Fountain at the Foot of Columbus Avenue

A public fountain was at the foot of Columbus Avenue in downtown Sandusky in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, not far from the waterfront.  In the picture above, the Post, Lewis and Radcliffe building, which dates back to 1866, can be seen just to the east of the fountain. Ellie Damm wrote in her book Treasure by the Bay, (Bucknell University Press, 1989), that the square where the fountain was located was often filled with activity as people gathered to meet the trains and boats as they arrived in Sandusky.  

The photograph below was taken sometime before 1903. The steamer "Arrow" is at dock; the "R.B. Hayes" is approaching (or leaving) the dock; another unidentified steamship is visible in the background, heading out into the bay. A fruit stand is at the lower right of the image; a newsstand/cigar shop is next to the dock; the Sandusky Fish Co. is slightly visible at the extreme left of the image.

  

We know that this photograph was taken in either 1903 or 1904:

Just past the railroad tracks, to the northwest of the fountain, the building with the large balcony was the Terminal Inn. This business opened in 1903 and was destroyed by a massive fire on June 21, 1904. Today a modern fountain at the Schade-Mylander Plaza welcomes visitors to historic downtown Sandusky.