Fior's Lake Road Spaghetti House Revisited

December 22, 1946 newspaper ad from the Lorain Journal

Back here in 2013 I did a post on Fior's Spaghetti House, which was located on old "Routes 6 and 2" at Vermilion-On-The Lake, nine miles west of Lorain.

Shortly after that, I received a great email from Jim Bearden, who grew up on the east side of Lorain in the 1970s and 80s, but now lives in Vermilion. He passed along some wonderful vintage photos, including a few that reveal how the Fior's restaurant building was altered in the late 1950s.

The photo below circa 1950 shows one of the people behind the family operation. As labeled, it shows "Aunt Fior (on the left) and a waitress."

Another photo was dated July 6, 1950 (below) and shows the same two people and car in front of the Lake Road Spaghetti House.

As Jim noted, the note on the back of the photo stated, "This is the 'old' front of the building. It was moved when Lake Road was widened. Apparently they removed the front of the building and put it directly behind the store on Overlook Drive."

This unusual color photo (below) explains it all. The 'old front' of the building is shown in its new home around the corner on Overlook Road. (It's the building that appears bright blue.) The "new" version of the restaurant building – with the big FIOR'S on the front of it – faces the newly-widened Route 6 and 2.

The "old front" of Fior's Lake Road Spaghetti House – still sits on Overlook Drive today (below). Jim mentioned that for many years it housed a salon.

And, here's what the "new version" of Fior's Lake Road Spaghetti House looks like today (below). It's now the home of the Driftwood Inn. As you can see, another addition has been added on the west side since the vintage color photo was taken.

Special thanks to Jim Bearden for sharing his photos and information with me. And a special apology to him as well for my taking so long to post them!

Andy's Hardware Dutch Boy ad – June 9, 1960

Here's a newspaper advertisement for the much remembered Andy's Hardware, which used to be located at Ninth and Oberlin Avenue in Lorain. The Dutch Boy Paints ad ran in the Lorain Journal on June 9, 1960 – 54 years ago today.

Outside of Andy's Hardware
(Courtesy "Our Town (Lorain, Ohio) YouTube video by stewati1)

Everyone stopped in at Andy's Hardware for hard-to-find items at some point or another. It was pretty sad when the iconic store closed – as well as when the building was torn down and replaced by a new house.

Courtesy 4 Color Cowboy's flickr site
(www.flickr.com/photos/scrubbles)

Anyway, the ad above was interesting to me because it reminded me that the Dutch Boy used to be a true advertising mascot that evolved through the years. The 1960s modernized version was popular enough to be made into the free hand puppet shown in the ad.

Eventually, Sherwin Williams (who acquired the brand in 1980) decided to return the Dutch Boy to his roots and regressed him back to his original 1907 appearance, which is based on a painting by Lawrence Carmichael Earle.

The Dutch Boy hand puppet is pretty easy to find on Ebay. In fact, there are several for sale right now (shown below) in various degrees of wear.

This one's is pretty good shape.

So is this one.

This one looks like he went 12 rounds with the Pittsburgh Paint peacock.

By George, this one's still mint-in-bag!

Demo Update: Aaron Root House & the House at 32990 Lake Road

You can't see the Root House for the trees in this shot from Thursday night

The nice weather lately means that the bulldozers have been busy.

There's been lots of activity in the last few days around the old Captain Aaron Root house at Abbe Rd. and Colorado Avenue. Large trees are being uprooted, and excavation is taking place (below).

I grabbed this shot over my shoulder on Thursday morning

It's just a matter of time before the Root house comes tumbling down.

And out on Route 6 in Avon Lake, the old house behind the black iron gates was finally demolished (below).

It will be interesting to see if the vintage fence is retained to protect whatever eventually goes in there. I kind of hope it is.

Corporal John Danley's Obituary in the Typographical Journal

Looking south from the north end of Danley Square

While I haven't had time (since my post last week) to get to the library lately to research Corporal John Danley properly, I did find a little bit online about "the first man from Lorain to give his life for the freedom of the world."

The July 1918 edition of the Typographical Journal, the Official Paper of the International Union of North America, contained the following news item under the heading, "CLEVELAND, OHIO."

"It was with a keen regret that the membership of No. 53 learned of the death of Corporal John Danley, killed in action on the battle front of France, June 14. Mr. Danley was one of the young members of the union, and his genial smile and pleasing personality had gained for him a host of friends among his fellow workers. He came to Cleveland several years ago from Lorain, and worked on the Cleveland Plain Dealer. He, with several other of the younger members, enlisted in the marine corps almost immediately upon the request for volunteers. He had seen more that a year's actual service in France, and the many letters received by his friends tell of the great work being done by the printers in the service. As a testimonial to his memory the city of Lorain, Ohio, his birthplace, has renamed one of its streets, which will hereafter be known as Danley avenue."

****

I remember the first time I drove by Danley Square in the late 1980s. I was really impressed by the pretty, parklike setting, but I had no idea who or what it was named after.

The lack of any sort of plaque explaining who Corporal Danley was really should be remedied. As a society, we've finally arrived at a point in time when all of our veterans are finally appreciated. It's only right that we honor the ones from the wars that are rapidly fading away in our collective memories – before it's too late.

Looking north from the south end of Danley Square

Sun Fun Swim Club Ad – June 9, 1960

The early 1960s was the time that several local swim clubs opened up.

I already posted the grand opening ad for Club Carousel out in Sheffield Lake here. Well above is the ad for the one that was out in Vermilion: the Sun-Fun Swim Club. The ad ran in the Lorain Journal on June 9, 1960 and promoted a July 23 opening date.

The $100,000 facility was built by Kenneth R. Evenson, who was also the developer of the South Shore Shopping Center. The private pool and cabana was located off E. River Road, adjacent to the shopping center, and overlooked the lagoons of the Vermilion River.

Membership was limited to 300 families on a first come, first served basis.

The Sun-Fun Swim Club eventually was purchased by the Vermilion branch of the YMCA in early January 1968. Today the Vermilion Family YMCA is located on Aldrich Road.

Does anyone know if the former Sun-Fun Swim Club building is still there? The pool and cabana seem to have disappeared without a trace.

If you know, please leave a comment!

Grand Opening of Dixie Cream Donut Shop – June 3, 1960

Lorain Journal ad announcing the Grand Opening

1960 phone book ad

54 years ago today was the Grand Opening of the Dixie Cream Donut Shop at 2851 Broadway in Lorain, Ohio on June 3, 1960. The ad above appeared in the Lorain Journal the day before the big event.

The 2851 Broadway address means it was right next to the American Slovak Club – where the vacant lot is now, between the Club and the closed BP gas station.

Dixie Cream was probably never a real contender in Lorain; the national chain was undoubtedly K.O.'d by Bob's Donuts and other local favorites.

Dixie Cream never even appeared in the city directory, and only appeared in the Lorain phone book in 1960, before the address went vacant the following year. (The storefront sat empty until the 1965 listings, when the address became the home of La Bell Beauty Salon.

Although Dixie Cream didn't last too long in Lorain, amazingly the parent company is still around. Of course, I wouldn't plan a road trip to visit one of the stores too soon, because there doesn't appear to be any "official" locations in the U.S. There are, however, three in Saudi Arabia, and three in Egypt.

Here's the link to the company website. It looks like the company finally tossed out their smiling globe-headed mascot along with the day-old donuts. Presumably, he now resides at the Home for Retired Donut Mascots (which includes the original Mister Donut mascot, as well as the Spudnuts guy).

The Beachcomber Motor Lodge Then & Now

Here's an undated postcard of the Beachcomber Motor Lodge, which was located right next to the Howard Johnson's on U.S. Route 6 (West Erie Avenue) just west of Leavitt Road. I don't have an exact opening date, but I believe it was around 1959, as that is when it first appeared in the phone book. (I'm sure I'll find the Grand Opening ad on microfilm eventually, when I'm looking for something else.)

Here's the 1960 telephone book ad that promoted the Beachcomber. It's interesting that it includes a small illustration of the Howard Johnson's but doesn't mention it by name.

By 1962 the phone book ad had changed to include an illustration of the Beachcomber's lobby building with its unique overhang/carport. It also referenced the HoJo by name.

I love the font that was used for the logo in these early ads. It really gives the place a relaxed charm similar to what you would expect from a beachfront motel out on the California coast. 

The Beachcomber kept its original name until around the early 1990s, when it was renamed the Erieview Motel.

The motel's lobby has undergone some structural changes since the place opened, which robs it of some of its 1960s coolness. Here's the "now" shot (below). 

(Actually the shot is from last fall. I've snapped shots as recently as this past weekend – in fact, I seem to grab a shot every time I drive by it – but this shot still matches the time of day of the vintage postcard better than any other photo I've taken.)