Schoepfle Garden home to be removed

The Lorain County Metro Parks approved Sept. 20 to demolish the Angelo house in Schoepfle Garden this fall.

The home is located behind the Children’s Garden at 11106 Market St. in Birmingham.

Jim Ziemnik, director/ secretary of the Lorain County Metro Parks, said the house is only over 30 years old, but has become a safety hazard to the garden and its guests.

Ziemnik said the original owners of the home, the Angelo family, donated the residence to the Metro Parks.

Metro Parks employees have rented the home, but it has become difficult to keep up because of its poor construction, he said.

“If we get rid of the house instead of pumping funds into (numerous projects), now this cleans the slate that can give us the opportunity to build something that’s more compatible with the Children’s Garden and the rest of the garden,” Ziemnik said.

He said there was a vision to take the house and convert it to a visitor or activity center for children before he became director in 2005, but it did come through due to financial reasons.

After demolition takes place, the Metro Parks is interested in creating something like a meeting space that would benefit children and adult groups, as well as all

“This gives us the opportunity to build something for everyone, and it would be much closer than going to the other side of the garden to the existing visitor center.”

— Jim Ziemnik, director/secretary of the Lorain County Metro Parks

guests who visit the garden.

“This gives us the opportunity to build something for everyone, and it would be much closer than going to the other side of the garden to the existing visitor center,” Ziemnik said. “We need something that is more children and familyfriendly, and appropriate to the whole garden.”

The Metro Parks would set potential plans for the site in the 2019-2020 year, he said.

The Schoepfle Garden was created by Otto B. Schoepfle in the late 1930s.

Schoepfle turned the property into the 70-acre garden.

The property has been a part of the Metro Parks since 1969.