Not terribly different than Marion, Ohio with Elyria's courthouse.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With some work, the town could be okay!

It's been three or four years since I've been there, and it looks as though there are more downtown vacancies now than then. It's good to see that the courthouse restoration work has started; it was desperately needed. They discussed restoring the dome that was lost to fire long ago, but I don't know the status of that. Most Indiana counties are in rough shape financially, and Grant County is a long way from being the most prosperous.

 

My dad once said that the reason there were no big trees on the courthouse square was that they were all cut down as part of an effort to erase the memories of the 1930 Lynching. Marion was, and to some extent still is, a focal point for KKK activity. Although people try to suppress the history whenever it comes to light, some prominent families likely have Klan skeletons in their closets.

I could be off base, but it seems the further west you go, the less inspired these little towns become.  Looking at small towns from New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana, the levels of intricacy of design seems to decrease in that order. Indiana towns definitely look "midwest", while NY and Pennsylvania look more East coast, and Ohio seems to be a bit of a hybrid.

What is the building in the last three photos?  Too bad it has been left to go to ruin.  Otherwise, nice looking little town.

What is the building in the last three photos?  Too bad it has been left to go to ruin.  Otherwise, nice looking little town.

 

It's a former church. I've seen it but I can't remember what denomination it was; the architectural style is similar to what has been used by some Baptist congregations (not Southern) in the Midwest. You'd think someone would give a damn enough to keep the weeds and brush cut, and pull down the vines that are overgrowing it, but that's Marion.

 

There's a CVS next door, and they may already own it with future plans for expanding their parking.

 

The lovely cobra-head street lights, some on weathered wood poles, add to the downtown's charming ambience, and it looks like there's been a recent demolition next door to the tattoo parlor.

 

The fortunes of Marion and nearby Anderson have been strongly tied to the fortunes of GM, especially Delco and Fisher Body. Neither town was doing particularly well before the recent round of auto-industry troubles.

What the heck were you doing in Marion!? haha.  My mother is from there; my grandmother and most of that side of my family still reside in Marion and the surrounding area.  Even though I visit there a few times a year, it was still nostalgic looking throught these photos....thanks! :)

 

On a side note, one of the things that bothers me about downtown Marion is that ugly 6 story government building / jail on the southeast corner of the square....hideous!  On the bright side, Marion was fortunate during the last round of the GM factory closings.  The Marion stamping facility was up against the Mansfield stamping facility in Ohio (coincidently where my father worked)....needless to say, Mansfield wasn't so lucky but Marion was.  Also going for Marion is Indiana Wesleyan University, which as my grandma says, is the only thing keeping the town alive...

The court house does indeed look like the Lorain County Courthouse in Elyria.  Do you know if it was the same architect?

The court house does indeed look like the Lorain County Courthouse in Elyria.  Do you know if it was the same architect?

 

Yes...both were designed by Elijah E. Myers, the same architect of the Seneca County Courthouse in Tiffin and the State Capitols of Michigan, Texan, and Colorado.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elijah_E._Myers

Funny, I got a postcard from Indiana Wesleyen...I was wondering why it sounded familiar.