'Heart of Lorain' on display in new permanent Lorain Historical Society exhibit

LORAIN — Lorain's neighborhoods, people and cultures are permanently on display on the second floor of the Carnegie Center. Lorain Historical Society's latest addition, phase two of its permanent exhibits, focuses on the city's early days and its institutions including churches and schools that made the city home for tens of thousands of people. Kaitlyn Donaldson, curator and senior collections manager, said the exhibit has gained the nickname the "heart of Lorain," for its focus on the community aspect of the International City. "This is really getting into the heart of the people, the community, the neighborhoods," Donaldson said. "As well as some of the founding aspects of Lorain." Planning for the permanent exhibits started in 2017. Its first phase, focusing on the city's industrial roots in auto assembly, steel and shipbuilding, opened in 2019. Like the first phase, phase two was fabricated by Benchmark Craftsmen. The goal was to represent everyone in the city, Donaldson said, with memorabilia from the city's numerous high schools and churches mixed in with donated photographs and alongside a fabricated Lorain Palace Theatre marquee. The exhibit also includes some of the oldest parts of Lorain's history, including a portion of a wooden water pipe, now replaced by modern technology. Much of the collection on the Carnegie Center's first floor was incorporated into the permanent exhibit, or put into storage at the Moore House. The first floor will soon be home to temporary collections and exhibits, Donaldson said, with its first one in the spring focusing on the neighborhood grocers and corner markets. The exhibit is adaptable, Donaldson said, with display cases that will allow curators to change exhibit pieces out, and a photo wall that can be rearranged or changed to focus on different times or neighborhoods in the city's history. "This is kind of what we modeled it after, 'History is a foundation for strong fiber communities. A place becomes a community when wrapped in human memory,'" Donaldson said. "Lorainites have such a strong sense of place. (They) feel at home here, there's certain places that speak to them … so how do you document every single thing in Lorain that speaks to someone. That's very challenging. But we tried to have a little representation of what Lorain's community feels like." Phase I and II of the permanent exhibits on the second floor of the Carnegie Center cost about $300,000, Executive Director Barb Piscopo said. She, with Board President Roule thanked those who donated to help make the exhibit possible, including the American Croatian Club, Italian American Veterans Charities, Jesus of the Last Supper Charitable Lodge No. 136, The Norton Family Foundation and a host of individual donors and supporters. "It's been a few different phases of the capital campaign and this was certainly a significant one and one that we're extremely proud and happy to be able to close the books on," Roule said. "... Phase one was a celebration of the industry that built our town. … Phase two is a celebration of the people and the cultures that really have built this town." Thursday's event was a private evening for VIPs to experience the exhibit ahead of its grand opening on Saturday. The exhibit will be open to the public starting Saturday. Admission fees are waived through the end of the year. The Carnegie Center is open 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. It is at 329 W. 10th St., Lorain. For more information about the Lorain Historical Society, including to schedule group tours, visit lorainhistory.org or call (440) 245-2563. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.