Moonlight on Beautiful Vermilion Lagoons [circa 1932]
UNVEILED July 9, 2020
SPONSORS Vermilion Lagoons Ladies Club
SITE 681 Main Street, Swan Creek Candle, south wall
ARTIST Mike Sekletar
About sixty acres of broad beach and marshland fronted Lake Erie, adjoining the picturesque and navigable Vermilion River. In 1928 this area attracted Louis A. Wells, a Cleveland contractor, who bought the land. He envisioned a community of summer homes, each fronting on the water, most with dockage at the doorstep.
Although it was the time of the Great Depression, Mr. Wells was determined to keep his workers and equipment busy, so the marshland was dredged and four lagoons were cut eastward from the Vermilion River. By 1931 the beach house and the first home had been built. Although envisioned as a unique community of summer homes, the first year-round residents, moved into their new home in April of 1937. During the 1950s most of the residents of the Vermilion Lagoons lived there full time.
Today, this unique waterfront neighborhood has over 160 lots, each home in the charming Cape Cod-style, white houses with black or green roofs and shutters.
The Vermilion Lagoons Ladies Club (VLLC) selected this delightful view, which captures the peaceful, romantic aura of the Lagoons at night and the reflections of the boats and homes in the moonlit water. The original postcard was from a resident of The Vermilion Lagoons, Laura Gongos. The postcard is from her grandmother’s collection and was sent to her by Laura’s Mother while visiting family members who lived in the neighborhood next to The Lagoons, Linwood in 1946.
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Public Art Vermilion's Postcard Project