Plain Press, May 1996, Vol. 23, No. 5Lorain Avenue Antique district continues to grow
by Haji Murray
The large antique district on Lorain Avenue on the Near West Side of Cleveland is like a mystery book waiting to be opened by residents of Cuyahoga County. The history and mystery of that awaits in these shops on Lorain Avenue can be unraveled by anyone with a taste for antiques and a little extra time on their hand.
Martha Perrine of the Detroit Shoreway Community Development organization and Kathleen Benco, president of the Antiques on Lorain Avenue Association, are working together towards a common goal of letting everyone in on Lorain Avenue's all too well kept secrets.
One of the ways which Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization (DSCDO) attempts to improve the neighborhoods it serves is to help create and aid neighborhood groups working to improve the Detroit Shoreway area. Antiques on Lorain Avenue is one such group.
"It (Antiques on Lorain Avenue) took something that existed before without much structure and made it more cohesive and effective," Perrine said when she defined the Association's main purpose, which is to allow the antique or antique related merchants along Lorain Ave to advertise as a group.
Perrine said the Association was formed with funding that was provided by a neighborhood development allocation or city money. Since its formation in 1991, the Association has grown from five to its current 33 members.
"The antique dealers have organized from time to time, but this is the first time it has been this successful," Benco said.
Perrine listed several techniques the Association has used to promote itself, methods that have included banners along Lorain Ave and information packed brochures. The latest brochure features the Lorain-Carnegie bridge, to represent the Association's theme of "Your Bridge Through Time." Benco said future plans for advertising include commercials on local cable along with the continued use of street banners and brochures.
Despite the growing success of the Association's advertising efforts, its president believes there is still something missing.
"One thing Lorain Ave. needs desperately is a good restaurant. People who come to shop often spend all day in and out of the shops in this area. At some point in their day they get hungry, but there isn't a place for them to eat. We don't want them to leave the area because they may not come back."
Benco also listed increased parking as something Lorain Ave. is in need of. In addition to self-promotion, the Association has occasionally gotten involved in projects that directly help their surrounding community.
Benco said several years ago the Association received City Works funds to plant 11 trees along Lorain Avenue contingent on their volunteering to care for them.
On their own the Association expanded the project by soliciting the aid of local businesses to fund 30 additional trees.
Benco said members of the association attend monthly meetings in fellow members' shops. They pay monthly dues of $10, which go primarily toward advertising. To join the group, a business has to offer antique related services along Lorain Ave., such as selling antiques, appraising them, or restoring them.
Terry Mozena, a member of the Association, believes Antiques on Lorain Avenue has had a dramatic affect on the antique related businesses along Lorain Ave.
"People come here now and are wowed by what they find. Now they call us Antique Row."
Anyone wishing to learn more about the Antiques on Lorain Avenue Association can contact Benco at 281-4432.