Thursday, December 27, 2018

A Late Christmas Gift - 1958 Euclid Christmas

All these Christmas advertisements are from December 1958.
Carolers art/Sam Dielle and Associates at General Furniture & Appliance Co, East 185th Street

Thursday, November 29, 2018

Giant Tiger 1968 Shoppers Gift Guide Euclid & Willoughby

Black Friday 2018 has come and gone, so take a break and live (or re-live) Giant Tiger's Christmas Shoppers Gift Guide from 1968 featuring clothes, toys, gifts, Christmas trees and more.

Pro-tip: Click the first image to be able to click through all full sized pages!


1968 Giant Tiger shoppers gift guide from 36225 Euclid Ave., Willoughby and 22801 Lakeshore Blvd., Euclid.

Wednesday, November 7, 2018

This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things: 1964 Edition

Citizens bitching about their community. It's our right as Americans to pitch a fit about whatever is rubbing us the wrong way at any given time.

Many years ago, there was a restaurant (where currently Sidewalk Cafe is situated) called Happy Charlie's, and their brand representative was a, err, character, with a bare midsection.

This elf, or Polynesian, as I've seen him described both ways, was just too much for some Euclidites.

Almost immediately after the restaurant opening, there was enough angry blowback that management had to PAINT A SHIRT ON HAPPY CHARLIE'S STOMACH.

Oh if that were the big problem to tackle in 2018.


In an article dated December 17 1964, Willoughby Ohio residents are warned that a Buddha belly may be coming their way, and to prepare to avert their delicate eyes, if necessary.

I'm unable to confirm if all Hell ended up breaking loose when 35901 Euclid avenue joined the ranks of operating Happy Charlie's restaurants in early 1965.

Gornik's Men's Store: Mini History in Euclid

I received a reader request about Gornik's Men's Store. Here's a little bit about it, in case you're curious, too.

Gornik's was founded around 1904 by John Gornik, who came from Yugoslavia. The first Gornik's was located at 6217 St. Clair Ave., Cleveland, Ohio 44103. The first mention I can find for John Gornik selling from this address is in 1923

This is 6217 St. Clair today:


Thursday, October 25, 2018

Frightening Friday: 1988/1998 Euclid Halloween Advertisements

Halloween is nearly here, and so while we get ready to run Euclid Boo again this year, please enjoy our last Frightening Friday for 2018!

1988: 

Oh Lantern pumpkins. They were foamy and had rather human faces. Creepy. 1988 Carlton Cards/Luv/Euclid Square Mall.

Friday, October 19, 2018

Frightening Friday: 1958 Euclid & Cleveland Halloween Advertisements

Summer is gone, and if you haven't picked out your costume yet, perhaps there's still time to find something spooky! To put you in the mood, here are 4 dreadful advertisements from Euclid and Cleveland from Halloween 1958. Enjoy, and if you can't be good be very, very bad.

 Gino's Pizza on Lakeshore Blvd, next to Euclid Beach, will have your Halloween pizza ready in 15 minutes, and with 25 cents off all Halloween weekend, 1958.

Thursday, October 11, 2018

Frightening Friday: 1968 Euclid Halloween Advertisements

Happy October! Part 2 of our monthly features some spine-tingly retro ads.

After the jump: Halloween 1968


Friday, October 5, 2018

Frightening Friday: 1978 Euclid Halloween Advertisements

Happy October! To celebrate the spookiest type of the year, I'll be DIGGING UP some ads to scare your nostalgic pants off. Enjoy, faithful bleeders... I mean, ahem, readers.

Today: Halloween 1978.

Kiwanis Hall of Horror at Euclid Square Mall

Thursday, August 2, 2018

Euclid Square Mall May Co. Ribbon Cutting 1971

Today, August 2, was the ribbon cutting ceremony at Euclid Square Mall's May Company in 1977.

Pictured left to right are J. Warren Harris, May Co. chairman; H. Gene Nau, May Co. president; Euclid Mayor, Tony J. Sustarsic.

Source: Cleveland State University. Michael Schwartz Library. Special Collections

Thursday, July 26, 2018

Harsh Winds, Hail Harken Back to 1993

power outages due to wind, July 26, 2018
Today Euclid and most of Cuyahoga and Geauga counties experienced some driving winds, rain, and hail. There are trees down in my neighborhood and half of East 260th has no power, but there are crews all over working to remedy that.

Tuesday, July 3, 2018

Happy Independence Day

Happy 4th of July, former and current Euclidites!

The Euclid police department doesn't want you to blow anything important off in the name of freedom this year, nor did they want to deal with your patriotic nonsense in 1938!


The jail has gotten larger in these last 80 years, but otherwise the more things change...

Be safe this 4th of July!

Thursday, May 31, 2018

Euclid (and an RTA) Buses of Yesteryear

No big post, just some a couple of photos of old buses. Enjoy!

 Blue and yellow city of Euclid bus

Friday, May 11, 2018

Abandoned Hillandale Bridge: Debunking the Myths & Uncovering the History

Huhnke, Christopher
Many people have had conversations about the "abandoned Hillandale bridge to nowhere" or the "abandoned Euclid bridge" and lots of people have made the short trek down there, either with or without spray paint in hand.

It's got many things going for it that make it a unique area. The bridge itself is large in scale and smacks of the era in which it was built. It is traversable without special equipment and is fairly safe if you're being careful. It's attained centenarian status.

The glacial cut ground doesn't look much different today than it did before the first white man went exploring. Money was poured into a bridge that was built to allow car traffic to a development that promised "high grade homes" that never, ever came into existence.


Wednesday, May 9, 2018

An Exploration in Hillandale Bridge and more!

Mr. P, an urban explorer, shared this breathtaking walkthrough at Hillandale park. The abandoned Hillandale bridge is truly just the beginning of some of the fascinating finds in this video.

Friday, March 16, 2018

25 High Quality Pictures from Chase Copper and Brass Productions in Euclid, Ohio Circa 1942

Because it's important to keep dirt and moisture from refrigeration tube, it is packaged in individual envelopes.

Thursday, March 1, 2018

25921 Euclid Ave: Mary's Style Shops, ColorTyme, TNT Fashions,

Read the opening of the Euclid-Richmond Shopping Center.

25921 Euclid Ave was one of the original units on the East end of the Euclid-Richmond Shopping Center.

In 1952, the plaza opened with Mary's Style Shops in this location.


Thursday, February 1, 2018

Inside Partially Demolished Euclid Square Mall


Here's a great video taken by Youtuber WallieB26 inside the mostly demolished Euclid Square Mall.

Thursday, January 11, 2018

Monday, January 8, 2018

30 Years Ago: Euclid Metal Band Destructor Bassist David Iannicca Slain

If you are at all into local music, or heavy metal, or both, you have probably heard of Euclid-based Destructor. Performing and producing on and off since 1983, they are still actively doing their thing, which is making music.

Destructor and the metal community were struck by tragedy on January 1, 1988, when celebrating the new year and a record deal, bassist 23-year-old David "Holocaust" Iannicca was stabbed to death.

Iannicca, far left, is pictured with Destructor in the mid 1980's
Iannicca grew up in Euclid and was the youngest of eight children. After Christmas Eve mass a week before his murder, Iannicca gave his girlfriend a diamond ring and asked her to be his wife.

Destructor signed the aforementioned deal with Island Records. The band and friends were ringing in the new year at their practice spot near East 200th street in Euclid. Not far away, Robert Bedzyk was drinking at a bar when he heard that band was having a party. He followed a group of people he knew to Destructor's practice hole where he eventually made himself annoying enough to the people around him that he was asked to leave.

Warehouse at 1410 Chardon Rd., Euclid
Bedzyk did leave but hung around the parking lot. Concerned that Bedzyk might do damage to cars parked, Iannicca went out and confronted Bedzyk. Bedzyk stabbed Iannicca with a 10" knife (5.5" blade) twice in the chest. The first stab to the heart was fatal.

Papers reported Bedzyk threw the knife in the bushes and attempted to flee. Police records state that a person showing up to a party witnessed a crowd of people gathered, and saw Bedzyk pushing his arm towards Iannicca, and Iannicca falling to the ground. This same witness said amongst the chaos he saw knife the in the middle of Chardon road, where said witness picked it up and tossed it into the bushes. All accounts state party-goers were able to tackle and subdue Bedzyk, holding him until Euclid police arrived. The witness alerted police to the where he had found the knife in the street, the knife's location in the bushes, and that he had put it there.

The same witness also stated that it appeared that the suspect, Bedzyk, was attempting to instigate a fight with the victim, Iannicca.

Iannicca's fiance said Bedzyk arrived around midnight, that nobody really knew him and he wasn't seen arguing with anyone or causing a problem, but she walked away from him after he'd made an attempt at picking her up. The stabbing occurred about 10 minutes later.

Iannicca died of his injuries later at Euclid hospital.

Band mates were among the pallbearers at Iannicca's funeral, and a procession of 87 cars made their way to the burial at Chardon's All Souls Cemetery.

Bedzyk had a tendency to lie to the police. He gave them a fictitious address, for one, and claimed he had the knife on his person to fix the carburetor on his car, despite having a car-full of mechanics tools.

Iannicca's family, friends, and band waited until July of 1988 for Bedzyk to be found guilty of murder. He was sentenced 15 years to life.

Destructor found it difficult to continue, and took a rather long break. The band got back together in 1999 though, and have been together since.

When Bedzyk came eligible for parole in 2009 and again in 2012, his family and bandmates came out hard and strong against it, with thousands of signatures being obtained in online petitions.

Robert Bedzyk

Bedzyk had a wife and 2-year-old child at home when he stabbed Iannicca. His son, who is now older than his father was when he stabbed Iannicca, wrote a letter to the Ohio parole board in 2009. He doesn't quote or even paraphrase his father, rather mentions that he knows "stories" about that night.

I know only of stories of this fateful night which took the life of David, because I was not present. I feel my father was misreprented (sic) in this case. The stories I was told about this night was that David's fiance was trying to make him (David) jealous by flirting with my father, he was then asked to leave and he was already in his car getting ready to leave and was pulled out of the car by David and his friends. He reached into his tackle box and grabbed the knife to defend himself.
-Anthony James Bedzyk


As of January 2018, Robert Bedzyk was still serving his sentence.

Bedzyk was granted parole as his December 2022 hearing, and has since been released. Thank you for the tip, Anonymous.


22691 Shore Center Dr: Bevy's Dry Cleaners and Cleanville

A quick then and now! 22691 Shore Center Dr., which as of January 2018 is home to nothing although the Cleanville signage remains.

Whoa that sign! Get it Bevy.

Ho hum.
That Bevy's advert is from 1959, OF COURSE because that sign! It had a double window drive-thru! 

It kills me the way they *always* board up the windows in these places, be it a tiny little storefront like this, or major department stores (old Safeway locations are always good examples) that are used for different stores later on.

AND there's probably still a great little ledge under that ugly outdoor paneled faux wood... maybe even a sign that still reads "BEVY'S"?

A girl can dream. If you are thinking of opening a cool retro dry cleaning joint, let me know and we'll tear down that shitty paneling together.

Friday, January 5, 2018

1946: Euclid: the Clean City, Home, Industries, and American Ideals

This charming, albeit heady sign graced St. Clair avenue. This photo is from 1946. I wonder how long this sign was up? It's awfully cool with that script "Euclid". Would look dope in my garage!


Euclid

The Clean City

Homes, Industries, and American Ideals

Thursday, January 4, 2018

Euclid Square Mall: Anchors Gone, Footprint of Mall continues to shrink

The anchor's of Euclid Square mall are going, going, almost gone.

May Co. - Kaufmann's - Outlets USA is completely gone.
Circa 2006
View from Babbitt Rd. Entrance

View from Babbitt Rd. Entrance

View from Babbitt Rd. Entrance

View from Babbitt Rd. Entrance

View from Babbitt Rd. Entrance

View from Babbitt Rd. Entrance

View from Babbitt Rd. Entrance
Higbee's - Dillard's - Dillard's outlet is nearly gone.
Also 2006

East 260th Entrance

East 260th Entrance

East 260th Entrance

East 260th Entrance

East 260th Entrance
The iconic 1970's Higbee's arches are gone, and I have to wonder what happened to the 2 gorgeous sculptures by Victor Pickett. Were they just scrapped? If so, what a waste.
1977 Victor Pickett sculpture

2006 Victor Pickett sculpture