USA > Pennsylvania > Erie County > Erie > Erie; a guide to the city and county > Part 7
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Midway in the block between State and French Sts. is the SITE WHERE LAFAYETTE WAS FETED on his visit to Erie on June 3 and 4, 1825. At an open-air banquet on a hill which at that time over- looked Erie harbor, he proposed the following toast to the future city:
"Erie-a name that has a great share in American glory. May this town ever enjoy a proportionate share in American prosperity and happiness."
17. PERRY MEMORIAL BUILDING (open), SE cor. 2d and French Sts., is a 3-story and basement frame building of gray clapboard sides and gabled roof. Entrances are on both streets, that on E. 2d St. leading into the basement at street level. The building was erected prior to 1812, and was reconstructed by the city in 1923 as a memorial to Commodore Perry, who lived here during the building of the American fleet in 1812 and following the victory in 1813.
Retrace E. 2d St .; R. from E. 2d St. on State St.
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Ice boating on Lake Erie
Fishing through the ice, Presque Isle Bay
A beach on the Peninsula
CITY TOURS
18. HAMOT HOSPITAL, NE cor. 2d and State Sts., overlooks Presque Isle Bay and Lake Erie. Established mainly through the efforts of the Reverend James Taylor Franklin, it was chartered on February 7, 1881, and opened in July of the same year. The older part of the structure was formerly the home of P. S. V. Hamot; the property was deeded free to the hospital association by its owners, Mrs. Mary A. Starr, Charles H. Strong, and Kate Strong, for a general hospital. Several addi- tions have been made to the original structure, the last one being in 1932. It contains 255 beds and is a State-accredited hospital. It is sup- ported by full and part pay patients, yearly contributions from the local Community Chest, annual appropriations from the State, and occasional appropriations from the Commissioners of Erie County. The hospital conducts a training school for nurses, and maintains three homes for nurses. It is governed by a board of managers, usually elected for three- year terms, and chosen from a board of corporators numbering 100.
19. The PUBLIC STEAMBOAT LANDING, foot of State St., is a double-decked steel pier, extending 538 feet into Presque Isle Bay. Used for passenger service, it was constructd in 1908 by the State and is main- tained by the city. This is a favorite trysting place for Erie citizens, hundreds of whom drive down the long hill at the foot of State St. dur- ing the evening hours, to park their cars on the edge of the pier and watch the sunset over the Peninsula across the bay.
Restaurants located at the approach of the pier serve special fish lunches and dinners. Fish sandwiches are favorite fare for visitors. The windows of the restaurants are decorated with aquariums containing specimens of brilliantly colored fish of the carp species.
Boats and fishing tackle may be rented from small establishments along the bay front. During the fishing season hundreds of sportsmen are to be seen fishing from the docks and angling from boats anchored in the bay. Calico bass, pike, and perch are the most common fish to be caught from the bay.
The shriek of the incoming fishing tug's whistles is the signal for hun- dreds of gulls to rise from the slips and to gather from the more distant inlets, to fly in whirling flocks near the unloading platforms. As the fish are cleaned in the fish houses, the heads and other waste portions are thrown into the water where the gulls swoop down to feed.
A Coast Guard vessel docks at the Municipal Pier, as does a training ship of the U. S. Naval Reserves.
Erie Harbor, situated within Presque Isle Bay, provides adequate depth and anchorage facilities for the largest of Great Lakes carriers. Harbor activities center largely east of the steamboat landing, though there is also bay traffic in the western section of the harbor.
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The PENNSYLVANIA R. R. GRAIN ELEVATOR, east of the Pier, is a mam- moth structure built in 1917 and added to in 1930. Of concrete and steel, it has a capacity of 2,600,000 bushels, and is equipped with modern machinery enabling the unloading of grain from vessels at the rate of 25,000 bushels an hour.
The LAKE FREIGHT WAREHOUSE, east of the grain elevator, is a package warehouse. This one-story concrete and steel structure, built in 1935, is 792 ft. long by 100 ft. wide. The warehouse and dock can handle simul- taneously two 600 ft. vessels and 48 railroad cars, with direct gangway connections.
Farther east, the PULP WOOD DOCK, serving the Hammermill Paper Co., receives 150,000 cords of pulp wood annually. Facilities for handling pulp wood for other firms are also available. The coal and ore docks are equipped with modern loading and unloading machinery. The coal dock handles 2,500,000 tons of bituminous and anthracite annually for Great Lake ports, both American and Canadian. The coal dumper has a capacity of 1,300 tons per hour.
The west end of the harbor possesses docking facilities for loading and unloading directly from car to boat. Here are one of the Erie Lighting Company's plants, several fish companies' headquarters, the Erie Sand & Gravel Co.'s dock, the chemical and saturating works of the H. F. Wat- son Mills, a pumping station of the Erie Water Works Dept., the State Fish Hatchery, and farther west, the Erie Yacht Club.
Tugs of the various fishing companies, located on both sides of State St. approaching the Steel Pier, bustle about the bay to and from the fish- ing grounds far out in the lake. The fish company docks are a jungle of drying nets and equipment.
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CITY TOUR 2 Northwest Erie; 7.2 miles
W. from Perry Square on W. 6th St.
20. The ERIE COUNTY COURTHOUSE, 130 W. 6th St., is a U-shaped classical structure of gray stone, rising two stories above a high base. The facades of the wings are identical. Each has a portico of six lofty, fluted Corinthian columns, supporting an entablature and low pediment. Across the open end of the U, a balustraded promenade connects the two porticoes at base height. The portico platforms are up six steps from the grade. The west wing was constructed in 1855, and the east wing in 1929 at which time the entire west wing was rebuilt to conform to the new east wing, which follows closely the classical pro- portions set down by the Italian architect-archaeologist, Vignola. The entire base is of sandstone, and the superstructure of cut cast stone, made in Syracuse, N. Y. Walter Monahan, of Erie, was the architect.
21. The ERIE COUNTY PRISON is to the rear of and connected with the courthouse. The grounds of the courthouse and prison are spacious and landscaped; lawns surround the buildings; and shrubbery plots occupy the corners of the grounds. Near the W. 6th St. sidewalk was erected the gallows on which Henry Francesco, the first person con- demned by judicial decree in Erie County, was hanged for the murder of his wife, in 1838. The tragedy was the result of a suicide pact in which the couple took poison. The wife died, but Francesco recovered and was found guilty of murder in the first degree. L. from W. 6th St. on Sassafras St.
22. The FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST SCIENTIST, 618 Sassafras St., was completed in May, 1922. The church is a dignified structure of cream-colored brick. The building, representing a modern adaptation of Greek architecture, has a high porch surmounting four fluted Ionic columns. The central passageway is through three doorways, opening on a large foyer with inlaid tile floor, and decorated with two hand- wrought bronze lighting fixtures. Adjoining the foyer are the Sunday School rooms and administration offices. At the end of the foyer, wide stairways, trimmed in walnut, lead to the main auditorium. The reader's desk, pews, and trimmings are of walnut. The auditorium seats 600.
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Retrace Sassafras St .; L. from Sassafras St. on W. 6th St.
23. The CHURCH OF THE COVENANT, W. 6th St. near Myrtle St., is a large imposing edifice of English perpendicular Gothic design. It is unusual in the contrast of its delicately detailed limestone trim against a background of granite ashlar. The front with its delicate porch is dominated by a huge recessed window with delicate tracery and flanked by tall and ornate buttresses. To the right of the facade is an unusually beautiful tall square tower connected to the main structure by an aisle extension of the narthex. The cruciform interior is impressive for its lofty scale and simplicity, for the exquisite window above the altar and for the fine wood beamed ceiling. Architecturally, this Presbyterian church is regarded as one of the outstanding edifices in the city.
The interior stone is a warm buff with a slight purple cast. The auditorium seats 1,100 and the chapel 150. The 4-story educational ell facing W. 7th St. accommodates 1,000 Sunday School students. Two organs and a number of pianos are in the building. The stained glass windows are by Connick and D'Ascenzo of Philadelphia. The building was designed by Corbusier and Foster, of Cleveland.
R. from W. 6th St. on Chestnut St.
24. The STATE FISH HATCHERY AND AQUARIUM, on the bay front under the bluff that follows the shores of Presque Isle Bay, is utilized to propagate fish for stocking Presque Isle Bay and Lake Erie with white fish, ciscoes, pike, perch, and bass. The output for the last three years has ranged from 130,000,000 to 300,000,000 fish a year. With- in the 2-story red brick structure are exhibits of plants, animals, and fish life common to Lake Erie, from salt water, and a few specimens from the swamps of southern United States.
Retrace Chestnut St .; R. from Chestnut St. on W. 6th St.
25. GRIDLEY PARK, at the corner of Liberty Blvd., was named for Capt. Charles Vernon Gridley, who commanded the Olympia, Adm. George Dewey's flagship in the battle of Manila Bay on May 1, 1898. "You may fire when ready, Gridley!" was the terse command given by Dewey to this Erie naval officer, who died of natural causes shortly thereafter. His body was returned to Erie for burial. The park consists of two city squares bisected by Liberty Blvd. and extending between Park Ave. N., and Park Ave. S. The two parks are landscaped, with grass, shrubbery and trees, and in the center of each is a concrete fountain.
The MONUMENT TO GRIDLEY, erected by the citizens of Erie in 1913, is a round granite shaft, 25 feet high, 30 inches in diameter at the base, and 26 inches at the top, set on a five-stepped pyramidal base of granite. A bronze plaque, designed by Max Bachman, is affixed to the east 'side
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CITY TOURS
of the base. Gridley Junior High School overlooks the park from Park Ave. N.
L. from Gridley Park on Liberty Blvd.
26. VILLA MARIE COLLEGE AND ACADEMY, 819-26 W. 8th St., adjoins old Villa Maria Academy, a part of the institution. The college, founded in 1925, is under the jurisdiction of the Most Reverend John Mark Gannon, Bishop of Erie, and was the first Catholic college for girls in the Erie diocese. It offers 4-year courses leading to degrees in arts and sciences, including home economics, music, secretarial train- ing, chemistry, physics, nursing, and journalism. It is equipped with laboratories, gymnasium, and natatorium. The dormitories and classrooms are in Gannon Hall, which also houses Our Lady's Chapel. This building is on the campus of the original Villa Maria Academy, founded in 1891, the property being the gift of Rev. Thomas A. Casey, who also endowed the school. The buildings and grounds are owned by the Sisters of the Order of St. Joseph, who comprise the faculty. The college is supported by tuition fees of students and contributions of friends. The academy, operated in conjunction with the college, is for classes in the elementary grades and 4-year high school courses.
Retrace Liberty Blvd .; L. from Liberty Blud. on Park Ave. N., R. from Park Ave. N., on Cascade St.
27. The SITE OF SHIPYARD WHERE THE NIAGARA WAS BUILT, is on Presque Isle Bay near 2d and Cascade Sts. Three of Com- modore Perry's ships, the Lawrence, Niagara, and Ariel, were built in the hastily constructed yards. These ships participated in the Battle of Lake Erie (see COUNTY TOUR 1).
Retrace Cascade St .; R. from Cascade St. on W. 8th St.
28. STRONG VINCENT HIGH SCHOOL, 1330 W. 8th St., occupies an 11-acre tract extending to W. 6th St. and lying between Weschler Ave. and Bridge St. Completed in 1930, it is Erie's finest school building. Lawns on all sides are terraced, and those at the rear slope to an athletic field. The slope is landscaped with shrubs and evergreens. The building, of Roman Doric design, has an auditorium seating 1,480. Meyers and Johnson, of Erie, were the architects. L. from W. 8th St. on Lincoln Ave.
29. The ZEM ZEM HOSPITAL, 1501 W. 9th St., is an institution for treatment of crippled children. It was established in 1927, by Zem Zem Temple, Ancient Arabic Order, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, con- tains 48 beds, and is open to all children between two and 12 years of age from the nine counties of northwestern Pennsylvania irrespective of race or creed. It is supported by bequests; since 1931 it has received aid from Erie County and the State.
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Retrace Lincoln Ave .; L. from Lincoln Ave. on Lake Shore Dr.
30. The ERIE YACHT CLUB, at the foot of Kahkwa Blvd., on the bay front, was organized in 1894. In addition to the clubhouse there is a pier with mooring facilities for motor yachts and sailboats. Yacht races are held annually, usually in July.
L. from Lake Shore Dr. on Kahkwa Blvd., R. from Kahkwa Blvd. on W. 6th St.
31. ST. JOSEPH'S HOME FOR CHILDREN, 1926 W. 6th St., is a 4-story brick structure with accommodations for 500 children. It was established in 1864, when Sisters of the Order of St. Joseph occupied a small frame building on E. 4th St., near St. Patrick's School. Later they moved to a house on E. 2d St., and in 1872 to a newer building on E. 3d St. On July 2, 1924, they moved to the present building which was built in 1922-23. The home is supported by the Erie Diocese of the Catholic Church, by appropriations from the Board of Commissioners of the 13 counties in the diocese, and by the Erie Community Chest. It is open to orphans of all creeds and races.
L. from W. 6th St. on Pittsburgh Ave. (City limits); L. from Pittsburgh Ave. on W. 12th St.
32. The HOUSING COMMUNITY, on W. 12th St., at Lincoln Ave., was erected in 1917-18 by the United States Government for World War industrial workers, in its first attempt to house people in the lower income brackets. It is a collection of 2-story, stuccoed houses. Often referred to as "Hollywood," it is a community covering two city blocks extending southward through 13th and 14th Sts. and one side of 15th St. The group, slightly romantic in design, is influenced by the early garden city developments in England.
33. The LORD MANUFACTURING COMPANY PLANT, (R), near the Greengarden Rd. intersection, is Erie's most modern industrial building. Constructed in 1937, it is a 2-story rectangular structure of common red brick and glass brick. Designed in broad horizontal lines it is entirely devoid of ornament. This plant manufactures rubber specialties. R. from W. 12th St. on Greengarden Rd.
34. The ERIE FORGE & STEEL COMPANY PLANT, a group of corrugated iron factory buildings, (L), lies between the Bessemer & Lake Erie R. R. and the New York Central R. R. and occupies an area of 1I acres. The company was founded in 1914. During the same year it absorbed the Erie Forge Co., which had been established in 1872. Pro- ducts are steel ingots, forgings, and castings. During the World War it produced armament for the Navy.
Retrace Greengarden Rd .; R. from Greengarden Rd. on W. 12th St.
35. The JARECKI MFG. CO. PLANT, (R), a group of 2-story brick factory buildings with glass roofs, opposite Weschler Ave. and
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CITY TOURS
extending 2 blocks on W. 12th St., one of Erie's most widely known manufacturing concerns, was established in 1852. Many of the buildings were used in wartime by the Brakeshoe Works, makers of Government munitions. The plant now produces pipe fittings, compressors, and oil, gas, and water well supplies.
36. The BUCYRUS-ERIE PLANT, NE cor. W. 12th and Cran- berry Sts., is a 3-story brick office building covered with ivy and adjoin- ing 2 and 3-story industrial buildings. Formerly it was the Erie Steam Shovel Co., but was merged with the Bucyrus Co., of Lorain, O., in 1928. Makers of power shovels, cranes, etc., it is called the world's greatest builder of excavating machinery.
37. The GRISWOLD MFG. CO. PLANT, (R), SE cor. W. 12th and Raspberry Sts., a compact group of industrial buildings, produces cooking utensils and household supplies. This plant was the scene, during the summer of 1937, of a prolonged labor strike resulting from the refusal of company officials to recognize the C.I.O. After weeks of negotiations in which city officials and police took an active part, employees went back to work. This was the first time in Erie's industrial history that labor made itself seriously felt in its demand for better working condi- tions and higher wages.
38. The BESSEMER & LAKE ERIE R. R. parallels W. 12th St. on the right. Originally known as the Pittsburgh, Shenango & Lake Erie R. R., the company was halted on its advance into the city at the telegraph office of Cascade, a point on the Nickel Plate Railroad at the western boundary of Erie. City officials, prompted by the Scott-Strong railroad interests occupying right of way along the lake front, refused to permit section crews of the Bessemer Company to enter the city on 12th St. The company called hundreds of section hands into service at midnight on a Saturday, and began laying tracks into Erie over Sunday, the law being that city officials were unable to make arrests on Sunday. Late Sunday night the Bessemer Company ran its first train to W. 12th and Sassafras Sts., where its passenger station now stands, thus laying claim to a franchise.
L. from W. 12th St. on Liberty Blvd.
39. The JEWISH TEMPLE, REFORMED CONGREGATION ANSHE CHESED, NW cor. W. 10th St. and Liberty Blvd., is a tan- colored brick building, one story high, of North Italian design. The main entrance on the Liberty Blvd. side consists of three massive panelled oak doors, with small arches over each and the whole contained in a large arch. Surmounting the middle door are the Tablets of the Law and above those is a semi-circular window lighting the balcony. The roof is of tile in soft shades of red and brown. The vestibule has a vaulted ceiling.
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Three panelled doors lead into the temple, which is an octagonal room 54 ft. across and 43 ft. high, seating 500. In the upper part of the walls are six pairs of stained glass memorial windows, each of which carries symbols of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. The activities house, reached through a lobby to W. 10th St., contains the memorial library, rabbi's office, educational rooms, and auditoriums.
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CITY TOUR 3 Northeast Erie 8.5 m.
E. from Perry Square on E. 6th St.
40. The PENNSYLVANIA NATIONAL GUARD ARMORY AND ARSENAL, NW cor. E. 6th and Parade Sts., is a 2-story, red brick building. The western half was built in 1920, and the eastern half in 1930, at a total cost of $150,000. It is the headquarters of the Wayne Rangers, a company of the Pennsylvania National Guard, composed of 20 officers and 325 enlisted men.
L. from E. 6th St. on Ash St.
41. The PENNSYLVANIA SOLDIERS' AND SAILORS' HOME, 560 E. 3d St. at the foot of Ash St., occupies a tract of 133 acres formerly known as Garrison Hill, overlooking Presque Isle Bay. The building is three stories high, of red brick. The central part of the main building was erected by the State prior to 1885 as a hospital for sick and disabled seamen in the Great Lakes service, but it was never so used and was un- occupied for many years. In 1885, the State made an appropriation for alterations and improvements. The hospital contains four wards with accommodations for 80 patients. It has a large reception room and a library containing 7,000 volumes. An average of 350 veterans reside in the home, the majority having served in the World War. Others are Spanish-American veterans, and a few served on the Mexican border in 1916-17. The home is governed by a board of trustees, appointed by the governor of Pennsylvania, and staffed by 50 persons.
The SITE OF FORT PRESQUE ISLE, erected by the French in 1753 at the mouth of Mill Creek, is on the grounds of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Home. The site was easily traceable by mounds and depressions until 1863.
42. The GEN. ANTHONY WAYNE MEMORIAL, a blockhouse on the site of Fort Presque Isle, is a reproduction of the one in which Wayne died. It is square at the base, with an overhanging octagonal second story, built of roughly finished logs. Portholes or windows are in each of the four lower and eight upper walls. It was built by the State in 1880 as a memorial to Wayne, who died here on Dec. 15, 1796 and
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was buried at the foot of the flagstaff of the former blockhouse on this site.
In 1809 his body was disinterred; the flesh was boiled from his bones and reinterred in the same grave. The bones were taken to Radnor, near Philadelphia, by his son, Col. Isaac Wayne, for interment. The kettle used for this task, and a chair from the blockhouse, are in the public museum at the Erie Public Library.
For a time the blockhouse was used as a barn. Sometime after 1812 the old structure burned to the ground. Dr. E. W. Germer, Erie health officer from 1872 to 1887, became interested in restoring the blockhouse, and was instrumental in locating Wayne's grave. When it was found the present blockhouse was built over the site in 1880.
Dr. Germer did much to make Erie a healthful place. He was Erie's first health officer, and in that capacity roamed the streets with an ax in his hand and fire in his eyes. Pigs and geese in old Erie were allowed to wander the streets at will until Germer halted the practice; and if his warnings to eliminate unsanitary outhouses and crude sewage gutters went unheeded, he put his ax to them. Dr. Germer was also the first president of the Pennsylvania State Board of Health, and he acquired a national reputation during a health convention in Washington, D. C., when he vigorously protested against the importing of rags from southern Mediterranean countries where Asiatic cholera was raging.
Retrace Ash St .; L. from Ash St. on E. 6th St .; L. from E. 6th St. on East Ave.
43. The LAKE VIEW HOSPITAL, 136 East Ave., a 2-story white frame building, is municipally owned and operated for the treatment of contagious diseases. It succeeded an old hospital established in 1904. In 1927 a new building was erected on the original grounds in front of the old building. It has 85 beds.
Retrace East Ave .; L. from East Ave. on E. 6th St .; L. from E. 6th St. on Dunn Blvd.
44. The OLD LAND LIGHTHOUSE, foot of Dunn Blvd. in Land Lighthouse Park and overlooking the entrance to Erie Harbor, was the first land lighthouse erected on the Great Lakes by the United States Government. It is a circular structure, about 18 feet in diameter at its base, and with a slightly smaller dimension at the top. Built of gray stone, it rises 70 feet from its water-table to the focal plane of the lens, and about 127 feet above the lake level. It was first erected in 1818, re- built in 1858, and again 1866, but was not used as a lighthouse after 1885. Retrace Dunn Blvd .; L. from Dunn Blvd. on E. 6th St.
45. The HAMMERMILL PAPER PLANT (open during office hours), lake front between Hess Ave. and Lakeside Cemetery, is inter-
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CITY TOURS
nationally known as the maker of Hammermill bond paper. The com- pany was founded in 1898 by Moritz Behrend and his sons, Ernst R. and Otto F. Behrend.
Hammermill pioneered in the manufacture of sulphite writing papers. Principal products at present are writing and printing papers. The plant has a floor space of 16 acres on a tract of 211 acres, and employs 1,400 persons. Most of its pulp wood comes from Canada, and its products are exported to all countries.
Erie was chosen as the site for two reasons. First, the lake furnished an unlimited supply of clear water, so necessary to the making of clean paper. Second, the Great Lakes offered economical transportation, thus making accessible enormous quantities of spruce wood from American and Canadian forests. Hammermill received its name in the following manner: three generations ago a site on one of the branches of the Whipper River in Pomerania, Germany, became known as "The Ham- mer," from a small blacksmith shop and trip-hammer forge. Years later a paper mill, built on the forge site by Moritz Behrend, took its name from the earlier industry, and was called "Hammermuhle." The mill founded at Erie was named for the parent mill, but was given the English spelling.
Only northern spruce is used in the manufacture of Hammermill papers. During the winter, crews of lumberjacks fell selected trees, cut them into four-foot lengths, and pile the logs on the ice of the rivers. During the spring thaw, the logs are floated down the rivers to the boats that carry them to Erie.
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