"Why We Believe the Brandes Street Subway is More Important Than an Overhead Bridge in East Avenue."
It looks like this has been a hot topic for a long time; the ad appeared in the Erie Daily Times on June 18, 1937. At that time, the area between East 12th and East 18th Street and Buffalo Road, from East Avenue to Wayne Street was a hodgepodge of train tracks. The Pennsylvania Railroad round house and car shop was near Wayne St., Erie City Iron Works and Erie Engine & Mfg. Co. had several sidings at their shops. The New York Central Railroad had about a half-dozen east/west lines, and the Nickel Plate Road cut across Buffalo Rd. to Commercial Street.
The ballot asked people to vote for:
"A subway on Brandes Street 2 blocks east of East Ave...with a straight route to Buffalo Rd."
or
"An overhead bridge 22 feet high over the tracks on East Ave. with...one left and one right curve to Route 20."
The East Ave. Bridge a.k.a. McBride Viaduct opened in 1938.
Enjoy more historic facts and photos of Erie, PA at: Old Time Erie
Roller skating was the thing to do on a Friday night in Erie, PA in the mid to late 70s. There were several rinks to choose from, including Skate Lodge at 4646 Buffalo Road in Harborcreek Township. There was plenty of room to skate and the prices were reasonable; just two bucks for three hours in the evening, plus 75¢ to rent a pair of well-worn skates. Plus, if you were hungry, you could get a pepperoni ball and a cup of pop and not miss too much of the action.
The place used to be packed on Friday and Saturday nights, and kids would walk along the berm of Buffalo Road with a pair of skates slung over their shoulder on their way to and from the rink.
J. J. Lynch used to spin records at Skate Lodge, playing a mix of slow tunes (with dimmed lights) for the couples skate, and faster songs so experienced skaters could show off. Less experienced kids knew to get out of their way for fear of getting plowed over. Those kids would hover in the center of the rink or hang on to the railing, inching along the wall. It was cool to see people skating backwards or jumping over their friends.
Seems like I heard every song from the soundtracks to "Saturday Night Fever" and "Grease" when I went to the Lodge.
I also remember waiting for the extended version of Heatwave's "Groove Line," which I still really like. It was the perfect song for a group of six or eight people to jam to. So grab your friends, Get the train, Comin' through!
Enjoy more fun facts about Erie, Pennsylvania at: Old Time Erie
Are you suffering from a acute or chronic disease? Are you nervous and weak, frightened by every little noise or shadow? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you might find the cure to be quite shocking.
Electricity Cures When Everything Else Fails
Or so claimed Doctors John E. Scanlan and Mary Scanlan in a classified advertisement in the Erie Morning Dispatch on Sept. 9, 1878. The couple operated an "institution" at 163 East 12th Street in Erie, PA. It appears that they treated medical conditions and neurological disorders "by application of galvanism, magnetism and electricity in its various modifications."
Medical Electricians were not taken seriously by actual Medical Doctors, or by many other educated people. Check out the book "The Medical Electricians: Dr. Scott and his Victorian Cohorts in Quackery" by Robert K. Waits for more information about this field of study.
I'll have to look through the old city directories and see how long John Scanlan's business venture lasted. The house where the Scanlan's practiced is now the parking lot of the Family Dollar store on East 12th and Holland St. in Erie.
Enjoy more random facts about Erie, PA at: Old Time Erie
I'd like to dedicate the next song to....Captain Dan and WMCE FM. Today we're taking a look back at Erie radio history during the week of May 10-16, 1970 with surveys from WJET AM 1400 and GO Radio 103.7 FM.
Three songs made the Top Ten on both stations:
"Up Around the Bend" by Creedence Clearwater Revival was #1 on JET and #5 on GO.
"Cecilia" by Simon & Garfunkel was #2 on JET and #3 on GO
"Love Land" by the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band was #9 on JET and #10 on GO
WJET-AM had:
"My Baby Loves Lovin'" by White Plains at #3
"Hey Lawdy Mama" by Steppenwolf at #4
"Time To Get Together" by Country Coalition at #5
"The Seeker" by the Who at #6
"Come Saturday Morning" by the Sandpipers at #7
"Something's Burning" by Kenny Rogers & the First Edition at #8
"What Is Truth" by Johnny Cash at #10
GO Radio 103.7 had:
"Turn Back The Hands of Time" by Tyrone Davis at #1
"Fall Inside Your Eyes" by Jackie Lomax at #2
"Make Me Smile" by Chicago at #4
"Vehicle" by the Ides of March at #6
"You Make Me Real/Roadhouse Blues" by the Doors at #7
"Last of the Wine" by the Robbs at #8
"Get Ready" by Rare Earth at #9
And a special shout out to Jeff George for hooking me up with the surveys!
Enjoy more historic facts and photos of Erie, PA at: Old Time Erie
