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Historical Ada

It's a new school year - perhaps 110 schools ago

Posted by Fred Steiner on Monday, August 10, 2020

Today starts classes for the 2020-21 academic year at Ohio Northern University. Here's a colorized post card photo showing a much earlier student body. We're not certain of the year, but based on student dress, it feels like circa 1910.

And, it appears that bow ties are never really out of fashion.

The wording at the bottom of the photo reads: "An acre of students on Ohio Northern University, Ada, Ohio."

This photo is from the collection of the Ada Public Library.

 

 

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An Ada scene familiar to your great-grandparents

Posted by Fred Steiner on Monday, August 3, 2020

If you look closely you might be able to idenfiy the exact location of this photo. It's looking south on Ada's Main Street in a colorized post card from the beginning of an earlier century.

A couple thing to consider:
• Look at all those trees – they are somewhat mature, meaning that there was probably a planned planting 25 years earlier.

• We aren't able to determine if the street is paved or dirt. If paved, it is red bricks and would help identify a year.

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Let's have lunch at City Restaurant

Posted by Fred Steiner on Monday, July 27, 2020

Ada has a long history of Main Street restaurants. Here's one of those, and we invite Icon viewers to offer additional information.

Here is the inside of the City Restaurant on North Main Street, Ada. The photo is from the collection of the Ada Public Library. We lack a year, owner and address of this one-time Ada eating establishment.

Looks like a small scale on the front counter. Could that be for weighing candy that's in the showcases? The electric light fixtures can probably be dated to the 1920s. 

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Your grandparents watched movies here

Posted by Fred Steiner on Monday, July 20, 2020

When was the last time you watched a movie at the Odeon Theatre in Ada? It's probably been a very long time ago. Although was still open in 1950, we aren't certain of its closing date.

This movie theatre, located at 222 N. Main St., Ada, opened in 1914, as the town's first theatre. The first show was "The Girl at the Curtain."

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Liberty Bank in Ada at the turn of an early century

Posted by Fred Steiner on Monday, July 13, 2020

Here's a photo of Liberty Bank of Ada. The photo was taken sometime after 1902. It eventually merged with First National Bank and became Liberty National Bank. Here's a brief account of the two banks.

Liberty National Bank has a long Ada history. A new bank was organized and opened for business in Ada on Oct. 3, 1893. It was first chartered and organized as a state bank under Ohio laws and was known as the Ada Savings Bank.

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Once upon a time on Ada's Main Street

Posted by Fred Steiner on Monday, July 6, 2020

Here's one of those "once upon a time on Ada's Main Street photos." Wouldn't you like to walk into this store and just see the products available.

We welcome viewer comments on this early Ada drug store storefront photo. Two names are written in hard-to-read handwriting near the bottom of the photo. The left side reads "Ben Conner." The right side reads ---eyman Conner.

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