Avon Isle Park Building Restoration Underway

In 1924, F.J. and Anna Roth purchased the grounds now known as the Avon Isle Park. The Roth's used this ground to build a dance pavilion in 1926.

Today, it is one of very few dance halls of that vintage still standing in Ohio. The building is in the first stage of a complete renovation.

The goal is to restore the building's original look while adding modern necessities like accessible restrooms.

"It is a beautiful structure," said Jack Smith, president of the Avon Historical Society. "To preserve it as is, is important from a historical aspect."

The building sits on land surrounded by French Creek and an irrigation channel that was dug in the 1850s to power a sawmill on an adjacent property, making it an actual island.

Rejuvenating Avon Isle

This past summer, restoration to the park began to move forward after it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. A $147,000 contract to repair the bridge was awarded to Engineered Concrete Structures Corp. This money was awarded by the state, and matched by local funds.

"They did a fine job on the bridge," said Smith. The new bridge is almost complete, except for the ramp leading up to the bridge needing repair.

Admittance to the restored building will not be possible until the bridge is recovered, as there is no way for the public to access the property. For the time being, trucks have had to enter along the west side of the park on a narrow bridge over French Creek.

"The new bridge has a sidewalk, but I would like to see it covered as a community project," said Smith.

The actual building will be renovated in two phases. Phase one consists of the outside "shell," of the building. The $475,460 bid for this project was awarded to Ross Builders Co. Inc., the lowest bidder.

Completion time for this part of the reconstruction was set at a Nov. 8 Avon City Council meeting for 110 days from the meeting.  Accounting for weekends and holidays puts the completion time in spring 2011.

Phase two of the project is at a standstill until 2011. In March, a round of grants will be available, and no plans to begin the interior work will be made until funds are secure. 

In Tuesday's City Council meeting, said plans are in place to access Avon Isle from the north. The city's land there has a 60-foot right-of-way access to Colorado Avenue, he said, and a second one-lane bridge to Avon Isle can easily be built there.

It would allow access to an area Jim Smith said used to be called "The Lick." He said it was "one of the prettiest areas" along French Creek, and would be ideal for walking paths and benches. Jim Smith said the city would pursue a grant from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources for that project.

Rich history

Avon Isle -- used as a fur-trading post by early French settlers in the area  -- was the site of dances, movies and fairs from the late 19th century until the 1960s, when more modern entertainment venues like multiplexes and malls sprang up.

The property passed through several owners before being bought by the city of Avon in 1997 for a sum of $285,000.

Avon Isle Park is one of the properties on the Avon Landmarks Register. A bronze plaque was presented by the Landmarks Preservation Commission to the City of Avon in 2005. Avon Isle was recognized in 2006 as one of seven historic sites and structures in Lorain County in a program initiated by the Lorain County Historical Society's Preservation Network and the Lorain County Commissioners, called the Historic Landmark Program.

After four years of data collection and work, the park was named to the National Register of Historic Places this year.

According to Smith, plans for a complete remodeling of the building would have hurt Avon Isle's chances of being named on the National Register of Historic Places.

"We wouldn't be on the National Register if we substantially changed the building," he said.

Melissa Hebert contributed to this report.