A Postcard Scene of Washington Row in the Late Nineteenth Century

            

In the collection of historical postcards at the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center is a postcard which features a view of East and West Washington Row in the late 1800s. In the close up view below, you can see two men looking toward the west down Washington Row from the doorway of Charles J. Krupp’s Funeral business in the Mahala Block:

The Sandusky City Business College, later known as the Sandusky Business College, was in operation in the middle of the Mahala Block.

On the left side of the picture, you can see the Kingsbury Block, at the northeast corner of Washington Row and Columbus Avenue.  At the northwest corner of Washington Row and Columbus Avenue was the Sloane House hotel. In the distance, you can see the former home of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel B.Caldwell, next to the Presbysterian Church, which is hidden by the trees. Horse and buggy was the normal mode of transportation at this time.

On November 18, 1909, a massive fire destroyed the Mahala Block, with losses estimated at approximately $250,000.