In Cleveland,
on the tip of the peninsula known as Whiskey Island, lies a lakefront
landmark, and the abandoned Ohio Coast Guard Station #219. The Station,
which sits on the mouth of the Cuyahoga River opened for business in 1940.
It was an outpost for typical search-and-rescue and law-enforcement activities.
The building casts the traditional components of a lighthouse-the tower,
the boat facilities, all in a art-deco mold. The station went vacant in
1972, when Coast Guard operations moved to the East 9th street pier. According
to Coast Guard officials, they moved operations for three reasons: poor
access to the island, no connection to municipal sewage treatment facilities,
and the fact that water lines ran through exposed pipes along the side
of the pier. If they turned the water off in the winter, the pipes would
freeze.
Twelve
years later, in 1984, the empty building went up for auction. The winning
bid was for 400,000 by a real estate re-development company, Jacobs Investments.
Jacobs initially re-tooled and renovated the station as a restaurant and
nightclub. Since the station sits at the end of a federally owned pier
and on the tip of privately owned land, customers arrived at the club
by water taxi. The remoteness was part of its charm, but also its downfall.
It was removed from the foot traffic and excitement of the other clubs,
and not enough people were willing to take the ferry trip. The water and
sewer issues also remained unsolved. The Island, as the club was called,
close after just one season. Since then the place has taken a turn for
the worst. The buildings roof has caved in, windows are broken out, swallows
fly through and so does snow, rain, and everything else that the Cleveland
lakeshore has to offer. There are talks of making the station into a park-related
facility, but as of right now it still just sits there, beautifully decayed.
In
August of 2003 we made the trip to Whiskey Island, after a few wrong turns
(Whiskey Island can be confusing) we were able to spot the abandoned station
from afar. We had to park our car by a public area and find a path that
would lead us there. It was quite simple, there was a path that went right
next to the river and it took us straight to the chained fence guarding
the entrance to the station. The chain was not on the fence very tight,
and we were able to push the gate open a little and squeeze through the
opening. The station was completely visible from the gate and after a
short walk on the pier we were right where we wanted to be. The building
was in great despair. It was very dangerous to even consider going to
the second floor. There were many caved in rooms, junk and debris scattered
everywhere, bird droppings, bugs, everything you can imagine being inside
a building right on a river left to rot. We walked around casually for
about 40 minutes taking photographs. On the walk back, after we had squeezed
through fence again, a steady stream of boaters started coming down the
river. One boat that came along was a police boat and they didn't even
seem to notice us or maybe they just didn't care. On another note, the
station has a wonderful view of downtown Cleveland, probably one of the
best.
