View of Erie from Academy High School 1928

View from Academy High School in 1928. Photo by Schauble.

"High stands our alma mater, overlooking lake and town..."

Here is a shot of the City of Erie taken by Schauble from the promenade of Academy High School in 1928 for the Academe, Academy's yearbook. The location of Academy makes for a great view of the city, looking north from the hill. Academy is now Northwest Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy, which is located at 2825 State Street.

The peak of St. John's Lutheran Church is visible on the upper left side of the photo. If you follow the grandstand bleachers along the left side of the picture, you can see the smokestack of the Koehler Brewing Company.

Here is a link to an article about Academy High School and Veterans Memorial Stadium: http://oldtimeerie.blogspot.com/2012/09/academy-high-school-and-veterans.html

Magician Blackstone at Park Opera House 1919

-ad in Erie Evening Herald, Sunday, May 4, 1919.

Harry Blackstone, Sr., the World's Master Magician, made quite a splash when he performed at the Park Opera House, 28 North Park Row in Erie, May 5-7, 1919. Blackstone was on the vaudeville circuit at the time. Prices for the matinee show on May 7th were 25¢ and 50¢; tickets for the evening shows ranged from a quarter to 75¢.

According to an article in the Erie Evening Herald, Blackstone performed with an entourage of beautiful women on stage. His act at that time included 'The Hand of Death,' and 'Magic, hypnotism, spiritualism, illusion, mind reading, card trickery and many other marvelous tricks.

The Park Opera House was torn down to make way for the Greyhound Station on North Park Row.

Greyhound Station at Perry Square Erie PA

"Sleek, streamlined, stripped of detail, the Art Moderne style became the architectural symbol of the Motor Age during the 1930s. Roadside motels and diners, gasoline and bus stations became new fixtures on the American scene; in this outgrowth of the European International Style of the 1920s, the fast-paced nature of American life found its perfect expression.

Built in 1939 on the site of the demolished Park Opera House, Erie's Greyhound bus terminal was designed by W. A. Arrasmith of Louisville, Kentucky, a nationally-known transportation architect responsible for dozens of Greyhound facilities in nearby states.

The glazed exterior surface, the sleek curvi-linear floor plan, the liberal use of glass brick and aluminum, make this Moderne building take on a streamlined, machinelike appearance expressive of America's newfound fascination with high-speed highway transportation.

The building is Erie's only pure example of the Art Moderne style and was incorporated into the National Register of Historical Places in 1979 as part of the West Park Place historic district. Recent exterior renovations, however, have stripped the terminal of much of its original character."
-article by Tom Weber, used with permission of the author. Here is a link to Tom Weber Films: http://tomweberfilms.com

-ads in Erie Dispatch, March 22, 1940.

Grants and Peach Street from 8th to 10th Erie PA

Taken from the top of the parking lot at 8th and Peach by Jeffrey
George in late 1967 or early 1968. Photo ©Jeffrey George 2012.

Postcard of the Second National Bank on 9th & Peach.

The photo of the W. T. Grant Co. in Erie, PA (shown above) was taken in late 1967 or early 1968 by Jeffrey George from atop the parking lot at 8th and Peach. Cars in the bottom right side of the picture are traveling north on Peach Street. The back of the old Lawrence Hotel is clearly visible on the right side of the photo.

Grants was a huge retail store that had entrances on West 8th Street, Peach Street and at 18 West 9th Street. You could cut through the building instead of walking outside in the rain or snow and come out on the other street. Sounds like a nightmare for security.

To help with the orientation, I've included a postcard of the old Second National Bank, which was located on the southeast corner of 9th and Peach. It was still standing in 1967 and was used as a women's clothing store. You can see the side of the old bank in the top photo. The postcard also shows the back and side of the old Lawrence Hotel, which was demolished around 1968 (the Avalon Hotel currently occupies this site). Peach was a two-way street when the postcard was released.

The side of the Baldwin Building/Renaissance Center is also visible in the photo above; it's the second tall building from the  left. The side of Kresge's is visible directly below the Renaissance Center building. (The building that housed Kresge's still stands, but it is covered in mirrors.)

Here is a shot of the front of the Lawrence Hotel: http://oldtimeerie.blogspot.com/2012/10/jfk-kennedy-at-lawrence-hotel-in-erie.html

The old Grants building still stands at 18 West 9th Street. It's now the home of GECAC.