PHOTO COURTESY OF THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF OLD BROOKLYN

The Independent Order of Odd Fellows building at 3409 “Short” Broadview Rd. was built in 1913 and owned by the Odd Fellows until 1958. Since then, ownership has passed to several different entrepreneurs.  At the time that the South Brooklyn Commercial District was established with the National Register of Historic Places in 2005, Hoy’s Martial Arts was the tenant on the first floor. 

by Lynette Filips

     If one thing is certain about the Old Brooklyn Community Development Corporation’s (OBCDC’s) planned redevelopment project at the corner of Pearl Rd. and Memphis Ave., it’s that not everyone has the same opinion about what should be done there. And in watching interviews on the television news and reading subsequent comments on Facebook, it’s also obvious that the reasons those opposed to the project differ from each other.  Early in 2022, for instance, when the proposed redevelopment sought to tear down everything on the corner and build a low-income apartment complex with retail space on the first floor, there were mainly three categories of negative responses: some people didn’t want an apartment building, especially a very tall apartment building, in downtown Old Brooklyn; some people didn’t want low-income housing in downtown Old Brooklyn;  and/or some people didn’t want to sacrifice the historic district buildings for the redevelopment.

     While low-income housing is longer an issue, some folks are still carrying on with other objections. I personally will not stop trying to preserve the “South Brooklyn Commercial District” listing on the National Register of Historic Places until the wrecking ball and bulldozers arrive. Local ‘lost’ cemeteries author William G. Krejci will not stop asserting that there are still graves in the burial ground which was on that corner. Tenants who want to remain in their storefronts in the Greenline Building(s) will not go out of their way looking for new rental spaces. Former pastors and members of the congregation of St. Luke’s United Church of Christ will not stop being heartbroken that a significant portion of their former building is slated to be demolished.

     Since last month’s Plain Press article was published, Historical Society of Old Brooklyn (HSOB) president Constance (Connie) Ewazen was again interviewed by a local television station. This time it was by WEWS News 5; on Thursday, March 27th, reporter Remi Murrey separately interviewed both Connie and Ward 13 Councilman Kris Harsh about the redevelopment plans. Some who viewed the (edited) interview perceived that Connie’s major concern was having to find a new storefront in which to relocate the Museum, but that is not the case. Losing the historic buildings is Connie’s major concern, especially since she once owned three of the four buildings for which OBCDC has received demolition permits.

     Something else of significance has also happened since last month’s article. At my request, Cuyahoga County Archives researched the old house to the rear of 3430 Memphis Ave. I must admit to having had no interest in preserving that sad-looking, aluminum-sided, one-and-a-half story little place until Connie told me that the beams in the basement were hand-hewn logs and that she’d heard it had originally belonged to the first generation of the Gates family.  Hmm. The earliest (1820) known Gates home, the oldest house in Old Brooklyn, is the one built for miller Jeremiah Gates and his wife Phebe, nearby on the northwest corner of Memphis Ave. and W. 35th St.  But because 3430 Memphis (rear) is a residence, not a business, its history hadn’t been researched for the South Brooklyn Commercial District application.

     The Archives records don’t say exactly when the house was built. Local architectural historian and researcher Craig Bobby recently did preliminary research of the house and found information that suggested the house was likely built sometime between 1847 and 1857. He is hoping to have an answer by the next issue.  It seems quite probable that the house is the second oldest house in Old Brooklyn and should not be destroyed in the redevelopment project. I had written briefly about it in a previous article in this series; some readers may recall my writing about the paranormal activity which was taking place there in previous years.

     And speaking of after-death topics, OBCDC has posted the findings, which they believe to be correct, of the digging which they had done in the vicinity of the former burial ground. While the company they employed did not come upon any definitive human remains, they did acknowledge that they encountered three “anomalies” within the parameters of the area they surveyed. Anyone interested in more details about the findings can access it on Old Brooklyn’s website,www.oldbrooklyn.com, and then going to Memphis Pearl, and then to History. It’s the first topic that will come up.

     Now continuing our monthly tour of the buildings in the South Brooklyn Commercial District, the last stop in April was the bank building at the corner of Pearl Rd. and Broadview Rd. At that time, I stated that I would turn southeast on Broadview Rd. before finishing up the east side of Pearl Rd. south of Broadview Rd.

     But first I need to mention a substantial red brick structure west of Pearl Rd. at 3409 (“short”) Broadview Rd. It’s the IOOF (Independent Order of Odd Fellows) Glenn Lodge building, constructed in 1913 when the Lodge upgraded its former home which was directly on the corner of Pearl Rd. I mentioned their new place when I wrote about the Marshall Drug Company purchasing their old place at 4180 Pearl Rd. and constructing the glazed white terra cotta building which is still there today. I don’t know when the Odd Fellows moved out, but I do know that when a new group for Old Brooklyn seniors got started in the early Seventies, they met there. The hall was called Der Gros Dutchman and the Senior group was called Elder Lot. It was the original name of Senior Citizen Resources, Inc.

Here’s a list of the subsequent owners of the iconic IOOF building and the years the changes that occurred:1958 — to George and Carolyn Jinson; 1961 — to Sokol Gymnastics Union;1978 — to Jack Amburgey; 1991 — to Sandra Kostantaras; 2019 — to Yevgen Plylpiv, Jr. (aka, Gino Demarco), who hopes to convert the high-ceiling interior into to ten, mostly one-bedroom, loft apartments.

     There are five buildings within the boundaries of the South Brooklyn Commercial District on the northeast side of Broadview Rd. and all but one of them are considered “non-contributing” in terms of the historic district. The first one is at 3326 Broadview Rd.  At the time of the application, Constellation Community Schools was there. These days it’s the home of Young Achievers (childcare). Alvin Drug was in the building before that. The second one is at 3330 Broadview Rd.  At the time the application was filed, it was an Arby’s restaurant.  Today it’s a Guatemalan restaurant called El Rinconcito Chapin. The third one is at 3320 Broadview Rd.  It was and continues to be an auto repair garage.  The fourth one is at 3316 Broadview Rd. It was and still is a self-service car wash. The one contributing building on the same side of the street is at 3312 Broadview Rd. I’ll pick up with it next month.

     In the meantime, know that  you can read the past articles in this series online at the Historical Society of Old Brooklyn’s website, www.oldbrooklynhistory.org, or on the Plain Press’ website at https://plainpress.blog.