We reached Elyria, Ohio, our overnight stop, as torrents of rain poured down. Rather than explore local eateries in town which I usually prefer to write about, out of convenience in the rainstorms we ducked into the Red Lobster outside the hotel. It was a surprisingly pleasant experience. It had been a long time since I savored a Cheddar Bay Biscuit, and the Sesame-Soy Salmon Bowl I ordered was better than most fast casual chain food. Eating at the bar, it was fun to hear the bartenders dish the local gossip and chat about truckers who stopped through.

Cheddar Bay Biscuits (1)

Elyria, which lies 38 minutes south of Cleveland, differs greatly in its visible contrasts of wealth and blight. The commercial center near the hotel consisted of a huge rundown, defunct shopping mall with almost no working stores.

Part of the defunct commercial center in Elyria, where grass grows through cracks in the parking lots

On the other hand, Elyria has a very affluent residential area that includes historic homes, mid-century modern manses, and the country club. As a historic architecture nerd, I was most excited to see The Hickories, a sprawling nineteenth-century Richardsonian Romanesque house museum painted a rich green and featuring stained glass. While the home was closed that day, it was still an impressive building to behold through the rainy car window.

The Hickories Museum, a stately Richardsonian Romanesque house built in 1895 on the affluent Washington Avenue

The small historic downtown of Elyria had a huge fountain in the middle of a park. Driving through more neighborhoods, I spotted this architecturally interesting house with a Rococo Revival-style window cartouche:

Intriguing decorative features on this more modest Elyria house

The stark contrasts in the town of Elyria spoke of economic boom and bust seen in areas of the country once busy with factories. Upon some research, I learned that the opening of the mall and commercial center in the 1960s took business away from the local shops downtown. (2)

Now that the mall can no longer serve the community, maybe historic downtown Elyria will experience a resurgence. Passing through on this brief stop, I took in the visual story Elyria told through its architecture. Whether crumbling, well-preserved, or charmingly unique, it contains many facets.

-Emily Morris

Sources

(1) Cheddar Bay Biscuits https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cheddar_Bay_Biscuits_(11274813896).jpg accessed June 13, 2023

(2) Greetings from ELYRIA, OHIO: History”. Elyriapride.elyria.com. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved October 13, 2012. via https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elyria,_Ohio#cite_note-9 accessed June 11, 2023.