939 Broadway’s Broadcast Past

Broadway Mary’s (which opened back in February, according to this Morning Journal article) is the newest business to call 939 Broadway home. There have been many others over the past many decades.

So who were some of the other tenants of the distinctive building?

A 1975 ad from the
Amherst News-Times

Well, for me the building will always be the home of radio station WLRO 1380 AM, since it was located there throughout the 1970s and until the station was sold in 1984. I always thought it was cool to drive by the building when WLRO was in there, knowing what was going on inside.

Who doesn’t remember listening to Jim Allen and his sports report about local teams, recognizing the names of fellow classmates?

(By the way, amazingly, Jim Allen still covers local sports on Kool Kat Oldies 1380, the successor station to WLRO. I even ran into him at the Apples grocery store in Lorain a few weeks ago.)

Anyway, I wrote about the many other companies that were located at 939 Broadway (including a printing company, a computer repair company and various nightclubs) back here on this 2015 post. And this post revealed that 939 Broadway was also the address for Lorain’s Tucker dealership.

Here’s hoping that Broadway Mary’s enjoys much success and community support. Here’s a link to its Facebook page.

939 Broadway in Lorain

When Dabu Restaurant & Cocktail Bar opened its doors in July, the Morning Journal gave it a nice writeup. The article mentioned that the Asian fusion restaurant had evolved from the Club Copa, which had formerly occupied the same space at 939 Broadway. I wonder how many people remember some of the other businesses at that location?

The first appearance of the 939 Broadway address in an available city directory at the Lorain Public Library was in the 1940 edition. Arlington J. Popp ran a used car business with that address. Within a few years however, the address was listed as vacant. It continued to be vacant in the 1945 and 1947 books.

By the time of the 1950 edition, C. G. Captain & Sons were operating their company there, which specialized in paint, wallpaper and decorating. Their business continued to be listed at that address until the 1955-56 book. That’s when Sun Finance first appeared at 939 Broadway.

Sun Finance (later listed as Sun Finance & Loan) seems to have been the longest tenant of the building. It was listed from the 1955 book right up through the 1968 edition. But by the 1969 directory, the address was once again listed as vacant.

Next was the company that I still associate with the building when I drive by it: radio station WLRO, run by Lorain Community Broadcasting. (The WDLW Wiki page explains how WLRO rose from the ashes of WWIZ.) WLRO appeared in the city directory through the 1984-85 edition.

But around the middle of 1984, WLRO was sold. The call letters changed to WRKG, and the station moved to the Antlers Hotel at 300 Washington Avenue beginning in the 1986 directory.

That was pretty much the end of glamorous businesses at 939 Broadway until now. The building was vacant for a few years, until Great Lakes Offset (a printing company) appeared in the directory in the 1988 book.

The building appeared to be vacant during much of the 1990s. Lighthouse Laser (a computer repair company) eventually called the location home either in the late 1990s or early 2000s. Then the 939 Broadway listing seemingly disappeared from the directories, including the 2005 - 2010 era. As mentioned, Club Copa was the most recent tenant.

Anyway, here’s hoping Dabu becomes the next longtime tenant of 939 Broadway in Lorain.

1974 Admiral King Football Program Ads

Here's a grab bag of some of the old advertisements in the 1974 Admiral King Football Program. (Click on each for a larger version.)

Remember the old Clarkins department store on Leavitt Road? That was the best place for me to buy new records when they came out. (For you young'uns, it's where the PC Campana industrial park is now.)

Also of interest is the ad for WLRO 1380 (now doing business as WDLW Kool Kat Oldies), and Brady's (no relation!). Brady's Restaurant will be the subject of a blog series a little later...

And here's a link to another blogger who has a little bit of information about Clarkins.