Ashtabula's gem

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Very attractive. I love the front yard with the Hallowe'en decorations; the only way to keep from descending into tackiness on that holiday is to go all-out, and they did!

Better than their downtown!

I grew up in Ashtabula County so it's nice to see these photos! That is a cool little area that kind of reminds me of the Flats in the way that it's laid out. The topography at the mouth of the Cuyahoga and Ashtabula rivers is very similar.

 

Better than their downtown!

 

This is certainly true. When I was growing up in the 80's it was not the case though. There actually used to be a good amount of retail activity in downtown Ashtabula. Then the mall was built, and well you know the story. Of course the horrible economy and lack of civic vision does not help things either. Unfortunately Ashtabula is in pretty bad shape these days.

 

FYI: Some old school residents from Ashtabula actually refer to the downtown area as Uptown. I think this is from back in the day when the town had streetcars, and the main route went from the Harbor district (what you see in these photos) and to Uptown (which is really the downtown). My grandparents and even my dad will refer to any downtown area as "uptown" because of that.

That downtown (or uptown) has so much potential.  But, ugh, those overhead lines!  Living in LA I forget about them till I get back to Ohio (or anywhere else outside of California, I guess) and I'm just so shocked everytime.  It's like I purposely foce them from my mind.  If I was a billionaire many times over, I would bury every overhead line in the state of Ohio.

These photos show some pretty interesting buildings and shops.  I think I'd really enjoy this area.  Thanks for sharing.

 

That downtown (or uptown) has so much potential.  But, ugh, those overhead lines!  Living in LA I forget about them till I get back to Ohio (or anywhere else outside of California, I guess) and I'm just so shocked everytime.  It's like I purposely foce them from my mind.  If I was a billionaire many times over, I would bury every overhead line in the state of Ohio.

 

I think it's so funny when people complain about overhead wires because I've grown up in Milwaukee where the city constantly tries to bury them and the neighborhood residents fight to keep them up.  We love our power lines up here.

 

EDIT: I just looked up Downtown Ashtabula and you're right.  Those are ugly.  I still think they look great in certain places though, like here: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Warren+Ave+and+Brady+St,+Milwaukee,+WI&sll=41.869561,-80.825729&sspn=0.28225,0.553436&gl=us&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=E+Brady+St+%26+N+Warren+Ave,+Milwaukee,+Wisconsin+53202&ll=43.052944,-87.894294&spn=0.008592,0.02547&t=h&z=16&layer=c&cbll=43.052944,-87.894403&panoid=C-cAbU2MnLoxKgpCKWkpkA&cbp=12,282.15,,0,-7.06

 

These power lines are absolutely cherished by the locals.

There used to be an amazing surf shop right there....Gil's Surf Shop.

 

Back in the 60's and 70's families from Pittsburgh and Youngstown used to vacation there. My friend Neal Luoma was the first surfer in Ohio, and he taught a lot of the tourists to surf. 

 

Back then Ashtabula and nearby Geneva on the Lake had a very cool surfing culture going on until the area became less of an attraction. The tourists stopped coming and gradually all of the other surfers there moved on to places like California, Florida and Australia for their sunnier skies and better waves.

 

But Neal is still there. He was always content calling Ohio his home. In fact, he has become something of a legend. And not just for us here along Lake Erie, Neal gets well deserved props from surfers all over the world.

 

Yeah, I remember Gil's growing up. I think it closed down in the late 90's.

 

Geneva-on-the-Lake still attracts a good amount of tourists and has actually improved in recent years. No surfers though, but lots of bikers.

I accidentally stumbled onto the Harbor District about 10 years ago during one of my unplanned drives to kill some time and explore.

 

Ashtabula is a city that seems to be have been put on hold since the 1970s. And considering what happened to the steel industry in the Mahoning Valley since, I'm not surprised! I used to travel up I-90 or sometimes US20 from Cleveland a couple of times each year from 1967-87 to visit a great aunt who lived east of Erie. I remember all the vibrant stores and businesses that were active along US20, a fair amount of traffic and many middle-class families. Today's many of the businesses are closed, the traffic is almost non-existent and the only people you see from Madison east to Erie anymore are either gray-haired or evidently poor. Very sad.

Let's not forget however the vineyards in the area are great.  I absolutely love the Harpersfield area, and the areas just south of Geneva.  Beautiful rolling hills. 

Wow...this thread brings back memories! I lived in Ashtabula 1973-1992 and know the harbor area well. We used to call it LA as a joke...Lower Ashtabula! Still have a daughter there.

I did not know people surfed in ohio.