Harry's Men's Wear Grand Opening – November 2, 1950

Here's an ad for a well-remembered, iconic Lorain business – Harry's Men's Wear – that ran in the Lorain Journal on November 2, 1950 – the eve of its Grand Opening. Every Lorain male shopped at Harry's Men's Wear at some time or another.

As the above ad noted, owner Harry Levine was the manager of Fisher Brothers Department Store before opening his own business that would prove to be a linchpin of Downtown Lorain for decades.

At the time of his passing at age 63 in late December 1977, Harry Levine was remembered as follows in a touching Journal obituary. It read, "Harry Levine was a fixture on Broadway and around Lorain. In recent years his stocky figure and silvery beard reminded everyone of someone you would expect to see on that other Broadway in New York.

"He loved people and he loved to talk with them. "Come and see me," he'd say, "I've got something (clothing) just made for you.

"Harry Levine was a mix of joy and style in business. His store was among the first to take on class on a street that desperately needed class. He was honored for his efforts long ago but maybe his efforts were as instrumental in an urban renewal project for downtown Lorain as all the later events proved to be. Levine was a do'er and not just a talker.

"Born Dec 2, 1914 in New Castle, Pa., he had resided in Lorain 42 years and made his home at 2647 Skyline Drive. A U.S. Navy World War II veteran, he had come to Lorain after graduating from Geneva College, Pennsylvania, where he studied education. Prior to starting his business, he spent 10 years managing a chain clothing store in Lorain with his wife, Jennie.

"He was a member of Agudath B'nai Israel Temple, B'Nai Brith, Jewish War Veterans and Lorain Elks No. 1301."

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I didn't know that at one point, Harry's Men's Wear actually had two locations. In the late 1970s, there was a second store at 371 Broad Street in Elyria.

The Levine family continued to operate the store at 700 Broadway for a number of years after the death of its founder. It finally closed in the mid-1980s, disappearing from the Lorain city directory in the 1986 edition.

700 Broadway today
(Courtesy Lorain County Auditor)

Harry's Men's Wear and Mr. Levine undoubtedly live on in the memories of countless Lorainites.

Findley Lake in Fall

Like I mentioned yesterday, a few weeks ago I headed down to to Findley State Park to see how the fall colors were coming along by the lake. Although it was a week or so past peak colors, I still grabbed a few shots of one of my favorite places in Lorain County.

I wrote about the creation of Findley Lake back here.

Anyway, here are my late afternoon lake shots.

I pretty much had the place all to myself except for a fishermen or two. Too bad I didn't bring a pic-a-nic lunch!

Frank Lloyd Wright's Mosher House in Wellington

While driving out to Findley State Park in search of fall colors a few weeks ago, I made it a point to snap a few shots of this house. It's known as the Mosher House and is a Frank Lloyd Wright designed Prairie School home – and it sits just south of Wellington on Route 58!

Here's another view of it from my Friday afternoon photo shoot.

I had first heard of this house back in the early 1980s, when I saw a photo of it in the Lorain Public Library's copy of Preserving Our Past (1977) published by the Lorain County Regional Planning Commission. The book is an index of historic and landmark buildings in Lorain County and Vermilion.

At the time the book was published, the house's history was still a little bit shaky. As the book indicated, "This is a less ambitious, yet handsome rendition of Wright's prairie style architecture. The eaves of the roof extend out four feet from the exterior walls. Inside, the kitchen and the central fireplace were remodeled by the last owner of the house. The present owners have done a limited restoration of the house."

Here's the photo of the house from the book.

The book also noted, "This building has been researched by students of Oberlin College, who claim that this is indeed a house from Wright's office. Apparently a Mr. Mosher, who was an acquaintance of Wright in Chicago, had the house commissioned. It is questionable whether Wright himself supervised the work or even saw the house."

Apparently – judging from what I've seen on the internet – there had been a longtime controversy concerning this house as to whether or not it really was the work of Frank Lloyd Wright. But it seems that with the discovery of drawings and plans, it's now accepted as such – which is a relief.

Here are a few interesting links to check out regarding the house. Prairieschooltraveler.com has a link with some nice photos of the house before it was painted. Franklloydwrightinfo.com has some nice detailed shots of some of its ornate features.

And to see some great Taliesin architectural renderings of the house, click here and scroll down a bit. If you're a FLW fan, you won't want to miss these. The online discussion accompanying the photos is worth reading as well. (By the way, according to that website, it turns out that the man for whom the house was designed was actually named John A. Moser.)

Rainbow Arch Bridge on Old Route 20

While on one of my rare trips to Elyria a few weeks ago (looking for fall color and checking out the Rural King store) I came home on old Route 20. I hadn't driven by the old rainbow arch bridge in many years, and was curious to see how it was surviving.

Well, it's still there, but in rather sad shape – which is a shame. It's a real piece of roadside history. Here's its story (below), which appeared in the Chronicle-Telegram back in late January 1990. It was written by C-T Staff Writer Jeff Mohrman. The photo accompanying the article is by Gene Krebs.

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Bridge to nowhere
Closed rainbow arch bridge on old Route 20 is historian's delight

By JEFF MOHRMAN
C-T Staff Writer

CARLISLE TWP. – When the county inherits Oberlin-Elyria (old Route 20) from the state, it will inherit a bridge which due to safety reasons is never to be used again. But any attempt to tear it down might meet resistance from historians.

The 120-foot, two-lane rainbow arch, or "bow-string" bridge, is located between Russia and LaGrange roads. It was built in 1923, according to John Hamilton of the county engineer's office.

A new bridge has been constructed for traffic. The county is due to take over control of the road (from Parsons Road to the Elyria city limits) in late 1991, he said.

The concrete rainbow span is blocked off from the new section of road by a guard rail.

County engineer Ken Carney said, "When the new bridge was constructed, the Ohio Historical Preservation Society chose that it be put on the historical register.

The society wanted it left in its present state, he said.

The bridge is based on a French design. The first such bridge was built in 1904 in France and the first one in Ohio was in Cincinnati in 1910.

But Hamilton said that due to its deterioration, "it's also a liability, if someone gets hurt."

Said Carney, "it could be an attractive nuisance."

****

Want to find out more about rainbow arch bridges? Click here to see a variety of them from all over the United States on the bridgehunter.com website. The website even has a page devoted to the one on old Route 20.

I always liked this bridge, and remember driving over it. It's strange to see it bypassed and stranded off to one side. But, at least it hasn't been demolished.

Election Day 2014

Remember these types of machines? I do!
(Courtesy of rare pattern.com)

Well, it's finally Election Day – another one of those days where I take the day off from blogging about local history.

Let me explain why. Because I'm a volunteer poll worker, my day begins at my Avon Lake precinct around 5:15 am.  Needless to say, I hit the hay early on Monday night – thus, no time to properly prepare anything for the blog here today! Sorry about that.

Today, my day doesn't end until more than an hour after the polls close. We usually aren't dismissed until around 8:30 or 8:45 pm. That makes for a long day doing my civic duty.

I enjoy working the election, though. Besides getting paid for my labor, it's interesting and kind of fun.

Being one of the newer workers at the precinct where I work has its drawbacks, however.  I usually end up having to take my two breaks (for lunch and dinner) at the times nobody else wants. During the May election, I had to eat lunch at around 9 in the morning, and dinner was in the early afternoon. So voters got to listen to my stomach growling as I asked them for a form of I.D. during that long stretch until the polls closed.

Anyway, be sure to vote today! And if you see me working the signature table in Avon Lake, be sure to say hi!

Cedar Point Demolishes the 1905 Auto Entrance to the Hotel Breakers

Cedar Point was in the news again last week, doing what it does best – that is, demolishing its past to make way for something bigger and better.

In this case, the thing being demolished was the auto entrance to the Hotel Breakers (shown above in a vintage postcard). It had been built in 1905 and was the first thing that hotel guests saw when they arrived by auto and entered the hotel.

The auto entrance met with the wrecking crew last Wednesday. It will be replaced with a more grand entrance – what else?

Here's another view of it from a vintage brochure in my collection (below).

And here's a few photos (below) of the demolition from their respective newspaper websites, along with a more detailed account of the story.

First, here's the photo from the Sandusky Register (click here for their story and some sad video).

Courtesy Sandusky Register

Next is a photo from the Toledo Blade (click here for their story).

Courtesy Toledo Blade

Lastly, here is a link to the Cedar Point website with a sneak preview of what the new entrance will look like. It's actually going to be quite nice.

But sadly, one more piece of the "old" Cedar Point bites the dust.

Halloween 1938 – The War of the Worlds as Fought in Lorain

The front page of the Lorain Journal of October 31, 1938

Well, today is Halloween – and a good day to remember the panic caused back on Halloween eve back in 1938 by the radio dramatization of "The War of the Worlds" by Orson Welles and his Mercury Theater players.

The realistic announcement during the broadcast that Martians had landed in Grover's Mill, New Jersey caused an uproar that is still remembered and talked about today.

How did the panic play out in Lorain? Here's the story (below) as it appeared on the front page of the Lorain Journal on October 31, 1938 – the day after the broadcast. As you can see, it did not even rate the headline.

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Protests Follow in Wake of 'Mars Horror'
Many Lorainites Alarmed as Radio Fantasy Brings War Jitters to U. S.

A horrible fantasy of war waged on the earth by fearsome men from Mars brought near-hysteria to thousands of persons thruout the country who were not listening last night to Charlie McCarthy's rival radio program.

In staccato, news-broadcasting style, the fiction of a "Hallowe'en" program became so realistic that panic prevailed among listeners thruout the United States and Canada.

Today the federal communication commission started an investigation of the program. Sen. Clyde Herring of Indiana said he planned to introduce in congress a bill to outlaw such radio plays.

Calls Flood In
In Lorain, The Journal office last night and again this morning was swamped with calls from frightened residents who wanted information on the attack of the martians.

City police reported they were unable to give comfort to near-hysterical persons who called them for verification of the catastrophe.

Sgt. Britt Buda, who was on duty at the police station desk during the program, said that he, himself, was not sure that the whole thing wasn't true, since he had heard parts of the program on a radio turned on in his office.

"Is the world coming to an end?" screamed one woman who called The Journal.

A man, who said that he had been roused from bed by his wife, cried into the telephone: "What's happening in the east. They say it's almost all destroyed. For God's sake, find out something about it!"

Whole Country Roused
Most of those who called refused to be reassured, having been "worked up" by months of war-tension in Europe.

Other residents who had heard the oft-repeated warnings during the program that it was "just a play," indignantly declared that such horrible descriptions should be banned from the air.

Indications were that Lorain as a whole took the "news" that New Jersey was being destroyed by the "death rays" of the men from Mars much more calmly than other communities thruout the country.

A woman in Pittsburgh tried suicide, saying "I'd rather die this way than like that."

At a high point in the program, the electric power failed at Concrete, Wash., a town of 1,000. As the lights went out most of the homes, many thought the invasion had reached the west coast. Women fainted and men prepared to take their families to the mountains, according to the Associated Press.

Some reported they could smell the gas and see the attackers. People gathered in groups to pray for salvation.

Head for "Open Spaces"
In metropolitan New York City, panicky persons jumped in the autos and headed for the open spaces to escape the expected bombing of New York.

A woman in Indianapolis ran down the main aisle of St. Paul's Episcopal church, crying "The world is coming to an end." The congregation was hastily dismissed.

Three Toledo residents fainted at telephones while trying to call police, the United Press said. Others said they could see the flames and smell the Martian poison gas.

In Newark, N. J., near the scene of the hypothetical invasion, hysteria ran riot. Hundreds fled from two city blocks, carrying what possessions they could snatch up.

Orson Welles, director of the program, today issued a statement expressing "deep regrets."

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The whole 1938 "War of the Worlds" hysteria was one of those things that my parents told me about when I was a kid, causing me to forever associate it with Halloween (along with the annual séance to see if Houdini was able to send a message from the Great Beyond).

I was surprised that, according to the Lorain Journal, the city's reaction to the "War of the Worlds" had been so low-key. I was expecting a Journal headline like that of the Boston Daily Globe (at left).