Then and Now: Jerry Uht Park near 10th and French

Jerry Uht Park photo ©2014 Google Maps. Inset photo from 1950s at 10th and French in Erie, PA ©2014 John E. Baker.    
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The green arrow points to Jones School at 150 East 8th Street. This building is located on the southwest corner of 8th and Holland. It is no longer used as an elementary school, but has been converted into office space for attorneys and medical professionals.

The red X marks St. Mark's Episcopal Church at 30 East 10th Street in the old picture. It was located on the northwest corner of 10th and French before it was demolished. The white building in the large 2014 photo from Google Maps is the telephone company on the site of the old church building.

Click here to view the original bird's eye view photo by John E. Baker. The inset photo on this post is a small section of John's picture from the 1950s and was taken from the old Commerce Building. Most of the buildings that existed in the photo from the fifties have been razed to make room for the Erie Insurance Arena and Jerry Uht Park.

Find more old pictures of Erie, Pennsylvania at Old Time Erie

Bird's Eye View of Northeast Erie PA 1950s

Northeast Erie, PA bird's eye view ©John E. Baker 2013, used with permission.

Let's step back in time and check out this view of northeast Erie, PA from the Commerce Building. This spectacular shot was taken by John E. Baker. How many landmarks you can spot?

The tall building on the left is the Baldwin Building. The large white building is the General Telephone Company at 20 East 10th St. Saint Patrick's Church hugs the horizon. There's a small white Atlantic Gas station sitting at an angle on the southeast corner of 10th and French. Attorney Sesler's office is in the red house to the right of the gas station. 

The block east of French Street between 10th and 9th has really changed since this photo was taken. If it doesn't look familiar, it's because Jerry Uht Park now occupies the block, and the Erie Insurance Arena currently sits to the north of the ballpark. Yes, the Erie Seawolves and the Erie Otters are playing right in someone's old backyard. You can just see the edge of Sears Roebuck Department Store on the right side of this shot.

Leave a comment if you can identify any of the other buildings in this photo.

Enjoy more Erie, PA facts and photos at: Old Time Erie

What's Underneath Jerry Uht Park?

Detail of East 10th and French form the 1851 John Bevan survey.

What's underneath Jerry Uht Park?

It would be a stretch to say a river ran through it, but a creek certainly did cut through the Erie Seawolves' field of dreams. The John Bevan map shown above shows the location of Mill Creek in 1851.

Mill Creek overflowed on August 3, 1915 with disastrous results. Mill Creek was later tamed by a large tube which began on Glenwood Park Avenue, near 30th Street, and contained the creek underneath yards, buildings and businesses, including Jerry Uht Park and the Tullio Arena (Erie Civic Center).

The tube also ran under the old Sears building, which was demolished prior to the construction of Jerry Uht Park. Read about the grand opening of Sears here: http://oldtimeerie.blogspot.com/2012/08/sears-grand-opening-134-e-10th-st-in.html