Huron’s Showboat Grand Opening – June 17, 1971

 

Fifty years ago, one of the more unusual restaurants on the shores of Lake Erie opened: “Showboat,” located at the foot of the Huron pier. The ad for it above appeared in the Lorain Journal on June 17, 1971.

As noted in an article in the Journal that ran the day before, “The building takes on the shape of an old river boat and to add to the effect, the inside is all of nautical design. There is a great view of Lake Erie and the Huron Harbor from the upstairs dining area. Boat decks are available for those who want to come by water.

“The owners, Jake Claus and Walter Messenburg, plan a grand opening for tomorrow evening with dinners being served from 5 until 11 p. m.”

Here are two nice color postcards of the restaurant (both currently on eBay).

Here is a Showboat “wooden nickel” also currently on eBay.

(I first wrote about Showboat back on this 2016 post.)

Although Showboat eventually closed, it’s still incredible that Mr. Claus and Mr. Messenburg were able to make their restaurant dream a reality, and a successful one at that.

The Showboat in Huron

Vintage Postcard
(Courtesy of CardCow.com)

Although I’ve been blogging about vintage Lorain eateries lately, let's wander over to Erie County to look back at some of that area’s truly original restaurants. For some reason, that city’s nautical heritage inspired entrepreneurs to create unusual and ambitious places that attracted people from miles around.

One of these was the Showboat restaurant and cocktail lounge in Huron, located at 10 North Main Street.

An article (below) announcing its grand opening ran in the Lorain Journal on June 16, 1971.

The article explains how the restaurant’s location at the foot of the Huron pier was originally home to the Huron Fish Company in the early 1900s.

Jake Claus and Walter Mesenburg were the creative owners behind the landmark restaurant, which was designed to resemble an old river boat.

Vintage Postcard
(Courtesy Flickr)

Ads for the restaurant occasionally ran in the Lorain Journal. Here’s one that ran on June 16, 1972, on the one-year anniversary of the restaurant’s opening.

Sadly, the restaurant was eventually condemned and demolished. One website specifically points out that it was not destroyed by fire, as a few published articles have claimed.

On a happier note, a couple of years ago the Showboat was the theme for one of the Huron Chamber of Commerce’s recognition nights (which you can read about here). Members of the Claus and Mesenburg families, who ran the restaurant for more than 20 years, were honored. Photos and artifacts were displayed, along with the actual front door of the restaurant.

Today, the former restaurant’s vacant property is described as the city's best “first opportunity” for development.