Toledo's Three Ls by Bruce Allen Kopytek

Author:Bruce Allen Kopytek
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing Inc.
Published: 2013-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

Lion Tales

Even during the war, the Lion Store sought to spread out beyond Downtown Toledo. Like many stores, the Lion Store took the first steps toward branch development tentatively, opening an appliance and home furnishings store in Bowling Green, Ohio, the seat of Wood County, located about twenty-four miles south of the main store. The branch opened in May 1944, clearly anticipating the pent-up demand for new home technologies that would inevitably occur after the end of World War II. Records have not survived, but the store must have been a success because it led to the opening, in 1945, of a companion store offering fashion apparel across the street in existing premises at 110 North Main Street.

Another development spreading the Lion Store’s influence across northwestern Ohio occurred in November 1950, when, after the rehabilitation of the former Bond Furniture store at 219 Front Street, a three-story branch was established in Fremont, Ohio. Roughly thirty-seven miles southeast of Toledo, Fremont was once home to the nineteenth U.S. president, Rutherford B. Hayes. The city, seat of Sandusky County, was characterized by a popular downtown-shopping district that seemed ideal for the development of a modern department store.

The existing building was equipped with a new storefront and upgraded mechanical facilities before opening its doors as the Lion Store on November 14, 1950, though a formal grand opening did not occur until twelve days later. On the date of the event, the store thanked the city for its “wonderful and heartwarming” welcome and took its place as a major retail force on Front Street, a fact that was reinforced by the two large signs—one on the new building canopy, and one overhanging the sidewalk vertically—that spelled out the store’s name.

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