022-A Downtown Ravenna.jpg

Downtown Ravenna

Postmark 1909

 

View of Main Street looking east-northeast from the Etna house. The street is unpaved. The flagpole is in its original location, and there is a horse trough surrounded by rails in the street. Buildings on the left are the Phenix Block, followed by Reed's Block, which says "Beatty's" on the side, and the two-story Pitkin Block. On the right is Riddle Block #1. Fairchild & Sons, at the far end of the Phenix Block, was a furniture store and undertaker's parlor.

 

The Phenix Block, completed in 1853-54, consists of eight sections, and spans the north side of East Main Street between Hickory Way and Chestnut Street. Originally intended as a comparatively modest renovation project, plans were changed when an 1853 fire left a large gap among the earlier buildings, and the owners decided to rebuild the entire block. The name "Phenix" was chosen, with unusual spelling, because the block arose from the ashes of the fire; this, of course, is the origin of a number of downtown buildings not so poetically named.

 

Originally, all eight buildings in the block had the same appearance. At some point, the height of section #1, nearest to the viewer, was increased, and the front remodeled. Still later, all but the first two floors of that section were removed, so that it is now the shortest of the buildings. From 1865 to 1971, this building housed the Second National Bank. It also housed the Masonic Lodge until the 1930s, when the Masons moved to a new building on North Walnut Street, on land that had earlier been provided by Charles Merts.

 

The rest of the Phenix Block presents a symmetrical appearance centered on section #5, which houses the International Order of Odd Fellows on its top floor. This section, which has been occupied by the Odd Fellows since 1854, was remodeled in 1875; at about this time it was given its distinctive pressed metal front. The date "1846" on that front denotes the origination of the Odd Fellows chapter in Ravenna, not the date of the building.

 

For many years in the 20th Century, the easternmost sections of the Phenix Block were occupied by Montigney Hardware and Clark's (later John's) Pharmacy, with Nichols 5 & 10 on the ground floor of section #5. Tenants to the west included McGraw and Eckler, The City Loan, and Miller-Jones Shoes.

 

By 2011, the buildings were largely vacant. Coleman Professional Services acquired five of the eight sections at that time; they now provide low income housing for residents with mental health needs.

 

Sources:

RR

PCHS

GFR

 

Flagpole:

In 1888, a wooden flagstaff, in two pieces, was placed in front of the courthouse. It was destroyed by a tornado in 1885, and the current flagpole was constructed in 1893. That flagpole, consisting of a 100' steel-lattice tower topped by a 50' flagstaff, is the tallest structure in Ravenna.

 

Originally the flagpole stood in the street, but it was moved to its current location in 1923, as it was interfering with automobile traffic. It barely avoided demolition in 2012, but was instead refurbished thanks to contributions made to the preservation group Friends of the Flagpole, spearheaded by the late Jack W. Schafer.

 

Source:"The Ravenna Flag Pole," at ravennaoh.gov.

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