Lorain Station Historic District

Lorain Station Historic District is a stretch of Lorain Avenue in Cleveland, between West 90th Street and West Boulevard, lined with 55 contributing buildings from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its character comes from the streetcar line that shaped the street, producing many two- and three-story buildings with shops on the ground floor and apartments above. Typical features include projecting bay windows, pent tile roofs, balconies and decorative brickwork. The oldest surviving building, at 9731 Lorain, is a wood frame dwelling with a false commercial front, dating from about 1885. Other notable buildings include a Queen Anne-inspired stone building of 1896 built by stonecutter John Howland, Classical Revival bank buildings, a former movie theater and a 1911 fire station now used as a restaurant. Interstate 90 lies to the north and east, and St. Ignatius Church marks the west side. The street was valued for its relative intactness, since much of the surrounding Lorain Avenue frontage has been lost to freeway construction and parking lots.