'That was a little slice of Polish-American culture:' Lorain's long-vacant United Polish Club razed

LORAIN — After generations of weddings, Christmas parties and steak fries, demolition started on the once-bustling United Polish Club. Established in 1913 and running through the early 2000s, the United Polish Club was one of several Polish ethnic clubs in Lorain, said Stephen Bansek, former Lorain clerk of courts and lifetime member. But after declining membership and mounting bills, the club shuttered about 15 years ago and the building was forfeited to the state in 2018. "Every time I drove by it upset me," Bansek said. "That was a very active Polish Club in the community, in the church and in many, many different ways." On Tuesday, the claw of an excavator raked through the yellow and tan brickwork, exposing what was once a kitchen, bar and dance hall. Mayor Jack Bradley said the demolition was a long time coming — the property originally was added to the city's demolition list in 2018 but was waylaid due to costs. In 2019, Shalicia Gilbert purchased the property; then sold it to Ecclesiastes Hall in 2021 for $5,000. Hall applied for a stay of demolition and came to Demolition Board of Appeals meetings with plans to see the site turned into a recreation center. Despite Hall's plans for the hulking space, delinquent taxes continued to grow and the property remained in disrepair. Hall died in May, according to an online obituary. It would have been a massive undertaking to rehabilitate the building, Bradley said, as parts of the gym roof were starting to cave in, and fires had been set in the space. According to the Lorain County Auditor's website, $22,251 is owed in back taxes and assessments. Bradley said the County Commissioners approved about $130,000 for the demolition through the county land bank. Lorain Chief Building Official Dave Faciana said the West 17th Street and Long Avenue site eventually will go into foreclosure, with the city acquiring the property. Bradley hoped the space could piggyback off the renovations at nearby Pulaski Park once it was available for development. "I think that this is going to open up this area to really improve," he said. Councilwoman Victoria Kempton, D-2nd Ward, said Ward 2 has been called the heart of the city and she hated to see another empty lot for her residents to bear. She said she doesn't want the lot to attract abandoned cars or other nuisances, just like the empty building had attracted vandals and squatters. "I believe we can do better," she said. "We can, and must, build something worthy of our residents." Like Bansek, Bradley remembered the good years for the club, the place it held in the community alongside the Polish American Veterans and the Polish American Citizens Club. UPC was the last of the group to close, Bansek said. "At one time this building was fantastic," Bradley said. "But once the Polish Club vacated, it just deteriorated throughout the years." Bansek remembered Father's Day at UPC, which started every year with a parade to the 10 a.m. Mass at nearby Nativity Church. The group wound its way through the Italian and Polish immigrant neighborhood, escorted by a band and the PLAV Ladies Drill Team. After Mass, the 100-strong group reversed course and went back to the club for drinks and dancing. Bansek officially joined in the early 1960s, but he had spent his childhood going to the club with his grandparents, who immigrated from Poland decades prior. Bansek taught himself to read, write and speak Polish to a degree — at his grandparents' behest — and was an interpreter for the city's Polish immigrants when they came to court. Bansek's son, Stephen W. Bansek, later became president of the UPC. Bansek remembered football games between the Italian and Polish clubs at Pavlak Park, the loser buying dinner and refreshments at their club. UPC sponsored athletic teams in the city, including Little League teams. At one time, the UPC and other Polish clubs hosted dignitaries from Poland who were visiting the Lorain County Community Foundation, Bansek said. They gave Bansek and his wife, Lollie, traditional, handmade costumes for their efforts. "But I miss the camaraderie and the people," he said. Long before Lorain Port Authority Executive Director Tom Brown spearheaded the development arm of the city, he dated a Polish girl who took him to his first polka dance at the UPC. Two years later, the pair had their wedding reception there on Aug. 8, 1992, the hall filled with balloons and flowers from Off-Broadway Florists. "It's a sad day," Brown said. "That was a little slice of Polish-American culture." He remembered his culture shock watching his in-laws polka across the dance floor in a beautiful club filled with people. It held Halloween parties, raffles and drawings for members — and many a Lorain Firefighters' New Year's Eve Party. He compared it to the Eagles Building on Broadway, which boasted about 3,500 members in its heyday. Now, the building is long vacant and spent time on the demolition list before a stay from the wrecking ball last year. "I think it's a sad day in history that some of the buildings are still there, the memories remain, but the clubs are all gone," Brown said. He said part of the decline was the younger generations not joining or carrying on the traditions and fundraisers as the older buildings are expensive to maintain. He remembered when he was with the fire department and a fire broke out in the then-vacant club. Inside the once well-maintained space was graffiti, smashed display cases and a trashed bar. "Things change, obviously time moves on, but you could walk in there on a Monday night for the (membership drawing) and you talked to 10 different people and you were just there to have a couple beers … or you go there for a polka dance and everybody's always so friendly. … It just comes to the point where it would take such an enormous amount of money (to rehab). You have to have an end use or you lose these little pieces of your history." Bansek would agree the city lost a piece of its cultural history on Tuesday. He said he would hate to say there may never be ethnic clubs again in the International City, but he recognized the difficulty behind keeping them afloat as younger generations have increased expenses and less time to offer their civic institutions. Lorain Historical Society Senior Collections Manager Kaitlyn Donaldson said a time capsule was removed from the building's datestone, where "UPC 1913-1950" was carved. The items included a copy of the United Polish Club's constitution from its original organization on Oct. 2, 1913, and an agenda for a cornerstone program from April 22, 1951. The program at UCP, according to the agenda, was after a Mass at Nativity Church recognizing the club's living and deceased members. Crews from Cleveland Demolition will clear the property over the next few days, foreman Keith Ford said. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.