Lou Tullio's Transitway Mall

Tullio's Transitway Mall. Looking north on State from 10th St.

Now you see it, now you don't. Erie mayor Lou Tullio envisioned a retail mecca in downtown Erie, PA and he secured hundreds of thousands of dollars into construction projects in the hopes of attracting shoppers to State Street. A recent study claims that 39,400 people lived within one mile of the area pictured above. The idea was to build a pedestrian-friendly area with wide sidewalks so that throngs of locals and tourists could meander from store to store and boost the local economy. And people would conserve gasoline and ride the EMTA buses to get downtown.

So, what happened? People hated it. If you look closely near the bottom of the picture, you'll see a yellow sign with two arrows, pointing east and west. Look closer and you'll see three round red circles with the friendly, welcoming words, "Do Not Enter." It worked. Erieites are quite attached to their vehicles and most of us like to park as close as possible to our favorite store, not in a parking lot several blocks away. You can't change human nature. 

Here is a photo of the Transitway Mall near 8th and State.

Find more of Erie, Pennsylvania's historical hot topics at Old Time Erie

Get On Board Baby Elephant

It's anybody's guess what's going through the mind of this little girl as she meets Bubbles, the baby elephant, up close. She looks curious, but ready to run away at the slightest noise or movement. It doesn't look like there is any room for her to jump back on the bus since the other kids are all standing on the stairs.

This picture was taken in 1968 and was probably a promo shot for the EMTA summer run to the Glenwood Zoo on a route along West 38th Street. 

The Erie Metropolitan Transit Authority (EMTA) ran a number of promotions to try and increase ridership of public transit buses.

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

Erie Public Transit History 1867 to 1967 Erie PA

Erie City Passenger Railway Company, 202-222 State Street. GE Erie Plant photo No. VD2.

Bicentennial Review of Erie Transit

-Published in the Erie Metropolitan Transit Authority 1975 Annual Report

Erie's first bus line carried passengers from the foot of State Street to Federal Hill at 26th and Peach. It was Bill Loesch's Omnibus Line, with headquarters in South Erie House at the southern terminus of the route. An advertisement in the 1867 edition of the Erie Business Directory boasted: "Having refitted and refurnished this house and supplied it with every means of comfort, I respectfully invite calls from the public, assuring them that they will find me prepared to do them justice."

A single ticket cost 10 cents or 100 for $8. Children's fare was 20 for $1. Loesch did a thriving business.

Each omnibus was drawn by two fine horses, according to the illustration in the business directory. The driver sat on top and frequently blew loudly on his long tin horn. The periodic tooting of the horn, accompanied by the noise of the wheels on the cobble-stoned streets gave the omnibus the name 'Bill Loesch's Band.'

Unfortunatley for Loesch, the year 1867 marked the founding of the Erie Passenger Railway Company. Its purpose was to lay tracks and provide street car service to the community. Loesch held a state charter along the most profitable route, but a requirement of the charter was that he provide regular service every day. One morning, Loesch found that every one of his horses had been poisoned. He was unable to replace them in time to save his charter.

Railway Formed

The Passenger Railway Company had ambitious plans. They included laying of 7.7 miles of road at $8,000 a mile, purchase eight cars at $1,200 each, 40 horses at $150 each, and construction of a stable at $5,000.

The first horse drawn street cars were placed into service in 1868, the main line beginning at 2nd and Holland Streets, proceeding to State and south to Turnpike, then to Peach and continuing south to the stables at the South Erie Turn Hall beyond Ridge Road, now 26th Street.

Fare was seven cents and the novelty made the trolleys an immediate success. However, the fare was reduced to a nickel as the novelty wore off and passenger volume declined. Horses wore out and the struggling company replaced them with mules.

Switch to Electric

1888 saw the birth of the Erie Electric Motor Company. Within a year, electrified cars were carrying passengers and once more the street car became a fad. The initial vehicles were brilliantly lighted summer cars with passengers seated back to back. 

The company aggressively laid trackage throughout the city and out into the county in every direction. The existing system was refurbished with new track. A forest grove, then known as Hoffman's Grove, was leased and then purchased. It was a picnickers paradise. The company renamed it Waldameer. Visitors flocked there by trolley...In May, 1918, the nickel fare was raised to seven cents or four for a quarter. The number of stops was reduced. Waldameer was sold...In 1921, ridership dropped 20 percent from the previous year. The automobile was taking its toll.

The First Bus

In September, 1924, the Erie Railways Company was formed to take over the street car system. The following year, the parent firm organized the Erie Coach Company to operate a bus line. On December 7, 1925, the first motor bus left Perry Square, proceeded out 5th Street to Liberty and south to 30th and west to Elmwood. The last trolley completed its run on May 2, 1935. In 1955, Erie Coach Company came under new ownership.

Erie Metropolitan Transit Authority

Erie Metropolitan Transit Authority was founded on September 20, 1966...On December 27, 1966 the public authority acquired the bus system. Under the agreement with Erie Coach Company, the EMTA rented the company's bus fleet and service facilities while the modern new 45-passenger buses were being manufactured...By Christmas of 1967 fifty new buses had arrived...The entirely new fleet of 50 buses was financed two-thirds by the federal government, one-sixth by the state, and one-sixth by the city and county. The city paid 60 percent of the local share and the county 40 percent.

Find more fun facts about the History of Erie, Pennsylvania at Old Time Erie

UNKNOWN DRIVERS FOR EMTA OR ERIE COACH CO. ABOUT 1966 pt.2

Do you recognize any of the men in these photos?

I have a handful of photos of men who drove bus for the Erie Metropolitan Transit Authority (EMTA) or its predecessor, the Erie Coach Company. A friend saved these items from being tossed into the trash. Most of the photos are labeled on the back, but these were not. 

EMTA took over the Erie Coach Company around January of 1967. The old Erie Coach Company's garage faced State Street between Second and Third Streets.

I will update this article as the men are identified.

1)

2) Mr. Brewer

3)

4) Gary Saraceno

Grain Elevator, Erie PA Bayfront, PRR Tracks

Grain Elevator in Erie, PA. Photo by Chester Wasielewski. ©Debbi Lyon 2012.

The Grain Elevator was a fixture on Erie's Eastside for many years. After it was demolished, Holland Street was extended down to the end of this dock. The Blasco Memorial Library would later be built on the far left of this picture. The set of tracks in the forefront with the maroon Pennsylvania Rail Road car still exist, and you cross them as you come down Holland Street to go to the library.

The sets of tracks that curve to the north in this picture were ripped out to make way for the East Bayfront Parkway, which runs parallel to the PA Rail Road tracks. The Intermodal Transportation Center, where you can catch a Greyhound or an EMTA bus, replaced the two story building near the center of this photo. The beige building on the right still exists and is currently Donjon Shipbuilding and repair. Donjon has 4,000 feet of pier space. The old U.S. Border Patrol building sits on the northeast part of the dock where the skinny structure was.

This photo was taken from the bluff near the Russian church facing northwest. Presque Isle State Park is visible on the horizon.

Here is a shot of the Grain Elevator from the west bayfront in Erie, Pennsylvania from 1965: http://oldtimeerie.blogspot.com/2012/06/ice-fishing-in-erie-pa-bay-in-1965.html

Lou Tullio boarding an EMTA bus in Erie, PA

Mayor Lou Tullio boarding a new EMTA bus, one of a fleet of fifty.

Mayor Lou Tullio boarding an EMTA bus.

Louis J. Tullio had a long and illustrious career as the Mayor of Erie, Pennsylvania. He served from 1966 to 1989. He is shown here helping EMTA promote its new Fleet of 50 new buses. I wonder where this Express was going to drop the mayor off. Tullio was a teacher and a football coach before he was elected to public office. He remains are recognizable figure years after his death, which occurred in 1990.

Below is a rare shot of football referee Lou Tullio with the Wesleyville High School cheerleaders around 1951.

Old Time Erie- Lou Tullio on upper right.

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Unknown drivers for EMTA or Erie Coach Company

Bus drivers for EMTA or the Erie Coach Co.

Unknown Drivers for EMTA or Erie Coach Co. about 1966

I have a handful of photos of men who drove bus for the Erie Metropolitan Transit Authority (EMTA) or its predecessor, the Erie Coach Company. A friend saved these items from being tossed into the trash. Most of the photos are labeled on the back, but these were not. 

EMTA took over the Erie Coach Company around January of 1967. The old Erie Coach Company's garage faced State Street between Second and Third Streets.

Mystery solved!

#1 is Sam Jones
#2 is Jimmy McIntosh
#3 is Harry Gambill
#4 is Johnny Barnes

Special thanks to Johnny Johnson, webmaster of the Erie African American website. Click below to view:

http://erie-african-americans.wikispaces.com/

State Street from 10th to 11th with old Koehler sign

Tenth to Eleventh and State St., Erie, PA. Photo by Chester Wasielewski, ©Debbi Lyon 2012.

State St. from 10th to 11th with Koehler Beer clock and Baldwin Bldg.

Let's see how many businesses you recognize along the east side of State from 10th to 11th Street in Erie, Pennsylvania. We'll begin our tour with the old Koehler Beer clock on Tenth Street. The clock was perched atop a building just north of Tenth St. The Baldwin Bldg. anchors this shot on the left, with a sign for First National Bank. Next are a couple of buildings that have since been torn down, one of which housed Shooter's Tavern in the late eighties. Then the State Street Food Market. 

The Winter Co. is notable because it had a curved front window that was a perfect place to shove your friends into. There are still tiles in the sidewalk in front of this building bearing the Winter Company name. Babe Harkins had a City Council election office in the next space, and then the One Hour Cleaning and Sherman's Mens Wear. H&R Block and Seaway came next, along with a skinny shoe-shine shop. The Nut Kitchen was next, and the Hutch's Billiards Shop was on the corner. It's the place with the Pepsi signs. There is an EMTA bus on the left side of the photo. This was taken before the pedestrian safety islands were torn out.

Here is a copy of a Koehler Beer ad from 1952: Koehler Beer ad from 1952

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

EMTA Wishes You a Merry Christmas 1967

EMTA drivers Christmas 1967, Erie, PA.

EMTA Erie Metropolitan Transit Association Dec. 1967

I would venture to say that most Erie, PA natives have hopped aboard an EMTA bus at some point in their lives. I used to catch Route 1 at the corner of 21st and State and ride to Wesleyville every Friday in the early eighties. Most times it was standing room only after school, when the bus was packed with kids heading home after transferring on State Street. People used to ride the bus to shop downtown in the forties and fifties, lugging home bags full of clothing, shoes, hats and other sale items.

On Saturdays, after bowling at the Perry Plaza, I'd save the .85 fare and walk to Record Country at 2905 Buffalo Road to buy a 45. Occasionally, I'd catch Route 1 at 21st and Ash, head west, then transfer to Route 9 to go to the Millcreek Mall. Those were the days when Route 1 traversed the city, and you could ride from the from Eastway Plaza to the West Erie Plaza on the same bus.

This photo shows a jovial bunch of transit workers holding a sing wishing riders a Happy Holiday Season and a Pleasant Trip. The EMTA  drivers, from left to right, include Ernest Loscar, Andrew Franz, Samuel Hayes, Roy D. Polk, Harry Gambill and William Rounds. 

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