone companies, the U. S. Automatic (predecessor to Nordson Corporation), and many downtown businesses, only slight mention is made of the start of the elevator and no definite date is given.

“For many years the elevator was run as a cooperative as the Farmers Elevator Company. Some six or seven years ago it was purchased and operated by the Shinrock Elevator Company, but then closed down about three years ago.”

Here are a few vintage ads from over the years, from the pages of the Amherst News-Times. As its ads indicate, the company offered a variety of goods, equipment and machinery to local farmers.

April 19, 1928 Ad

July 31, 1947

March 7, 1952

April 11, 1963

April 16, 1964

As noted in the Amherst News-Time article, the company closed in the 1960s. Here is the article from the January 26, 1967 edition of the paper.

And in the November 5, 1970 edition of the paper, this great series of photos of the demolition was published.

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By the way, it has been pointed out to me that Nordson has a fine record of historic preservation. Click here to read about the historic Amherst Railroad Depot, which Nordson offers to local nonprofit organizations for business meetings and other uses.

Amherst’s Old Spring Article – July 1953

Vintage postcard of the Old Spring

Back in May, I featured a full-page article with photos from the Lorain Journal from 1956 spotlighting Amherst. One of the photo subjects was the well-known, iconic Old Spring.

Well, here’s another article from the Journal from a few years earlier, with a historical look back at the Spring. It ran in the paper on July 4, 1953.

One of the interesting tidbits mentioned in the article is how the Works Projects Administration did some work around the Spring’s surroundings, adding a wall along Beaver Creek, safety fencing, stone tables and a fireplace.

The Ohio Guide (1940), compiled by workers of the Writers’ Program of the Works Projects Administration in the State of Ohio, mentions the Old Spring. It notes, “In a landscaped ravine on Milan Ave. back of the town hall is OLD SPRING PARK, with outdoor tables and benches made from large grindstones.”

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I hadn’t been down to see the Old Spring in probably decades – so in preparation for this post I headed over there on Sunday afternoon.

I remember my parents bringing my siblings and me to see the Spring back in the 1960s. I’m pretty sure that you could still drink the water then, although I don’t remember it tasting particularly good.

The entrance arch seems to be crumbling a bit. Surprisingly, there's no sign making tourists aware of what it is.

Anyway, it was time to go down the stairs to see what the Old Spring looked like in 2019.

And there it was. I understand that there is a plan to rebuild the stone arch seen in the vintage postcard at the top of this post.

Can you still drink the water? Maybe these signs have the answer.

I’m not sure but I think this is the fireplace mentioned in the article. (Blogger's note: I know now that isn't the case.) It did have charcoal briquets in it. And it’s rain-proof.

The rest of the park was pretty mushy from all the rain and very overgrown. In the interest of avoiding poison ivy (I break out when I get within five feet of it), I made the rash decision to pack it in. So for me it was back up the stairs, and on my way.

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UPDATE

Here are a few photos of the Old Spring, courtesy of the 125th Anniversary Edition of the Amherst News-Times, Sept. 22, 1939. It's pretty interesting how much the Spring has changed over the years.

One of the photos includes the fireplace mentioned in the 1953 article. By George, it's a real fireplace, not a tiny thing like I thought.

This link will take you to the Ohio Memory.org page with the whole edition of the newspaper, which includes several articles about the Old Spring.

Here's one of the 1939 articles. It mentions the work that the Federal government did to beautify the park surrounding the Spring.

Our Town: Amherst – May 23, 1956

Back in the late 1950s and early 60s, the Lorain Journal used to occasionally profile one of the neighboring cities via a full-page of photographs of its people and landmarks. These photo features provided a nice snapshot of the community at that time.

Above is the full-page devoted to Amherst, which ran in the paper on May 23, 1956 – sixty-three years ago today. It’s a charming portrait. Photos include the Old Spring, Mayor Jack Koontz,  a view of the business district, Powers Elementary School, the old Central High School and a shot of a neighboring quarry in Amherst Township.

Doug Kneeland, the author of the piece, describes Amherst as being more than a town, and more of a way of life. He writes, “From the soft green canopies of shade trees that shelter the neat homes and closely cropped lawns along its quiet streets to the dusty brick Park Avenue stores and the old cannons standing a proud but futile guard over the solemn-faced town hall, Amherst is Hometown, U.S.A.

“Cars move patiently through the narrow downtown streets and pedestrians saunter leisurely about their business.”

I’ll bet most of that description is still applicable today.

Grand Opening of Amherst Theater – April 16, 1959

Going to the movies was something we used to do fairly often as a family when I was kid.

To see “big event” films (those that had intermissions), such as How the West was Won (1962) and It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963), we would drive into Cleveland. But if we were just going out for a night at the movies, we almost always went to Amherst Theatre, as opposed to any of the movie houses in Downtown Lorain.

One of the many movies
we saw at Amherst Theatre

Why? Well, Amherst Theatre was closer to our home on Lorain’s west side. But more importantly, the Mattey family (owners and operators of Amherst Theater at that time) ran a safe, modern, no-nonsense theater. No horseplay was allowed. (This is in stark contrast to my comical experiences in Downtown Lorain’s Summer Movie program, which I wrote about here.)

We saw a lot of movies at Amherst Theatre, including all of John Wayne’s movies from the late 60s and early 70s, as well as whatever new Walt Disney movie was in release. I can still remember seeing The Jungle Book (1967), mainly because during the movie I looked over and saw my dad, fast asleep.

Anyway, it was sixty years ago this month that the new Amherst Theater opened on April 16, 1959. Above is the full page ad that ran in the Journal on the day before.

Happily, Amherst Theatre is still around today (although it is now known as Amherst Cinema).

Here’s a modern view of the theater, courtesy of the Lorain County Auditor website.

For a history of the original Amherst movie house that the Amherst Theatre replaced, click here to visit the CinemaTreasures website.

Amherst Sparkle Market Opens – January 1969

From a 1957 ad

Here's a nice reminder of the days when Sparkle Markets had a strong presence in Northeast Ohio, and all of our mothers shopped there at some time or another. It’s the ad announcing the opening of the Amherst Sparkle Market, located near the intersection of Leavitt Road and Middle Ridge Road.

The ad ran in the Lorain Journal on January 15, 1969.

Note the ad even features good old Sparky, the grocery chain’s freckle-faced mascot. Sparky’s been featured on this blog many times.

In the Amherst ad, he looks like he’s finally grown up and become a “suit," (as opposed to his boyish appearance at right, whereas he looks more like a lowly stock boy).

Anyway, the Amherst store (according to an online source) lasted until the mid-1990s. It’s too bad that the chain is gone from Lorain County, as we could always use more choices when it comes to grocery shopping. (The Grafton Sparkle Market is not part of the official Sparkle chain.)

Today, however, the Sparkle chain survives. It continues to operate 19 Sparkle Markets across Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

Sparky’s still around as well on the Sparkle website, promoting Sparky’s e-Deals.

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Longtime blog contributor and researcher extraordinaire Dennis Thompson sent me this photo (below) of the Amherst Sparkle Market as it looked in 1963 when it was still part of the Food Fair chain. That's Leavitt Road in the foreground, with Middle Ridge on the left (coming from the east).

Dennis has contributed immensely to the VintageAerial website by identifying and posting the information for a countless number of previously unidentified Lorain County photos.

And since we now know what the Sparkle looked like before it was Sparkle, here's a Google Maps shot of the former grocery building in its most recent use as the home of On the Edge Honda.