The DiVine District: Divine from the Start

    At the mention of Vine Street, many people become nostalgic about changes that have taken place there: the buildings that were lost, and the resulting “holes” in the streetscape. In the eyes of many, Vine Street had become nothing more than a ribbon of concrete that brought commuters from the Lakeland Freeway to downtown Willoughby and beyond.

    Yet recently a change has taken place. Due to the efforts of like-minded artisans, the DiVine District, an area of Vine between Erie and Skiff, was created to transform Vine Street into Willoughby’s arts and cultural district. In addition to artwork and new boutiques, the area displays a collection of architecture that tells the story of an earlier transformation: one from sprawling farms, owned by some of Willoughby’s first settlers, to the small shops and tidy homes of Irish and Italian immigrants. So how did this happen? Well, some might say Vine Street was divine almost from the beginning.

    In 1848, when Ohio had been a state for little more than fifty years, plans were announced to build a railway from Cleveland to Ashtabula. Irish immigrants rightfully saw this as an opportunity for employment and moved to the area to work felling trees and laying track.

    Once the railroad was in operation, most moved on to find new work, but some fell in love with the area and chose to stay. Conditions, however, were far from ideal. With low wages and little housing available, many were forced to live in shanties along the prosperous railroad they had helped to build.

    Vine Street, at that time, was basically a tree-lined dirt road surrounded by large farms such as the St. John-Andrews estate, which ran from Erie Street west along the south side of Vine. With its splendid mansion, fields and outbuildings, it stood in stark contrast to a row of five identical brick homes John Hill, an immigrant himself, constructed across the road.

    Hill lived in the first of the houses, conveniently located just behind his general store, which sat on the northwest corner of Erie and Vine. Catholic immigrants, who had no church to worship in, gathered at Hill’s house to attend mass said by a priest from St. Mary’s in Painesville. But that changed as the congregation grew.

    Following the Civil War, Willoughby became an official parish and property was purchased on the southwest corner of Vine and Fourth Street, which eventually was rededicated, appropriately enough, as Church Street. Later that year, construction began on a small frame church called Immaculate Conception. The first mass was celebrated on New Year’s Day, 1870.

    At about the same time, a second railroad came to town, and a new wave of Irish and Italian immigrants arrived. They also settled on Vine, which put them close to church and the factories, mills, and warehouses located between Vine, Erie, Depot and Church Streets.

    One of the largest employers was John W. Penfield. He owned the American Clay Machinery Company, at the foot of Erie Street hill, and a foundry and brickyard tucked next to the tracks just north of Vine. Penfield Brick was used in most of the fine buildings in Willoughby.

    In 1927, a new Immaculate Conception was built on Euclid Avenue. Shortly thereafter the rectory, which sat next to the church, was moved to the corner of Sharpe and Lyons. And the little frame church? No one seems to remember exactly when, or how, it disappeared.

    As cars took prominence over our lives, Vine Street was widened. Trees were removed, bricks were covered by asphalt, and the sense of a tight-knit, walking community of immigrants faded away. Heritage that contributed so much to the growth of Willoughby was largely forgotten. The DiVine District may prove to be the catalyst for renewed growth on Vine Street, with an opportunity to preserve its history and sense of place.