Elyria Ave. and E. 28th St., Lorain, OH

L. Shure, 2016

Every now and then I need to post a drawing from my hometown, Lorain, Ohio.  This old diner may have been intended to serve the area when Czechs and Slovaks were arriving to work at the nearby steel plant and shipyards.

Because Lorain was such an industrial powerhouse, it drew workers from around the world, but especially from Eastern Europe.  I still remember visiting the nearby Polish American Club for their Friday Fish Fry.  I think that building has now become a social services agency.

With the closing of the mills and shipyards, many of Lorain's businesses are long gone. East 28th Street, which was once covered with bars and restaurants, was hit even harder than the downtown. But this remnant always catches my eye, with its hopeful modernist storefront looking a little more dilapidated each year.