Central Bakery Burns – Dec. 11, 1963

Lorain and the surrounding cities have been lucky to be served by many great bakeries over the years. While we still have some very good ones (such as Kiedrowski's), there are many that are no longer around. Some of the well-remembered ones include DeLuca Bakery, Spang Bakery and Hough Bakery, among others.

Also on that list was Central Bakery, which suffered a devastating fire on this day back in 1963. Above you see the front page of the Journal of December 11, 1963. And here's a photo (below) of the fire that ran in the paper in its end-of-the-year edition.

From the Dec. 31, 1963 edition of the Journal

The bakery, which specialized in several varieties of bread, dates back to 1915, as noted in this full-page ad that ran in an anniversary edition of the Lorain Journal on June 21, 1955.

This short article that ran in the same edition of the paper provides some background information. 

As noted, "The founder, Edward Kowalski, established the bakery in its present location in days when virtually all work was done by hand and a lone oven was used for baking.

"Kowalski, a native of Poland, owned a horse and wagon, had a stack of unpaid bills, $50 in cash and loads of confidence in the future of the city when he began working 16 and 18 hours a day in developing his business.

"Central Bakery in 1915 occupied a building with less than 1,500 square feet of space.

"Today, the bakery assets amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars. The machinery, ovens and production methods are ultra modern. There are 25 trucks for speedy deliveries."

Here are some vintage ads for the firm, all from 1935.

June 26, 1935

July 8, 1935

Aug. 28, 1935

Note this ad is for Home Leader Bread, baked by Central Bakery but sold at retail outlets.

Sept. 26, 1935

Nov. 29, 1935

(Note how the "Constipation" themed ad template for Honey Crushed Bread included a space for the layout artist to insert the name of the local bakery – but they didn't, in this case.)

Anyway, after Central Bakery burned, there was talk of the bakery continuing. There was even talk in Feb. 1964 of moving operations to the old Spang Bakery building at 22nd and Oakdale – but it never happened. 

Eventually the burned-out, rat-filled, gutted frame of the Central Bakery building became a dangerous eyesore, and it was finally torn down several years later. But it took a lot longer than anyone could have ever imagined – dragging into the 1970s.

Jan. 31, 1972

Central Bakery Easter Ad – 1957

I was fairly surprised to discover that I haven’t mentioned the longtime Lorain business Central Bakery too much on this blog over the years. So, it’s a good reason to post the above Easter-themed ad that ran in the Lorain Journal on April 15, 1957.

There seems to be two dates associated with the opening of Central Bakery. A full-page ad for the company that ran in the Journal on June 21, 1955 states that the firm has been “Serving Lorain Since May 15, 1915.” Other sources (including the Lorain Public Library’s online History of Lorain timeline) say that it was 1904 and that Edward Kowalski started the business.

Anyway, on December 11, 1963 an early morning fire destroyed the Central Bakery plant and offices at 2326 Elyria Avenue. The damage to the two-story brick building which housed the bakery, as well as a retail store in front of it facing Elyria Avenue, were estimated to exceed $250,000.

The bakery did not reopen, and a longtime Lorain business was lost to the ages.