What used to be in that building?

While stopped at the light at 30th and Broadway this past Sunday, I looked straight ahead and saw this distinctive building that resembles an airplane hangar. What businesses were in that building over the years, I wondered – and what was it originally? Do you remember?

I had a vague idea that it was connected with cars, although I had no specific memory of it at all. A quick trip to the library answered my question.

The building at 2950 Broadway dates back to about 1950, when it was the home of Kunick Motor Sales. Within a few years, Vogt Oldsmobile was at that address.

Vogt continued at that location until around 1959, when it then became the home of Kaminski Oldsmobile. Here's a 1959 Lorain Phone Book ad.

However, Kaminski moved out after about two years (to its new location on Henderson Drive) and the address was taken over by Si Gary Dodge.

Si Gary Dodge stayed there the longest, lasting until around 1977. Then a variety of businesses took over the building, including Witter Ignition Inc. during the late 1970's and Top Shelf Auto Electric Clinic in the late 1980's.

The building was most recently the address of R.J. Stovicek & Associates, a landscaping firm.

New Lorain – 1977

Last week, while browsing in the Local History section of the Lorain Public Library, I found another one of those books full of proposals for the redevelopment of Downtown Lorain that never took place (similar to this one, which I blogged about back here). This one was produced by the New Lorain Association in November 1977.

Like the 1978 book with the same theme, this one has many photographs of Lorain sprinkled in with the text. A few of them, reproduced from the book, are below.

Kline's Department Store, which was closed by the time of the book

Note the Eagles Aerie 343 was still at 575 Broadway back then 

Hot Waters

Looking West on Sixth Street from Broadway; note the now-gone houses next to the Lorain Public Library

Admiral King Birthplace Through the Years

Although the hoopla over the dedication of the Admiral Ernest J. King tribute space was last month, I'm still involved in some Admiral King-related research and still coming up with material to post. 

It's interesting (to me at least) how the Admiral's birthplace has changed through the years. Here's a view from the 1952 autobiography of Admiral Ernest J. King.

Here's a clipping (below) that I found recently in the Special Collections file of the Lorain Public Library. It's from the Journal and shows Admiral King's birthplace on Hamilton Avenue as it looked back in 1967, when it was for sale for $12,500. It's a shame that it wasn't purchased by the city back then for a museum.

Lastly, here a view from the tribute space dedication last month. That little porch/room on the right side seems to have gone through the most changes over the years.

The John Studebaker Monument near Ashland

August 2009 photo

Five miles east of Ashland on the top of a hill on US 250, right next door to the former Bonnie Dell Motel is a large granite boulder with a plaque on it: the John Studebaker Monument.  A few concrete steps and a hand rail lead up to it.

Cars and trucks whiz by it daily at top speeds without noticing it. (I passed it dozens and dozens of times in the late 1970's going back and forth to Ohio State University in Columbus, and never even knew it was there!)

What does it commemorate? Here is the explanation, according to my battered 1940 copy of The Ohio Guide (compiled by workers of the Writer's Program of the Works Projects Administration).

The JOHN STUDEBAKER MONUMENT (R), 16.2 m., a large granite boulder with an inscription plate, marks the site where in 1835 John Studebaker erected his house and blacksmith shop. In 1852 two of his sons, Henry and Clement, with a capital of $68 founded a wagon works at South Bend, Indiana – a plant that later entered the fledgling automobile industry with the now well-known Studebaker.

August 2009 photo

Several people had the idea of erecting a monument on the site of the original Studebaker blacksmith shop on what was then part of the new coast-to-coast Lincoln Highway, according to an article by Richard Quinn in Turning Wheels (official publication of the Studebaker Driver's Club). A Studebaker distributor in San Francisco, as well as W. A. Duff, the editor of the Ashland Press, had the same idea. But Duff appears to have pushed it the most in his newspaper, and the monument was most likely his brainchild.

In a letter written in 1914 to the last surviving son of John Studebaker, Duff wrote that he wanted to present the monument "to the rising generation that they may emulate the example of the good and the grand and the noble who have wrought in their native county and state." Duff also added that he wanted the Lincoln Highway in Ashland County "to be remembered by the thousands who shall pass over it every year."

The monument was dedicated on May 18, 1927 by the Studebaker Historical Society and has been there ever since. 

Although the monument now sits on private property, various owners through the years have permitted visitors to climb the steps to view the monument. (While photographing it, I have parked briefly in the driveway just to the left of it.)

August 2009 photo

Bonnie Dell Motel Then and Now

Last week I mentioned the Perkins down on US 250 near Ashland as being a favorite Sunday afternoon destination. Well, the road that is now US 250 used to be one of the early alignments of the cross-country Lincoln Highway, and it was dotted with lots of small motels like the one shown on the postcard above: the Bonnie Dell Motel.

Although the motel portion of the property is gone, the brick building near the highway is still there, and we pass it every time we go to Perkins. Here's a modern view.

The back of the vintage postcard reveals that the motel was apparently operated by Mr. & Mrs. E. R. Emminger, and J. & Bonnie Garn, so we know at least where the 'Bonnie' in the name comes from. The back also states that the motel was at "Route 250 at Studebaker Monument."

Studebaker Monument? What's that – and is it still there? Stop back here tomorrow to find out!

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UPDATE (April 21, 2020)
Click here to visit my new post about the Bonnie Dell Motel, with reminisces and photos provided by the son of one of the owners.

From the E-Mailbag #2: D'Agnese Restaurant/Pizza

At the very end of my series on the Deutschof (which ran back in May starting here), I asked if any readers wanted to share a reminisce or story about a Lorain business they had a personal connection to.

Kelli D'Agnese responded with a nice comment about her family's restaurant legacy in Lorain.

Kelli noted, "My grandfather was Peter D'Agnese Sr. of D'Agnese's Restaurant. My father and his brother were in their late teens at the time. He also had a popular sandwich shop on Root Road in the 70's. Growing up people would always comment about the subs there."

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D'Agnese Restaurant and Lounge was one of the businesses that was at the former Deutschof location at 651 Broadway.

D'Agnese's Pizza was located at 916 Root Road, which is still kind of unbelievable to me. If you drive past the location today, all you see are houses (which makes you wonder what kind of zoning was in place back then that allowed a business there). But I do remember getting subs there around 1978 or '79 – and they were really excellent. (They were the first hot subs I ever had, after growing up on cold cut subs from Meyer Goldberg's.)

Here's a vintage phone book ad for the D'Agnese Restaurant and Lounge.

And here's one for the pizza and sub business, circa 1977.

Thanks for sharing, Kelli! I'm sure many other Lorainites have fond memories of your family's restaurant and pizza & sub shop. Family businesses like yours were the heart of Lorain in its glory days.

I also believe that family businesses have to make a comeback for this city and country to ever bounce back.

October 1, 1966 Passing Scene

Readers of this blog know that I'm a big fan of the old The Passing Scene comic drawn by Gene Patrick that used to run in the Journal on Saturdays in the 1960's and 70's, and here's another one. It's from Saturday, October 1, 1966 – 45 years ago. (Click on it so you can read it.)

The first panel of the comic mentions the classic Batman TV series that (according to this Wiki entry) ran on ABC for two and a half seasons. I just remember that it ran twice a week, on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and that my brothers and I loved it. (Here's a great blog with a list and pictures of all the TV show's villains.)

Also of interest is the October 1966 opening of my wife's alma mater, Lorain County Community College. Incidentally, I had no idea that it was the first community college in Ohio with a permanent campus, warranting an Ohio Historical Marker.