Old Lorain City Hall & Police Station Part 6

On March 27, 1974 a small article appeared near the bottom of the front page of the Journal.

City Hall Will Fall By Friday

The old Lorain city hall building will be torn down either tomorrow or Friday, Mayor Joseph Zahorec said this morning.

The century-old onetime mansion is now being stripped of anything of value and will be prepared for demolition soon along with the old police station behind it.

A large bulldozer is now sitting to one side of the former city hall, ready to start work. Shrubbery has already been stripped from behind the building.

The weathered plaque with the words "Lorain City Hall" has been removed from the brick structure. It will be saved and displayed in the new city hall next door.

***

On Friday, March 29 the city hall sadly came tumbling down. Staff Writer Steve Sidlo prepared the following report for the Journal.

Shed a Tear for Old Lorain City Hall

The old Lorain city hall is no more.

At precisely 8:27 this morning, the steel snout of a huge bulldozer unceremoniously bit into a century of history and began to reduce the former mansion to a pile of rubble.

A crowd of city employees, officials and bystanders gathered to watch the destruction. Some, led by Service Director Elio Jacobozzi, threw rocks through remaining windows. There was an almost festive atmosphere.

"I think it's the end of an era," Mayor Joseph Zahorec said as he watched a wall crumble into a cloud of dust that drove back people standing near the building.

"It's sad. It has some good memories." Zahorec reflected. "But I also think this is the beginning of big things happening in Lorain."

Jerry Eschtruth of Eschtruth Wrecking drove the bulldozer that was used to demolish the city hall and the old police station behind it.

He said a structure like the former city hall could be ripped down in a half day if the rubble could be hauled away fast enough. "It's not too tough, really," he said. As city hall crumbled, some of its heritage could be seen. Remains of the many fireplaces it once had could be seen, a hint of what it was when it was built in 1870 by shipbuilder William Jones.

The mansion, one of the finest in the city at the time, was purchased in 1877 by John Stang, a prominent citizen, banker and landowner. Stang helped develop Lorain's harbor in those days.

In 1903 the house became City Hall, after officials purchased it in the wake of a fire which destroyed the building being used for office space where the Broadway Building stands today.

Through the years, 22 mayors have occupied offices in the old city hall, starting with F. J. King and ending with Zahorec.

The site of the old city hall and police station will now become a parking lot for the new city hall complex. Eschtruth said that rubble from the old buildings will be used to fill in the basements and provide a bed for the parking lot.

***

Even though I was living in Lorain at the time, I don't remember too much about all this. I was probably preoccupied with high school.

Looking back, I wish that the old City Hall could have been saved and used as a museum or something. The current City Hall looks dated and garish, too big for a city that is shrinking and going through some tough times. And with Lorain's city jail closed, all the horse thieves and hobos are being sent to the county jail.

Well, if they ever tear down the current Lorain City Hall, I'll be there with my camera. (I'll bring some rocks too.)

Old Lorain City Hall & Police Station Part 5

Remember when I said that I'd visited the old central police station as a kid while working on a science project on forensic science? I remembered getting a tour of the jail and taking a few pictures with my trusty Kodak 126 camera. Well, it turns out that I still had the film negatives (from around 1972) – and the above image is the proof. (Click on it for the full "You are there" effect!)

Now that is how a jail cell should look – dark, filthy and disgusting. Note the names scratched into the walls, and the uncomfortable beds. And check out the toilet! Sorry, Charlie – toilet seats are for free men! If I didn't know better, I'd believe it if someone told me that this was right out of Alcatraz.

Seeing this as an eighth grader probably convinced me to stay on the straight and narrow!

Old Lorain City Hall & Police Station Part 4

The Journal ran a nice feature about the old central police station behind the old City Hall on December 16, 1973, the day that the new City Hall complex was dedicated. (The above photo is actually from the 1968 Greater Lorain Chamber of Commerce promotional booklet.)

The article collected a series of Lorain Times Herald and Lorain Journal News newspaper accounts from the days when the soon-to-be-demolished police station was new. Here are a few excerpts, courtesy of the Morning Journal.

NOVEMBER 10, 1910 – John "Zins" Zinsmeister rocked back in his chair, the ends of his droopy mustache drooping with max and his mind groggy from the radiator heat.

Outside it was bitter cold and the veteran patrolman bragged he didn't have to wear itchy woolens under his stiff blue uniform.

The brand new Lorain Central Police Station came to life today with the hissing and pinging of its monster steam furnace in the cellar, but the jail has yet to be completed.

With deep set eyes, high cheek bones and floppy ears, Zinsmeister looked more like a prisoner than a deskman. Today he found himself entombed in an office of iron bars. "A real caged attraction," a reporter cracked.

By 8:30 this morning Zims booked in the usual number of tramps and hobos, one horse thief and two gamblers, rounded up from the city's four other boxcar jails.

These prisoners would be brought before the mayor for trial.

NOVEMBER 15, 1910 – A disgruntled Chief Williams today said it wouldn't be until January before prisoners could be placed in the jail. Plans call for 20 cells capable of holding 40 prisoners.

H.E. Ford, the creator of this $14,000 fortress, could not be reached for comment. The station is engineered to hold in its iron-ribbed stomach, the crooks of the boom town of 28,000 people.

The upstairs of the station will feature an airy courtroom, store room, electrician's apartment and spacious room for police officers. Each patrolman will have his own locker.

JANUARY 12, 1911 – The new central police station was officially opened today as city fathers toured the building. Conspicuously missing was a cornerstone.

Old Lorain City Hall & Police Station Part 3

Here's a photo that ran on the front page of the Journal on Tuesday, December 4, 1973. It accompanied the lead story, which was written by Staff Writer Steve Sidlo. The headline read: Dedicate New City Hall Dec. 16

"With little fanfare and no speeches, the end of an era in Lorain's history was marked last night as City Council met for the last time in regular session in the old council chambers," the story began. "Mayor Zahorec announced this morning that council will meet Dec. 17 for the first time in the new council chambers in the nearly completed city hall complex."

"For the last half-century the now-dilapidated, old city courtroom has served double duty as the place where a good portion of Lorain's laws were passed."

I guess nobody was feeling particularly sentimental about the old City Hall. The article also noted, "The only ceremony at the meeting was when councilmen posed for photographs of their last session in the old chambers."

Old Lorain City Hall & Police Station Part 2

By the early 1970's urban renewal plans for downtown Lorain were taking shape, and this included a new City Hall for Lorain. Here's an interesting transitional photo featuring both City Halls, with the new one still under construction.

At right is the "now" view, shot last Saturday. (Click on each for a larger view.)

I feel a twinge of sadness when I look at the top photo, because the photo shows Lorain just at the brink of losing a lot of its heritage and unique character, thanks to urban renewal.

Next week I'll be posting some photos and newspaper articles about the demolition of the old City Hall, which took place in March of '74.

By the way, I purchased the print of the old City Hall at The 530 Shop at – where else? – 530 Broadway in Lorain. It's a great place to shop for antiques, collectibles and gifts, especially one-of-a-kind items from Lorain's past. The 530 Shop dates back to the mid-1960's at the same location, and it's great to see a downtown store from Lorain's past still around.

Old Lorain City Hall & Police Station Part 1

I've been blogging the last few weeks about downtown Lorain of the 1960's. As long as I'm in the neighborhood, I might as well pay a nostalgic visit to the old Lorain City Hall. Above is a photo of City Hall from the Images of America book published by the Black River Historical Society. (Click on it for a larger view.) The brick building behind City Hall is the old central police station.

As a Lorain Baby Boomer, I remember this City Hall well. I drew it during a 1968 Saturday morning art class (which I blogged about here.) About two years later, I paid a visit to the police station behind City Hall while working on a science project (remember those?) on forensic science. (Columbo was on TV at the time and it seemed like a good topic.)

Now for a little history. According to a Journal article from the 1970's, at one time the building was one of the finest mansions in the city. It was built by William Jones.

In 1877 it was purchased by John Stang, a prominent citizen, banker and landowner. In 1903 the City of Lorain bought the house for use as City Hall after a fire destroyed the building which previously housed the city offices. The building then served as Lorain's City Hall for 22 mayors, until its demolition in March 1974.

Here's a link to Loraine Ritchey's website, where she has a nice collection of vintage photos of the original brick building, as well as a few with the later peeling yellow paint.

Fire Station Number One

Here's a great old postcard of Fire Station Number One that I found on the internet. (Ebay is a great source of Lorain memorabilia.)

I guess I'm going to have to do some research, because I am just now noticing that it is a different church building next door.

What's nice is that when you compare this postcard to the recent photo from my last blog entry, it looks like someone decided to restore the dormer on the roof to make it look like it did originally. (The dormer is not in the 1968 photo.) It's a nice touch.

One thing though. Why do I think of the Keystone Kops when I look at this postcard?