Audio tour The 1924 Lorain Tornado Tour

This downtown Lorain walking and driving tour was created by the Lorain Historical Society in 2024 to commemorate the centennial of the 1924 Lorain tornado. Through a collection of historical stops, viewers can walk through the history of this fateful event that once changed the lives of many in the city. This tour guide is divided into two sections for your best possible experience; a walking route with stops 1-16, followed by a driving route with stops 17-24.  

While touring, please click on individual photos for details and caption.

Now while walking along this tour and learning some of the fascinating catastrophes that took place, imagine what your experience might have been like had you lived in 1924 Lorain.

Below is a passage by Jack Broz in part III, "Lorain, Ohio ~ June 28, 1924," of his series on the history of St. Joseph Hospital:

"It is 4 o'clock in the afternoon of Saturday, June 28, 1924. Since noon the sky to the west has been growing darker and darker. It's hot and sultry so despite the occasional rain and threatening skies hundreds of bathers are at Lakeview trying to escape the heat. Broadway is practically deserted except for the State Theatre where 200 people are avoiding the heat by watching a musical review. 

At St. Joseph Hospital things are quiet. The Sisters and nurses go about their duties. In surgery Sister Monica can relax a little as several of Lorain surgeons are attending a conference in Europe.

About 5 o'clock in the kitchen of her "F" Street home, Grace James realizes that she needs a few items from the grocery to finish dinner. Four months pregnant and not wishing to walk the block to the grocer, she asks her nine year old son Earl to go. She tells him to hurry as there is thunder now, and it looks like the storm will reach the east side soon. Barefoot, Earl dashes off. 

At Lakeview the rain is coming down very hard now, as hundreds of bathers jam the bathhouse to escape the pelting rain, "Looks like a real bad one," crosses the thoughts of many, but none suspect what is to come. 

Sundown is to be at 8:30 p.m. but at 5:11 p.m., it looks as if it is already nighttime. Darker and darker grow the clouds as the storm intensifies, until 5:14 p.m. when the funnel cloud drops from the clouds, and 100 mile an hour wind slams into the city. 

The tornado moves down Broadway smashing everything in its path as it heads south towards St. Joseph Hospital. About a block from the hospital, the twister turns west and heads northwest crushing houses and destroying everything in its path towards the lake. The two funnels collide and form one which crumbles the bathhouse, trapping hundreds in the rubble before heading east along the shore line. Once across the river, it turns south again and hits Colorado Avenue before lifting back into the clouds. 

The whole event has taken about five minutes and the city is in ruins. Eight people lie dead in the ruins of the Lakeview bathhouse. The State Theatre has collapsed and fifteen bodies wait to be recovered. All total at least seventy people have died and six hundred are seriously injured. Five hundred homes are destroyed with 1.000 damaged along with churches, schools, and other buildings. Property damage is estimated at $35,000,000. At the east side grocery store, little Earl James has heard the thunder and winds but as he walks outside with the groceries he is not prepared for what he sees. Broken glass is everywhere. Even though he is barefoot, he thinks he should go home, leaving bloody footprints on the sidewalk. He will be laid up for several days unable to walk until the cuts heal."

Provided below is a link to access our website, digital archive, and other resources. We hope to see you at the Carnegie Center soon!

https://hub.catalogit.app/lorain-historical-society

This project was made possible through the help of our amazing project partners: Lorain County Bicentennial, The Morning Journal, FireFish, Lorain Port and Finance Authority, SQP Print Center, The Black River Stamp Club, Lorain Public Library System, Main Street Lorain, Lorain County Metro Parks, and The City of Lorain.