Commerce Building on State Street in 1926

I found this cool shot of State Street taken in 1926, so I took a break from my studies to write a new post. This photo shows the east side of State from 10th to 13th Street. The tall cream colored building on the left is the Erie Trust Company (later the Baldwin Building  or Renaissance Center) at 10th and State. It still stands. The tall building to the right is the Commerce Building at 12th and State, which has since been demolished. 

The sign for Lawrie Brothers Furniture, at 1207 State St., is partially visible. Reliable Furniture was located next door, at 1213-1221 State St. The Wayne Furniture Company, at 1223-1225 State, rounds off Erie's original Furniture Row. Erie Sea Food House was located at 1227 State, and Erie Window Glass Co. was on the corner of 13th and State (1229 State St.). 

The New Commercial Hotel was across the street at 1301 State, Schneider Hardware was next door at 1303 State, and Joseph Erhart sold harnesses, horse supplies, trunks, bags and leather goods at 1305 State St. Most of the buildings south of 12th Street still stand.

In case you're curious, I'm studying the human genome. Be thankful I'm writing about State Street rather than bombarding you with details of DNA, nucleotides, cytosine and histones. 

Enjoy more fun historical facts about Erie, Pennsylvania at: Old Time Erie

Congested Traffic 12th and State

It's no wonder that traffic was so congested at the intersection of 12th and State Street in Erie, PA. There does not appear to be a traffic light!

Trolleys ran up and down State Street, and also made the turn at 12th Street to head east or west. 

There were multiple distractions with pedestrians, cars, trucks and trolleys sharing the road. The Erie Police Department had a post at 12th and State. It was the little white structure near the bottom left corner. 

The Commerce Building, shown on the right, was demolished in the eighties. The trolley tracks were either ripped out or paved over. A traffic light and cross walks make this intersection much safer for people who are shopping at retail stores or working at one of the businesses or banks downtown.

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

Click below to see a postcard of the Commerce Building and 12th and State Street intersection from a different angle.

Hotel Wayne and Commerce Bldg, 12th and State

Hotel Wayne on West 12th Street near State around 1960. Photo ©Debbi Lyon 2012.

The Hotel Wayne was located at 12-14 West 12th Street in Erie, Pennsylvania. This four-story hotel was the third building west of State Street on the north side of the street. It was constructed by Valentine D. Eichenlaub, who made all of the concrete blocks for the project. The tall building on the right is the Commerce Building, which was on the east side of State Street.

Here is a color shot of the Hotel Wayne from a different angle and an old postcard of the Commerce Building at 12th and State.

None of the buildings shown in the photo above exist today; this area is now occupied by a bank. 

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

12th and State, Commerce Building Erie PA

Old Time Erie: Commerce Bldg. courtesy of Ken Sidun.

The Commerce Building was located on the northeast corner of 12th and State Streets in Erie, Pennsylvania.

Twelfth and State was a very busy intersection, so its hard to believe that there was NO TRAFFIC LIGHT at this corner.

The old postcard of Erie on the right shows the trolley traveling south on State Street and turning west onto 12th Street. There is also a woman pushing a stroller across 12th Street with a group of people walking behind her. And the cars seem pretty close to each other.

There does not appear to be a radio antenna on top of the Commerce Building in this shot. WLEU and later WCCK both broadcast their stations from this location.

Richard Irwin was the architect of the Commerce Bldg. It was built by Mayer Brothers Construction of Erie, PA. Dr. Elmer Hess was an early tenant of the Commerce Bldg.

The Commerce Building was demolished in the 1980s. Click here to view a photo of the demolition of the brick-faced building.

Enjoy more historical facts and photos of Erie, Pennsylvania at: Old Time Erie

Commerce Bldg demolition 12th and State St. in Erie, PA

State Street in Erie, PA looking north from the railroad tracks to watch the demolition of the
Commerce Building. Photo by Debbi Lyon ©2012. 

It was a sad day when the final truckload of rubble was carted away for the old Commerce Building in Erie, Pennsylvania. A crane and wrecking ball was used to slowly take down the mammoth building at 10 East 12th Street.

The Commerce Bldg. occupied the northeast corner of 12th & State for many years. I used to go to the studio of WCCK-FM K-104 to pick up boxes of 7" singles. WWGO had its studio there in Room 212 in 1968, when Larry Perrotto was the station manager. (WWGO-AM 1450 began in 1935 and became WWGO-FM 103.7 around 1968. and later evolved into Go Underground, where you could hear Moby Grape, Jethro Tull and Ten Years After in the wee morning hours. WWGO later evolved into K-104.)

Bill Shannon, program director of K-104, used to play local bands such as The Pulse, Friction and Prophecy, the pre-Stabilizers band

WYNE's Dan Geary (aka Captain Dan) remembers "an exceptionally young Johnny Holiday (aka Bob Bach) broadcasting 'From the edge of the ledge' at the Commerce Building, high above State Street." at WWGO.

Frank Ferreri (aka Ron Rondo) was on WCCK-FM from 1970 to 1976. He remembers one of the other tenants a couple of floors below the station. "Great bar in the basement, the Aristocrat Lounge."

Joel Miller says, "When I was on WCCK/K104 1974-1977 the studios were in the Commerce Building. I have VHS video of the building being torn down. I took it from along 12th Street while the studio was exposed from the outside walls having been knocked away."

Jim Griffey (aka J.J. Sanford) started as a DJ at WCCK-FM on March 18, 1976, spinning "You Sexy Thing" by Hot Chocolate. Jim says the Aristocrat Lounge "became an after hours haunt...the Pickwick Club. Many times I had to wade my way around drunks and hookers when I'd have to do an early Saturday shift."

Tami Bennett (aka Tami Hagar) also did a stint at K-104 after the station moved to West 26th Street. She visited the Commerce Building many times, "but not as an employee. My Mom did commercial traffic for WWGO in the days of Jim 'Lemmons' LaBarbara."

K-104 moved to 1946 West 26th Street in Erie, PA after leaving the Commerce Bldg.

Dr. Elmer Hess was one of the first people to open an office in the new Commerce Building around 1913. Richard Irwin of Pittsburgh, PA was the architect and the Commerce Building was soundly built by Mayer Brothers Construction Co. of Erie, PA.

WLEU-AM had a studio in the Commerce Building, according to Dorothy J. Anthony. "I worked there in the 1950's!"

At the end of its life, the Commerce Building rented out practice rooms to local bands, so I got to rock out on John Rainey's Flying V once or twice. You could crank up the Marshall stack and play as loud as you wanted- there were so few tenants that the place was practically a ghost town.

The Baldwin Building (the one with the First National Bank logo on it) overshadows the Commerce Building in this photo. You can also catch a glimpse of the Boston Store on the left, partially obscured by a street light. The block letter sign for Gem City Furniture at 1507 State Street is in the center.

K-104 survey from 1980: K-104 Survey from 1980

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