FORMER FUNERAL HOME IS RAZED

Crew members take down aging building

A part of the city of Lorain’s history is gone.

On March 18, a crew from Baumann Enterprises razed the former Walter A. Frey Funeral Home, 700 W. Erie Ave.

“I think that although I don’t like to see old buildings knocked down, this one needed to be,” said John Muzik owner of Muzik’s Auto Care, 704 W. Erie Ave. “It was falling apart right in front of us.”

With just a few inches separating the former funeral home and the auto shop, Muzik said he was nervous about its demolition.

“It was nerve-racking,” he said. “There were trained professionals who took it down, but I think anyone would have been afraid.”

The city bought the property next to Muzik’s in 2019.

Although he’s not looking to expand his shop, he said he’s looking to make changes.

“I’m looking forward to updating the back of the building,” he said.

“I talked to the city and I want to put a mural in the back so there’s something good to look at,” Muzik

“I think that although I don’t like to see old buildings knocked down, this one needed to be. “It was falling apart right in front of us.” — John Muzik owner of Muzik’s Auto Care

said.

On March 12, Baumann workers used an excavator to tear down the house at 239 Washington Ave.

It was one of three houses, with 225 and 233 Washington Ave., formerly owned by Lorain funeral director Walter Frey that were included as part of a demolition project overseen by the city.

The home hosted generations of mourners from the Lorain area.

The building once was the home of George Wickens, the Lorain mayor who in 1894 and 1895, guided development of the steel mills that became part of the city’s 20th century industrial identity.

On Jan. 5, Lorain police officers and a building inspector entered the building to make sure there was no one inside.

They were accompanied by Mayor Jack Bradley and Amherst City Councilman Matt Nahorn, who also is a local historian.

They were looking for historic artifacts that might be preserved.

The house has sat empty for more than a year.

Based on the age of the building, its occupants added to it and renovated it over the years, Nahorn has said.

Bradley hopes the vacant land will become part of an area the city can market for future waterfront development.

PHOTOS BY LYRIC AQUINO — THE MORNING JOURNAL A crane moves the rubble of the former Frey Funeral Home in Lorain during its demolition on March 18.

Muzik’s Auto Care sits just inches away from the former Frey Funeral Home during the demolition of the building on March 18.