Published 08/16/12When we moved into our new space, we knew it had a lot of history, and the aged brick, rustic beams, and concrete floors certainly pointed to a past in manufacturing. But the specifics—you know, the who, what, and when that turn a house into a home and a building into a historic gem—eluded us. However, with a little history lesson from the owners and a quick Google search, we were able to come up with a near complete history.
Constructed in 1908-1909, 130 E. Chestnut originally housed the Throop-Martin Company, manufacturers of wholesale sash, doors, and glass. It was founded in part by John R. Gobey in 1904, who was profiled in the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s 1906 book,
Progressive Men of Northern Ohio, for his “instrumental organization” of the business.
“They were still doing business there when we purchased the building in 1988,” said Christine Snyder of
The Wittmann Company. “Their offices were on the first floor and manufacturing took place on the floors above.”
"When we purchased the building, there was a street—Lazelle Street—that ran between [the] building and the
Red Roof Inn building,” she continued. “Originally there were railroad tracks in the alley and Throop-Martin used to off load lumber from boxcars directly into the building. There was a loading dock in the back of the building. This dock area went to Locust Street which ran behind the
Flatiron Restaurant.”
“We had both Locust Street and Lazelle Street ‘vacated’ meaning we purchased them from the city and closed them off to through traffic,” Snyder continued. “Of interest also is the Flatiron Building which was built by H.A. Higgins in 1914. It was originally a saloon and grocery store serving primarily railroad and construction workers. The building is on the
National Register of Historic Places.”
For full-scale versions of the maps or to find historic maps of other locations, visit
Historic Map Works.
And for additional information about our new location—like where to park and how to get here—
click here.
