Aerial View of Milan Road and Perkins Avenue from 1970

On May 18, 1970, photographer Thomas Root took this aerial picture of the intersection of Milan Road and Perkins Avenue. The Mr. Wiggs Food Mart was where Michael’s is now located, at 904 East Perkins Avenue. In the strip of stores just east of the Food Mart were a record store, a barber shop, beauty shop, Elaine Powers salon, the Medic Discount Center, the Top Value redemption center, and a laundromat. St. Stephens United Church of Christ can be seen just across the street from the shopping center, with its semi-circle drive in front of the church building. Lum’s Restaurant was at 2904 Milan Road, to the west of the Food Mart, where Little Caesar’s and Soba are now in business. The Sands Motel and Cocktail Lounge were across the street from Lum’s. The popular Ponderosa Steak House was at 2916 Milan Road, to the south of Lum’s Restaurant. Dan and Red’s Union 76 service station was at the southeast corner of Milan Road and Perkins Avenue, and a Sohio station was at the southwest corner of that intersection. To the north of the Food Mart was the Sandusky Monumental Company at 807 East Perkins Avenue. The Memorial Monumental Works, next door to the Sandusky Monumental Company, had an address of 2704 Milan Road. You can just barely see samples of tombstones on the lawns of both of the monument businesses.

In 1970 on Tuesdays after 4 p.m., you could buy a rib-eye steak dinner at Ponderosa Steak House for 99 cents.

This is an advertisement from Lum’s from the holiday season of 1970:

Visit the Sandusky Library to see decades of historical Sandusky city directories, which can help you to learn more about the past residents and businesses of Sandusky.