Lake Shore Electric Railway Then and Now Part 5

Here's a final 'then and now' shot to finish off this look at old photos of interurban train track shots from the Lake Shore Electric Railway book. This one is from Avon Lake. The caption reads, "The land adjacent to the LSE tracks consisted of grapes and dirt roads in 1902. This is Lake Road in Avon Lake, showing the development markers for Mull Road on the right and North Point Drive on the left."

The view is looking towards the east.

Here is how the same view looks today from a couple of weeks ago. There's still a telephone phone next to Mull Road on the right. Unfortunately the pillars are long gone.

These kind of comparisons always fascinate me. The idea of a dirt Lake Road with farms and vineyards is hard to believe. The vintage shot reminds me of the scene in Back to the Future where Marty McFly hides the time machine near the entrance to his development!

Lake Shore Electric Railway Then and Now Part 4

Here are a few more then-and-now shots of the Beach Park station.

Lake Shore Electric Railway Then and Now Part 3

Here's another photo that I scanned from the Lake Shore Electric Railway book. The book's caption reads, "This photograph, taken in 1898 at the Beach Park station, shows an L&C car heading west to Lorain. In 1898, this was an L&C property." (The L&C that the book refers to is the Lorain and Cleveland Electric Railway.)

The book also points out that the L&C built a car barn, a powerhouse and a resort area at Beach Park.

Of course, you and I recognize the above structure, as it later became the old Saddle Inn at the Avon Lake shopping center on Lake Road, and housed the much-missed Avon Lake Theater.

The building is now part of the Avon Lake Artstown plaza complex, also housing the Casita Del Lago restaurant as well as the Tailgators Sports Bar. Here is a recent view (click on it for that "you are there' feeling).

(I have a special feeling for the far right portion of the building that is now the sports bar. In the 70's, it was the Chef Henri Party Center, and I played at several weddings there as part of a local dance/polka band called the Four Links!)

Lake Shore Electric Railway Then and Now Part 2

Here is another vintage photo courtesy of the Lake Shore Electric Railway book. The caption reads, "This picture was taken on Route 2, east of Vermilion, at Elberta Beach stop No. 127. A very dangerous crossing with the Nickel Plate Railroad main line seen in the foreground with the LSE track behind it." The caption then went on to mention that a very large highway overpass was at the scene today.

Once again, I had to scratch my head and think. Route 2? Then I remembered that before the limited access Route 2 was constructed, it had followed Route 6 along the lakefront. And the reference to a highway overpass finally make me realize just where this was.

Here is the “now” shot.

And here is the location, courtesy of Bing Maps.

The overpass going over the railroad tracks was rebuilt sometime in the last 10 or 20 years, so it is probably the second span built to eliminate the dangerous crossing there. I'm not sure when the first one was built, but the next time I'm at the Ritter Public Library in Vermilion, I'll see if I can find out. I'm guessing it was the 1920's.

It's hard to believe the “then and now" photos are of the same area. The rustic nature of the older photo makes it look like it's out in the middle of nowhere.

Lake Shore Electric Railway Then and Now Part 1

I recently had the chance to enjoy reading another one of those excellent Arcadia Publishing local history books. (I use their Images of Lorain book, published by the Black River Historical Society all the time as a reference for this blog.) This new book focuses on the old electric interurban railway that provided passenger service between cities on Lake Erie, and is entitled Lake Shore Electric Railway. It was written by Thomas J. Patton with Dennis Lamont and well-known Lorain historian Albert Doane.

The book (published about a year ago) does a terrific job of explaining the history behind the rise and fall of this electric streetcar system that had routes that ran from Cleveland to Detroit, via Avon Lake (the Beach Park station), Lorain, Sandusky and Toledo.

The book contains a fantastic collection of photos, many of which depict the railway as it passes through Avon Lake, Lorain and Vermilion. If you're a local history buff, then you have to have this book on your shelf.

My father was old enough to have remembered the interurbans, and from what he told me I wish that there still was such a system in place. It would be pretty nice to be able to board one and take it all the way to Toledo. Apparently the interurbans would get up to speeds of 70 and 80 miles an hour out in the country!

Since the interurbans were pretty much out of business by the late 1930's, you have to look pretty hard in this area for evidence that they even existed. Thus I scanned in several photos from the book so that I could give them the 'then and now' treatment and reveal just where the tracks were located.

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Here is the first photo. When I first read the caption, I couldn't even imagine where this photo was taken.

The vintage photo (looking east) shows the interurban tracks as they cross Colorado Avenue.

After driving up and down Colorado Ave. just south of where it meets up with US Route 6 (East Erie Ave.) I finally figured it out. The brick building with the awning on the left is Paul's Auto Body. (Unfortunately Paul's Auto Body was demolished a year or two ago.)

Today, this scene faces the Spitzer Harbor Walk housing development and looks like this.

The building that sits where the tracks used to be was built between 1947 and 1950 (a decade after the railway went out of business). The empty lot to the left of it is where Paul's Auto Body used to be.

The tall building to the right of it (that is visible in both photos) had a variety of uses through the years. In the early 1930's it offered furnished rooms, and in the early 1940's it was a restaurant.

Today people drive by this area heading north to Dairy Mart on the corner of Colorado and East Erie Avenue, never knowing that 70 or 80 years earlier, the Lakeshore Electric Railway would have been clattering right through here!

Happy Fourth of July!

With so many things going on in this country this year – two wars, a terrible economy, tension with other countries, polarized politics – it is easy to become disillusioned. I know I am right now. But just as a New Year brings hope, and Easter brings spiritual rebirth, I find that July 4 often renews our patriotism.

Patriotism is a word that has lost its meaning over the years. It gets attached to many forms of expression, such as burning flags, protesting and criticizing the policies of a President. Many mealy-mouthed politicians often (and shrilly) exclaim things like "Dissent is the highest form of patriotism."

I disagree with this mangling of the definition of the word. Patriotism is defined very simply in the dictionary: love and loyal or zealous support of one's own country. 

That's it. It is not an all-purpose word to cover all acts of disrespectful expression against one's country. It's quite the opposite.

Here's hoping that all Americans rediscover this meaning as we celebrate our Day of Independence.

And here's wishing all of you a Happy July 4th!

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And now for a little nostalgia. The thing about the Fourth of July I remember most growing up in the 1960's is my family going over to George Daniel Field to watch the fireworks. If I remember correctly, we would park at Admiral King High School and then walk over from there with our blankets, etc. I remember as a kid being pretty excited.

They were pretty impressive fireworks shows, and they were right above you, too. (Nowadays you seem to watch them at a safe distance.) And there was no mistaking when you were seeing the grand finale, either.

Probably the worst part was the teeming mass of humanity when it was over, all eager to get out of there and back to their cars.

Much later, during a time when I was living in a series of apartments in Sheffield Lake, I remember going over to Avon Lake to watch the fireworks at the Fisher's Big Wheel. The office buildings at the corner of Walker and Moore weren't there yet, so you could spread out your blanket and enjoy the show. It's funny to already be nostalgic about something a mere 20 - 25 years ago.

National Tube Entrance Then and Now

Several of my posts this week have all sprouted from my drive along Pearl Avenue last Saturday. So I  might as well end the week just as Pearl Avenue ends, at the gates to the steel mill.

Here is a vintage postcard looking north towards the gates that are well-known to so many Lorainites.

And here is my corresponding photograph from last Saturday.

It's not a perfect recreation of the postcard's camera angle, but it's fairly close – plus I did it from memory!

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In its heyday, the National Tube Company was one of the largest steel mills in the world, covering more than 1,440 acres. The mill was like a city with its own dock, power plant, water works, police department and fire department. It once employed about 12,000 people!

The plant has operated under several names, including the National Tube Company of U.S. Steel and the Lorain Cuyahoga Works of U.S. Steel. It became USS/KOBE in 1989.

In August 1999, Republic Technologies acquired the bar business. U.S. Steel continues to operate the seamless pipe portion of the mill as the Lorain Pipe Mills.

Most Lorainites have some connection with the steel plant; if they didn't work there themselves, some family member, friend or neighbor did.

I worked there one summer as a college student. It was a pretty fascinating way to spend the summer.

I had a pretty cushy job – in refrigeration! Which means that I was one of several college kids helping the guys who were troubleshooting, repairing and installing air conditioner units throughout the plant.

The days that we spent removing or installing air conditioners in offices were pretty fun. But when we had to go out into the steel mill and blow the dust out of these huge industrial fans – ugh. You and your 'green clothes' ended up covered with black dust. Climbing around in cranes high above everything, trying to remove a window unit wasn't much fun either.

I learned two things by the end of summer. One: the regular steel workers really earned their pay – and my respect. And two: I did not want to work in a steel mill.