Battle of Alcatraz – May 1946

The Alcatraz cellhouse being shelled by mortars, May 3, 1946

Prison riots have appeared in many popular movies through the decades, including comedies such as Pardon Us with Laurel and Hardy, Westerns (such as Devil's Canyon with Dale Robertson) and one of the most famous, Birdman of Alcatraz with Burt Lancaster.

But did you know that Birdman of Alcatraz was based on an actual riot at the notorious island penitentiary known as "The Rock?"

And the bloody prison riot that was a result of an escape attempt played out eighty years ago this week and became known as the Battle of Alcatraz. It lasted from May 2 to May 4, 1946. Two platoons of Marines had to be called out. Two federal prison officers died, as well as three inmates.

Here are the front pages of the Lorain Journal from May 3rd and 4th, 1946, with the story.

You can read more about the Battle of Alcatraz on the Alcatraz History website, as well as here.

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As usual, there are plenty of interesting articles on the two front pages. The May 3, 1946 edition includes a report that clears up any confusion about the type of Quonset huts that were used in the Kew Gardens housing development for Veterans. 

As the article notes, "Lorain is going to get steel huts with gable roofs, instead of the "igloo" type Quonset structures, to provide temporary living quarters for married war veterans."

The style of the structures, according to the article, are the "brand new "tropical type" huts which have side walls and gable roofs, thus providing more "head room" and living space inside."

"The igloo huts originally slated for the city curve like a brewer's vat cut in half and allow enough space only in the center of the floor for a person more than five-feet, seven inches tall to stand upright."

Growing Up in Kew Gardens

Aerial view of Kew Gardens circa 1952

Do you remember Kew Gardens, the temporary veterans’ housing project located on the east side of Lorain? It was located on the south side of Colorado Avenue, opposite and just to the east of the present day Discount Drug Mart at Missouri Avenue.

Many of the younger readers of this blog probably won’t remember it, since it was erected in 1946 and removed around 1956. But older readers are probably very familiar with it, having known someone who lived there or perhaps having resided there themselves.

Dana Kingsboro remembers it well. She emailed me a few months ago to share her reminisces, as well as some wonderful family photos that capture what it was like to live there.

1950 City Directory Listing

“We lived there when my younger brother was born in July 1947 through the 1951/1952 school year, when we moved back to the post - WWII military housing projects at North Central Drive on the west side of Lorain, so I could start school in kindergarten at Boone School,”  said Dana.

One thing that Dana noted about living there was that her family’s ‘house’ at 707 Kew Gardens was neither a classic rounded quonset hut nor a trailer.

"Those corrugated metal buildings were not like any I've seen on the internet; I've not seen any that look like the ones that were in Kew Gardens when we lived there,” Dana pointed out. "They were rectangular, with a front entrance (screened door) and a small porch. I don't remember much about the inside, except they had two bedrooms and rooms that were very small with no A/C or fans. They did not have telephones and we did not have a TV. Clothes were hung to dry on clotheslines using poles in the yard beside the house.

"When it would rain, the rain on those metal roofs was very loud. During hot summer months, we kept screened windows open and sleeping was difficult because of the heat.”

Here is the selection of photos of 707 Kew Gardens that Dana shared with me. The first photo shows her on her porch, circa 1947.

Here’s another photo circa 1947. It features Dana's paternal grandmother (Mary) Louella Fulton Work Wilson of Washington, PA holding her baby brother Bob Work, Jr. Dana is standing on the porch rail while her mother keeps an eye on things from behind the screen door.

And here’s another cute photo, showing Dana a year later in 1948.

Even though 707 Kew Gardens was a temporary home for Dana and her family, it was still home – and that meant there was yardwork to be done. These two photos show Dana’s father, Robert "Bob" Russell Work, Sr.  and brother, Bob Jr. (“Bobby") working in the yard beside their home in the late 1940s.

Lastly, here’s a photo of Dana and the snowman that her father helped her build, during the winter of 1950.

As Dana mentioned, her family moved out of Kew Gardens in the early 1950s. 

"The buildings disappeared long ago, and the vacant land was used by carnivals (rides & games), a circus, and others,” she said. 

But the camaraderie of living with other veterans and their families in such close proximity to each other, in less than ideal conditions, had one benefit.

"Some neighbors remained friends for years after moving from Kew Gardens,” she noted.

Cristiani-Wallace Circus Comes to Lorain – June 23, 1965

Right after my post last week about the Adam Forepaugh and Sells Brothers Circus visiting Lorain in July 1901, I received an email from local historian and blog contributor Dennis Thompson. Dennis sent me a great vintage poster (above) announcing the impending appearance of the Cristiani-Wallace Brothers Circus in Lorain.

Dennis wrote, "Here is an old poster I found a few years ago featuring a circus at Kew Gardens. If you search for the circus name, you can find some information.”

Although there was a month and day (Wednesday, June 23) on the poster, there was no year. But after researching the circus, and knowing when the Kew Gardens project had come to an end, Dennis figured it out.

"June 23 was a Wednesday on 1948 and 1954, both too early for the circus,” noted Dennis. "Looks like they added the "Wallace Bros" in 1961 after the Kew Gardens were razed. I guess they used the empty lot, it would have been a good spot I think.

"Their 1962 and 1963 schedules are online but no Lorain. Nineteen sixty-five was another year when June 23rd was a Wednesday; that’s probably when they were there.”

Indeed it was 1965 when the circus came to town. A series of small ads in the Journal promoted its appearance, as well as several articles.

June 18, 1965 ad from the Lorain Journal

The first article (which ran June 21, 1965) revealed that the Lorain Youth Center – the organization that had brought the circus to town – had generously voted to a portion of the advance sale price of the tickets to the Carl Baker Hospital Fund campaign being staged by the Lorain Emergency Police. (Lorain Emergency Policeman Carl Baker had been shot the previous February during a robbery and the fund was set up to help him with the monumental hospital and surgical bills.)

The article also provided a nice description of the circus, with Lorain Emergency Police Chief John Sauer noting, “Some of the finest circus acts in the world are going to be here in Lorain.”

A second article appeared on the front page on June 23, 1965, on the day of the circus – 52 years ago today. It provides some nice behind-the-scenes information about the circus. It had left Mansfield that morning and rolled into town around 7 a.m. By 8 o’clock all the tents had been pitched.

A final look at the circus in the Journal occurred on the day after the event with a few cute photos appearing on the front page.

From the June 24, 1965 Lorain Journal

Memorial Day 1947

Seventy years ago, it was Memorial Day 1947.

As you can see from the front page of the May 28, 1947 Lorain Journal, the city was getting ready for the solemn holiday. One article describes how a rainy spring made it difficult for the maintenance staffs of Elmwood and Calvary cemeteries to get their work done in time. The Honor Roll in Washington Park was also getting spruced up.

Other articles mention the falling Lorain milk prices, proposed sidewalks for Kew Gardens, a birthday celebration for the Dionne quintuplets and a wandering “ghost ship.”

On the eve of the holiday, the front page of the May 29, 1947 Journal mentions those 103 sycamore trees planted on the eastern approach to the bridge and dedicated to Lorain’s war dead of World War II.

A monument was also dedicated that day on the same side of Henderson Drive. (It was later moved to its present location, which I wrote about here on its 65th anniversary).

Other items found on the front page include one verse from Rudyard Kipling’s Recessional, a “War of the Worlds”-like scare for a Tokyo radio audience, and the announcement that four Lorainites were nominated for permanent commissions in the regular army.

Have a safe and pleasant Memorial day!

Quonset Huts in Lorain

I have no idea if any of the quonset huts that were part of Kew Gardens are still in Lorain. They had a unique construction that wasn't really the classic look commonly accepted as a quonset hut. But there are a few of the traditional type around town that are interesting to see.

For instance, there are two sitting right next to each other at 4465 Oberlin Avenue (shown above). The Lorain County Auditor website says they were built in 1948. One seems to function as a home, the other as a garage – it's kind of hard to tell. They seem to have been chopped down a little.

I first found the 4465 Oberlin Avenue address in the 1957 city directory – a year after Kew Gardens was dissolved and its quonset huts dispersed far and wide.

Here's an aerial view of how they are situated.

And here are a few more views of them.

Another quonset hut that was just brought to my attention yesterday by longtime blog reader and contributor Jeremy Reynolds is located at 1745 E. 28th Street.

The building's proportion seems right, and its 25' x 48' dimensions matches the huts listed for sale in the Kew Gardens sales ad.

I don’t know, but in this age of “tiny houses,” I wonder if quonset huts will make a comeback?

Kew Gardens – Part 3

In August 1956, the end of the line for Kew Gardens finally loomed into view. The Lorain Journal of August 23, 1956 announced that the buildings would be sold. The article also provides a short history of Kew Gardens.

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Kew Gardens To Go On Block
69 Buildings To Be Sold In 30 Days
Last 2 Families Will Move Soon

Sixty-nine buildings and fixtures at the 10-year old Kew Gardens veterans’ housing project in the East Side will go on sale to the public Sept. 3, it was announced today by Willard Francis, director of the Lorain Metropolitan Housing Authority.

Francis said the sale will mark the end of the temporary housing project which was erected in 1946 to relieve acute housing problems of World War II veterans and their families.

HE STRESSED that the buildings must be sold and removed from the property within 30 days after the sale begins.

“The buildings will be sold individually, if necessary, and anyone may purchase all of the buildings if the right price is offered,” Francis said.

Fixtures to be sold will include toilets, tanks, lavatory bowls, gas hot water heaters, gas space heaters, apartment-size gas ranges and combination sink and laundry trays, showers, and clothes poles.

Francis said he will handle the sale of the buildings, beginning Sept. 3, at the LMHA offices at 2150 Lorain Rd., Leavitt Homes project.

The sales of fixtures will take place at the Kew Gardens project. All fixture purchasers will be required to remove items they buy from the buildings.

“Only two families are still living in the Kew Gardens project,” Francis said. “Both of them will be out of the project within 10 days.”

There were 138 families living in 70 buildings at the project during most of the 10 years it has been in existence. One of the buildings was destroyed by fire.

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The Lorain Metropolitan Housing Authority ran ads promoting the sale in the local newspapers. Here is the version that ran in the Lorain Journal near the end of August.

Here is the slightly different Chronicle-Telegram version (courtesy Rick Kurish).

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Remember the 1952 Historic Aerial of Kew Gardens that I posted yesterday? Here is is again (below).

And here’s the same view in 1962, six years after the sale of the quonset huts.

Today the former Kew Gardens property is covered with trees with no evidence the post-WWII housing project was ever there.

Kew Gardens – Part 2

In late 1947, additional trailers were still being added to Kew Gardens. The December 2, 1947 edition of the Chronicle-Telegram included the news that a contract was awarded "to set up 11 more trailers in the Kew Gardens veterans housing project in Lorain at a cost of $30 each. The trailers were recently acquired from the U. S. Government. They were located in Michigan.”

Apparently Lorain was interested in taking control of Kew Gardens early in the game, according to this article which ran in the Lorain Journal on November 15, 1949.

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Delay Action on Acquiring Kew Gardens

Action by the city in acquiring control of Kew Garden homes – not trailers – was postponed indefinitely by committee of the whole last night when Service Director Wallace Chapla announced that the deadline has been set back one year.

“A Public Housing Authority directive has extended the limit from Dec 22 this year to Dec. 22, 1950.” Chapla said. “I think council should decide whether the city should acquire the homes.”

Pincura Cites Ruling
In order to own the homes, the city would have to own the ground or lease it, according to Solicitor John Pincura. He told newsmen the city already meets federal requirements, since the Kew Garden area is now leased by the city.

Pincura said the city did not contemplate operation of the veterans’ housing development, but probably would sub-lease the land to the Lorain Metropolitan Housing Authority.

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It’s interesting to see how Kew Gardens was laid out. Dennis Thompson made me aware that the veterans’ housing project was clearly visible in photographs found on the Historic Aerials website.

Here’s a 1952 view, with all of the quonset huts laid out neatly like a military base. I’ve labeled the main roads so you can get your bearing as to where it was located.

Next: On the Block

Kew Gardens – Part 1

On my post about the First Baby of 1947, I noted that the father and mother “resided in a quonset hut in Kew Gardens.”

At least one person who left a comment on that post had never heard of Kew Gardens. That’s easy to understand, since there isn’t really a trace of it left today.

So what was Kew Gardens? Rick Kurish provided me with a nice capsule summary of what it was all about in an email a few years ago.

Rick wrote, "While spending time with friends on Lorain's east side over the holidays, we were discussing the post World War ll building boom in the area. I asked if anyone remembered the quonset huts that were erected on the south side of Colorado Ave. shortly after the war. Everyone looked at me as if I was crazy, but I clearly remember them.

"In the early 1950s, we would occasionally visit cousins who lived way out in the hinter lands of the east side on Colorado Ave,” said Rick. "I remember a number of quonset huts located south of Colorado Ave. somewhere near where Discount Drug Mart is currently. When I asked my dad what they were, he said they were emergency temporary housing that was erected for returning veterans. By the time I saw them in the early 1950s they were apparently already unoccupied. My dad said housing, and building materials, were scarce immediately after the war, and this was a stopgap solution.”

It’s strange to think of a bunch of quonset huts being up there on the south side of Colorado by Drug Mart.

Anyway, since Rick's email, I have been trying to compile enough information about Kew Gardens to do a post about it. 

An article that appeared in the Lorain Journal on November 23, 1946 show how the tenants were picked. The article noted that the names "of 139 veterans, selected for a special screening committee of World War II ex-servicemen for occupancy of the Kew Gardens veterans housing project were made public today by Willard Francis, secretary of the Lorain-co Housing Authority, which has charge of the project.

"The screening committee, made up of one representative each from the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans, the AMVETS and the veterans committee of the CIO, examined more than 600 applications.

“The committee went over each application using a special system of points. For instance, so many points were allowed for a family living in doubled-up quarters, there were points in cases involving pregnancy or in cases where families were forced to live in cellars or other quarters unfitted for residential use, also for families forced to live without proper toilet and other sanitary facilities necessary for decent living.” 

Once it was determined who was going to live in Kew Gardens, they had to have something to live in. In addition to the quonset huts, trailers were a big part of the first phase of the housing project. Where did they all come from? An article that ran in the Lorain Journal on December 26, 1946 revealed where they originated – and that they would soon be on their way to Lorain.

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TRAILERS COMING

County to Let Contract For Vets’ Home

By Staff Correspondent

ELYRIA – County commissioners laid plans today for moving the county’s house trailers to the Lorain Veterans housing project at Kew Gardens from points in Michigan, Maryland and Florida.

The trailers will be inspected at their present sites to determine what repairs are necessary. Trailer that do not pass inspection will not be brought to Lorain.

Contract for the moving will be awarded to a Midland, Mich. hauling firm as soon as the inspections have been made. A small number of utility trailers in Michigan are to be brought to Lorain.

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Quonset huts were apparently still a novelty when they were being used at Kew Gardens. In fact, the Journal ran this photo and accompanying caption to help explain what they were in the January 29, 1947 edition.