As a seventy year old Canadian from across the lake in London Ontario, I'd like to say we've been through very similar cycles of growth and decline. We have had a window into your bit of America since the late 50s when your PBS station was picked up by our cable companies in London. In my younger years I used to sail a midsized catamaran from Port Stanley to Erie and it was a treat to visit and sail home the next day. I wish only the best for your people and city in the future, this video was very nostalgic.
Erie was my intro to American tv culture early 60s, Port Stanley, watching Sunday morning televangelists tell the viewer if satan had a fancy car the preacher deserved one so send in your money. never saw anything so brazen. some got real good and real rich since. took the village authorities decades to get rid of the wreck beached at tiny beach very close to the pier. then longer still to get rid of the oil tanks. l used to ping rocks off the sides. the metal would vibrate and shatter the rock with a TOING sound. stepped inside the Stork Club once in the daytime, never had the money to see any of the bands.
We had a window into Canadian culture during the 1960's as well. It was an over the air channel. Channel 10 I believe it was. CFPL? Serviced London, Hamilton, Kitchener. My dad had a big antenna that rotated on the roof, and we could get that channel clearly unless the weather was bad. It was a major part of our TV watching rotation because we only had NBC and CBS at the time. ABC didn't come until later in 1966. I loved staying home "sick" from school and watching the movies.
My father, brother and I used to put our little 22-foot boat out in Erie, and sail all around the lakes on adventures. We've planned many times to visit Canada - but something always came up; missing passports, weather etc. I'm very glad as a Pennsylvanian and an American that a little slice of our state was able to provide you with fondly-remembered experiences; and I'm still hoping to get up to see some of Canada eventually. Cheers, cousin! ⛵
Growing up in Ashtabula, Ohio about thirty minutes west from Erie we also got CFPL TV from London, Ontario. Never missed Hockey Night in Canada! The Maple Leafs and a huge bowl of popcorn. 1968-1975 were great years for the NHL
I love Erie with all my heart. I grew up in Rural Pennsylvania. In 2004 I went to Erie for college at Penn State Behrend. I fell in love with Erie. I graduated and went back to my rural hometown. I found that there was nothing for me in my home area. I went back to Erie. I had my start in Erie. I met so many great people. The City was the perfect speed for me. I'm not built for a place like New York City. Erie was the perfect size. Erie made me battle tested and hardened to winter snowstorms and cold! 30 degrees is Hoodie Weather. I have since left for a better opportunity in State College. I just feel sad for the continued decline in Erie. I can only hope that UPMC, AHN, LECOM, and tourism can help keep the city going. GE Transportation downsizing has had a ripple effect.
Economic diversification is the only way, especially in technology and healthcare. And perhaps some reshoring of manufacturing, but certainly don’t want to rely on that. Buffalo native here, same story.
Reshoring is coming. The price of labor in China has shot up and China is in a drastic demographic decline (decades of their "One Child" policy has doomed China). Unfortunately, the US is in a demographic decline too, with Generation Z being the smallest generation EVER. And Gen Z aren't buying houses or planning on having kids. It seems that focusing on Corporate Profits and 401k growth and ignoring everything else (looking at you boomers) has screwed America with an inverted population pyramid, like Japan. But boomers don't really care, they'll be gone in ten years and they won't have to live with the mess they created.
I taught at Behrend... nice students, the laid off GE train guys were super fun and the female students happy as all get out. The folks in the city proper were fairly unpleasant though, especially for so near the midwest. Seems a lot like the dying cities in Louisiana, the good folks leave when they can (like you did).
Crazy never been there and live in Scranton and attended Penn st Worthington Scranton. I may need to take a visit and check out the place one of these days.
That's a really great story. I've never been to Erie but I have relatives there. Also welcome to the area! I live in altoona and I have a lot of friends who live in state college and many who go to Penn state. Not sure if you've been to altoona much but it seems to have suffered a similar fate to that of Erie. Thankfully there has been a large initiative to revitalize the city and they're certainly doing a good job of that so far.
Deindustrialization happened like thousands of other municipalities throughout the US. Thank a politician and the CEOs, managers who exported the jobs to countries with cheaper labor so they could gain fatter profit margins.
Yeah but did you fund the Chinese Communist Navy in buying the products from China ? And fill the pockets of the treasonous treacherous traitorous CEOs from an American company but really a Chinese Communist Company?
You are right. But you must also add to the list unions who demanded more and more. The CEOs got too greedy. The unions got too greedy. And I say that as a very pro-union person.
@@rogerr2796 couldn’t disagree more. Blaming unions while they’ve been under assault since the 1970s when the Powell memorandum was written. It’s not a both sides issue like many things. I’m not sure why people in America fall victim to this 50/50 Black and white thinking but if you crack open a book on the history of labor and the constant assault it’s been under you then can’t blame unions. Unions literally had gun battles with private police in PA and Appalachia to end child labor, 8 hour work day, etc.
I went to Erie on a whim during the summer a few years ago, while visiting my father in law in western Pennsylvania. Not knowing anything about the area, I drove out to Presque Isle to see the lake and go for a swim. Without a doubt one of the best hidden gems I would never have expected.
Good synopsis of the history. I’ve been here fifty years, and we have never gotten over the loss of “a good paying job for anyone that wants one.” It wasn’t just that our major union shop employers started leaving, but those that remained were attractive to larger out of state companies. They would be bought, and then closed after a couple years. The phrasing “transitioning from manufacturing to a service economy” described a brutal change where steel workers were forced into McDonald’s jobs. It was galling, but these people were proud of their work ethic. It’s ironic, but Erie higher education is some of the best in the nation, but it’s extraordinarily difficult for locals to find employment here justifying their degreed efforts.
67 year old lifelong Erie guy here. I've spent over a quarter century traveling all over the US for work. Whenever I came home to Erie, I appreciated it more and more. In addition to all the good things others have posted, I love the ethnic and specialty foods you'll have trouble getting anywhere else. Pepperoni Balls? Ox Roast? Smith's Hot Dogs? We got 'em. When people leave Erie the first thing they ask for are Smith's Hot Dogs. They're like gold currency! Real Italian Bread from Italian bakeries. The kind with the crispy crust. Polish meat markets that are always jammed on the weekends. Polish, German, Italian and other ethnic church festivals every year. All jammed with people. 10+ miles of the nicest freshwater beaches you'll ever visit. Mountains? Vineyards? Farmer's Markets? Fishing? Hunting? Skiing? Low crime? Big affordable houses? People you be friends with for life? Yeah, we got 'em all. We don't have deserts, droughts, and wildfires. You'll have to move to the southwest for that. We have all the fresh water you could ask for. It's sparkling clean and cheap. We do get an occasional earthquake every decade or so but they're so mild the only way I find out is to hear about it on the news. One thing the video does not talk about is the renaissance going on in the city. Local government, major businesses, along with the local community leaders have developed a plan to transform the city. They are executing the plan, and the downtown area is full of scaffolding and workers. Infrastructure is being updated. Businesses are moving back downtown. Dilapidated buildings are being bought and modernized. Buildings with historical value are being restored. It's a great time to live in Erie. I hope it never becomes a big city.
I am also 67 years young, having graduated from Tech Memorial in '74 (Go Centaurs). I always loved Erie, we had almost everything, especially Smith's Hot Dogs, Ox Roast and Pepperoni balls. We used to bug State Street on the weekends and meet our friends at the Dock. Most of my family and some friends worked at GE, so proud that Locomotives were built in my hometown. We had friends who worked at Zurn Industry, Eriez Magnetics, Bucyrus Erie and Marx Toys, Koehler Brewery, the Boston Store, not to forget the three or four Foundries. We had an International Airport, I guess because it flew to Canada. I remember we had soo many High Schools, Academy, East, Strong Vincent and Tech. there was Cathederal Prep , Villa Maria, and Mercyhurst Prep for private highschools. I left in '79 to serve in the Air Force but enjoyed coming home on leave to visit. The memories of growing up in Erie are priceless to me, the friends I made, the crazy stuff we did, luckily before social media so you can't prove anything. I try to bring up the deep history of Erie when I get a chance, like Admiral Perry's Flagship Niagara, Mad Anthony Wayne's Blockhouse, The secret passages in the Customs House used in the Underground Railroad, AND Waldameer, one of the oldest amusement parks in the country. and a few more I can't remember now since I am getting older. I sincerely hope Erie can bounce back again, It is too great a city to just fade away. OK, rant over, I LOVE ERIE!
Wow that was great summary ! I Ieft Erie 26 years ago to serve in the military. I went to McDowell High School , Edinboro University and Graduated from LECOM in 1999. My family is still there. every time I go home I am reminded how lucky I was to grow up in Erie. A great town full of great people !!
I was born and raised in Erie and now love in Pittsburgh. Thank God Pittsburgh has Smith’s Hot Dogs! My wife is from the other side of the state and never liked hot dogs until she had a Smith’s hot dog. In order to get ox roast down here, you have to go to Kuhn’s in Ross. It is also annoying when I see pepperoni “rolls” all the time and not pepperoni “balls.” They seem so deformed to me 😂.
Got an Erie local here. I've lived in my Erie my whole life (with the exception of college) and I've traveled a lot of the US, and I can say without a doubt Erie is a hidden gem. There is so much potential in this great city, and everyone here wants to make it better. I appreciate the video, because the whole world needs to know about Erie and our potential.
@@The_Bad_Guy.there's potential but the same potential exists elsewhere. There are no jobs and even if a company wants to move their on few of their potential employees would consider living there.
@@srobeck77 And yet the population is still falling, and people like me who tried to stay there have left because the potential is the same potential that can be had in other cities that are more attractive to people and don't require employers to pay a premium to bring people in. Truth hurts and arrogance is assuming you're special somehow.
@@The_Bad_Guy.I am confused by your question. I met many people from the area who spoke highly of the area. Jobs and opportunities they say are many and crime is manageable. Please explain thanks.
We love living in Erie! My husband and I moved here a year ago bought a house and are totally happy. Yes, the winters are rough… But the arts scene is starting to really expand, the Warner theater gets really decent entertainment, we have three major universities, three major healthcare system is it… One of which is a teaching hospital, and the lake is gorgeous. Right outside in Erie, or farms and vineyards, breweries And all sorts of gorgeous scenery. The housing is affordable and there’s a lot of entertainment and places to eat. I’m selfishly a little glad that Erie Pennsylvania doesn’t show up on the radar for everybody. I also am glad that we moved here at a time I think the city is experiencing a revival.
Moved to Erie in 2022 for a slower pace of life! Really enjoy it! And also agree, glad Erie isn’t huge in terms of city demand as whats nice here is the simplicity and a population that isn’t massive meaning less traffic! Love reduced stop Lights, shopping that is centralized, the nature, farms, and outdoor opportunities that are endless. Yes the beach is fun but to be honest, my Opinion is that living in Erie is way different than visiting. As a tourist I would be ready to go home after a few days, I came, I saw, I was done. On a whim I moved my huge family here, bought land and built a house. As a resident yes taxes are high, But the treasures hidden in Erie County are incredible! Only residents get the time to dig deep and truly see ALL that Erie has to offer! Completely surprised me!
One of the things I love about Erie are the numerous small businesses that are still family owned and operated. Yeah, there are the big-box stores here too, but if you ask for a recommendation on where to buy something from someone who's lived here any significant amount of time, they'll send you to a local business that's been here since the 40s or 50s, and still gives great customer service. We also have lots of great small restaurants that have been here for decades and decades. Erie is a city, but it feels like a small town. Manufacturing is also coming back to the area with plastics and machining. Erie's been through rough times, but we're not out of the fight.
They tried their best to destroy those family owned businesses with the 2020 lock-downs but Erie is too innovative and has a remnant of rebels that hung in there.
A good 90% of my family live in Erie. Always loved my trips to see my grandparent's for Christmas and spending time at waldameer when i was a kid. About 6yrs ago i was able to come back and bring my kids to waldameer!
I've always wondered why Erie never became a big city like Cleveland or Buffalo. It seems to have had a lot of advantages in the "old" economy, but it never really thrived as other Rust Belt cities did.
John D. Rockefeller had oil in Titusville that needed refining and the port of Erie would have been an easy choice. However, Rockefeller had refineries already in Cleveland so they became a major city (along with years of problems) and we stayed a smaller community (without those problems).
Geologic conditions. Presque Isle was very well suited to early merchant marine - shallow draft small sailing vessels. But the embayment is all very shallow, there is no major river outletting there that would push sediment outwards, like at Cleveland & Buffalo & Detroit. So it was useless as a port by the civil war era. They also never developed a large enough canal to connect it to the Ohio/ Mississippi watersheds, again, the geology wasn't suited. Note that it was even too shallow for the 1812 era warships built there ("Lawrence" & "Niagra") - they had to be lifted over the sandbar at the mouth via use of "camels" (barges filled w/water, attached to both sides, then pumped out to raise the entire vessel). This worked two ways of course, protecting the fleet while it was being built from the Brit's, who already had a fleet on the lake.
The Democrat controlled governments have driven every good wage paying company out of the area through taxes and regulations. They are confiscating land like there is no tomorrow. Erie is controlled by a mafia family out of New York City and has been that way for over 40 years.
Interesting video and information. Surprised that the history of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry was not included. He was only 25 years old when ordered to go to Erie, build a fleet of ships, and battle the British for control of Lake Erie. He and his 12 year old brother took a five week sleigh ride to get from Newport, RI to Erie, PA in February, 1812. He then built the ships and defeated the British in the Battle of Lake Erie in September, 1813. Where upon he issued his report, “We have met the enemy, and they are ours.” The first time the British Navy had ever been defeated.
I grew up in Erie. Perhaps it wasn’t the best place to grow up, but it was also certainly not the worst place. It’s definitely worth visiting. Take a sunset boat ride out onto the lake, on a clear day the sunset over the lake is one of the most beautiful sunsets in the world.
Harborcreek (near Fairfield Fire Dept) was a nice place to grow up at. The eastside Putt-Putt arcade was my teen stomping grounds. Then as an adult it was the westside Putt-Putt. Now it is a water collection place for the Country Fair property.
No, "Erie will never be what it once was" but that's true for everywhere. What Erie IS today is a great place to live. We have seasonal weather which provides a variety of activities and though we are no longer a large city, we live within a few hours drive of 3 major cities. Though there is some crime and some unemployment, so does everywhere else. We do have great schools, neighborhoods and communities as well as an easy drive to enjoy rural areas. I Love my hometown.
First visited Erie in 1969 and it caught my eye. Nice place. Its population challenges are not unlike Syracuse, NY which is on rebound after some big developments came along. Erie has all the quality of life things (as long as you're not averse to snow) and is located close enough to three major cities that you can drive to see NHL hockey, NFL football (and Canadian football if you go to Toronto), NBA basketball and other events only a few hours driving away. North of the Allegheny mountain range, Erie has the advantages of three interstates (79, 86, 90) which connect it to everything and I-80 is only 70+ miles south. As railways replace rolling stock, Erie is well-positioned on main rail routes to renew its rail heritage. And Lake Erie is much cleaned up from 1960s. I could see docks at Erie unloading ships St, Lawrence Seaway into rail routes. Best wishes.
@@keithhanisek2465better than Florida. Seriously everyone currently moving to Florida seems insane knowing that the hurricanes are continually getting worse (more and more insurance companies are pulling out of the state). Not to mention the heat and humidity. You also have to deal with an inflation crisis brought about by mass migration to the state while the jobs are relatively low paying (especially compared to the actual cost of living). Did I mention all of the HOAs and how you will have Karens controlling where you park your car and how you paint your own house. The only downside to the Great Lakes region right now is the weather, which is getting milder every year so I would honestly say that it is an upside.
It's not really a "great place to live" when you can't earn a living there and your best aspect is that OTHER cities are within driving distance... that describes 90% of the cities in Ohio (and they don't have idioticly high taxes... and there are still jobs). Erie SHOULD be a tourism hotbed, but nobody has been able to capitalize on it because of the garbage Democrats leaders and liberal residents running the city into the ground.
My family got our (almost) release day Xbox 360 from Erie. Everyone in NE Ohio was sold out, but Circuit City in Erie didn't let us down. I was so sick that I slept through the whole car ride, not much to see in Ashtabula County anyway, and when we stopped for lunch in Erie my parents thought I was being dramatic when I couldn't keep any food down at lunch and could hardly stand up to wait for our 360. I was 8 years old, and I guess the excitement of the 360 was just enough to keep anyone from noticing that I clearly had a stomach virus of some sort. That's my personal history with Erie, I should probably go back at some point
My dad, brother and I go fishing in Erie every year in December. I love the downtown area and have walked around there many times. I think that if one company could move there and start up it would become a better town once again. There is so much potential for that city to be so much more. Also it needs more connections via rail to other large cities. There is no reason there should only be one train a day to it. The future is bright for Erie, we just need to help it out.
Erie has a very interesting history such as it's connection to George Washington famously ordering the French to withdraw from (I believe) Ft LeBoeuf. Also Erie was instrumental in building warships to fight the British in the Battle of Lake Erie War of 1812. During prohibition in the 1920s Erie became a major port of entry for illegal alcohol from Canada. But we're most famous for being the hometown of Alice from the Brady Bunch lol
I grew up in Erie in the 00s and 10s, and while I've moved to Pittsburgh for school, I do fondly miss the city. Presque Isle is home to some of my most dear memories, and the city's quiet, slow-paced charm is hard to find in other places. The deindustrialization hit my parents and their parents hard; my parents recently moved to Tennessee, and I don't see myself going back after college. Once as a teenager, my friends and I snuck into the old Hammermill plant on a windy, gray winter day and I will never forget seeing the high tide crash against the crumbling brick on the lakeside. Truly beautiful in a way only a Rust Belt city can be beautiful.
Im a student from the suburbs of pgh living in the erie area. Theres not much going on in the city for sure but presque isle state park is criminally underrated and theres definitely some interesting history/lore in the area (oliver hazard perry, pizzabomber); ive heard gripes from some locals who think the city has been leaning too much into tourism and needs to focus on other things to get the economy back in gear; the truth is its a lot faster and easier to get to a real saltwater beach than it used to be and people with money to spend are 9.5 times out of 10 going to pick the outer banks or the like over a rusty ass city (that i love dearly) like erie. I think the city has serious potential to grow and recover like the other rust belt cities if it just shifts its focus to something other than just zoning in on tourists that just arent gonna come in the numbers they need them to.
You are forgetting fishing and skiing, even though the closest ski resort is in New York the hotel Rooms are on I90 and peach street. Duck hunting is going on now on the peninsula.
You are also forgetting the Otters and Seawolves, two teams that have brought a lot of excitement and pride to Erie, along with a few Championships. I made the trip up from Pgh to see the Wolves win their first Eastern League title in Sept and was in the building the night the Otters won their 2nd OHL crown in 2018. Both sports venues have been updated and are a testament to the city and it’s proud people.
The biggest thing Erie has going for it is lots of affordable housing. Plenty of starter homes under 100k and larger family homes in the 150k range. If you have a remote work job this would be a great place to live.
Granted... the same can be said for Detroit, but how many people are willing to tolerate living somewhere that looks like a dump and isn't a place they want to invest their time and energy because the surroundings aren't getting better?
There are plenty of places in Ohio that can make the same claim of affordable housing without all the crimes and dilapidated buildings and neighborhoods, so why tolerate the ridiculous taxes and subpar government servants when you can move an hour west and live in a climate that's no worse?
My family and I would sail our 38 foot sloop to Erie PA, or Presque Isle as we like to call it, from Sandusky Bay. You can tour the Brig Niagara in Erie if it is in port, along with the Museum. Presque Isle beaches are very long and popular with kite flying and Kiteboarding. There is a lighthouse, and a monument to Commodore Perry from the war in 1812 as well. "Don't Give Up The Ship"
As a NW PA person and I can attest the the actual city is very depressing, kind of like Buffalo and Niagara Falls, but the lake and the surrounding nature is nice.
I spent 25-years just below Erie and the clouds and snow eventually drove me south. Snow packed roads for weeks at a time. The sun never shining for months at a time made it impossible for me to live in the area. But did like to go Salmon/Trout fishing on several of the tributaries just west of Erie towards the OH state line...
I like Erie...I was just trucking, there was a shipper that we picked up at on occasion, the loads going to Oxford, NC...traffic was okay, the folks at the shipper seemed nice enough, and amazingly I always had nice weather when I went up there, always coming out of Pittsburgh...cities and towns like Erie speak to the true magnificence of the country, whether the locality ascending or descending kinda beside the point...
I remember it for being the city with the most cloudy day in the US, and the lake effect's massive blizzards, I went to college near there in Edinboro a very nice resort town near Cambridge Springs another very quait resort from the early 20th century. My sister lives right near the shore of lake Erie very cool , they used to have some very old trees there but killed them for gas stations or ghettos.
I actually like Erie and especially the lakefront and Presque Isle. But as a retired career DMV civil servant from New York I feel compelled to warn visitors to watch out for the drivers! Every annoyance seems to be simply some sort of contest as to whether a driver can get away with a traffic violation. Relatiely minor violations (speed limits are apparently only suggestions, turn signals magically stop working at the city limits, lane markers are for straddling as long as possible before finding someone to cut off, etc., the list is too long) have to be ignored so as to pay full attention to the major violations, chiefly running red lights. Even knowing the risks and diligently watching for potential violators is not enough to protect you, you must be on the lookout for the unimaginable.
Great video as always, I live just outside of Utica NY. It would be great if you could do one about Utica. The rise and subsequent decline plus the rich history is fascinating. Thank you
I'm from utica. Grew up there in the 60s and 70s. Blue collar...ge, Chicago pneumatic,univac,bending, etc employed thousands. Downtown thrived...but cheaper non union labor in the south, lower taxes,better weather. Etc...
I love Erie! Native Pittsburgher here... Between Presque Isle, the Wineries, Waldameer Theme Park, and probably the best pizza I've ever had in my life, Erie is one of my favorite get aways. If your in Erie you have to get Virgil's Pizza. It'll change your life. Virgil takes his pizza seriously like he's making art with every pie. Highly recommend Erie. Just driving through wine country in fall when they harvest the grapes it smells amazing. If your just out with your significant other or planning a weekend trip with the family you can't beat Erie.
I've lived just south of Erie my whole life. I went to Penn State Berend and now work as an Engineer at LORD. Its an awesome place, not crazy like the big cities but not so rual that you have to travel half a day to go shop. I never plan to move from here even though i despise how they lay salt down on the roads in the winter. Erie is central to many big cites, apparently its the only city in the US that is within 500 miles of 50% of the US population.
We have a Presqu'ile Provincial Park in Ontario and we pronounce it phonetically like "presk eel"". This is from an english speaking Ontarian. Drove around Lake Erie once and spent the night in Erie. Thought it was pretty cool. Love old buildings. Love history!
Yes I noticed the pronunciation of Presqu’ile too! My Grand-Dad was born in Erie PA later moving to Barrie Ontario. I grew up between Belleville & Trenton so have been to Presqu’ile Ontario many times. Now retired, I hope to visit Erie (& Presqu’ile) sometime soon!!!🌊🌊🦆🛶⛵️🚤👌👍
Wonderfully informing piece on a place I left a lifetime ago. The history, location and the harbor have always held a place in my thoughts and I was both glad and saddened to hear of the place that contained some of my earliest memories. Thx. for the Times. ✌️👍
I used to go there often, delivering locomotive parts to the then GE plant that came from "overseas". It was a very depressing place, lots of vacant industrial buildings. The people I met at the plant were mostly unfriendly; like they wanted to be anywhere else but couldn't bring themselves to leave. I appreciated the miles coming from either KCMO or LA, but always felt sad afterward. Backhaul were used parts to go to a remanufacturing plant "overseas".
What happened? In 1964 a corrupt man named Lou Tullio was elected as mayor and he destroyed the downtown area, tearing down countless historic buildings, he stifled commerce and travel in the city, he took bribes, chased manufacturing out of town, and is the primary local cause of the city's decline. He ruled the city with an iron fist until 1984, and then was replaced with his assistant, Joyce Savacchio, who continued the same policies and did nothing about the decline. Only in the last 10 years, when a few local businessmen decided to take matters into their own hands due to 30+ years of abject government failure, has the city begun to recover.
The video was interesting, but I felt that the audio left out a significant amount of information. Yes, the population of the CITY of Erie has and continues to decline. So has the housing stock and the retail business, but Erie is still the center of the economy in the area and the significant increase in the population of Millcreek Township, Summit Township, Harborcreek Township and other areas surrounding Erie means that the Erie metropolitan area continues to be the home to 250,000 or so. The retail center, formerly focused on State Street between the bay and 14th Street has moved to adjacent areas of Millcreek and Summit Townships. We have a fine healthcare system and recent renovations to the Warner Theater, new large buildings under construction downtown area and west 6th Street properties deserve mention. We have turned a bayfront full of mud, derelict buildings and rusty railroad tracks into a beautiful area any city would be proud to feature. So tell a more fulsome tale and make it balanced.
Parents moved from Erie to CO in 1963. Thanks Dad and Mom! Seriously, took her home to visit some family fall of 2017 and got to see the Brig (correction) Niagara sailing on Lake Erie on an actual sunny day in PA. Beautiful! Glad we went as Mom died 6 months later and unlikely to visit again. Cousins love the place tho.
I didn’t realize that GE Transportation once employed 18,000 people at its peak in Erie 😳 Same with Bethlehem Steel in Buffalo, employed well over 20,000 workers at its peak. Now a distant memory 😞
I’m from Oklahoma, and my wife is from Erie, PA. I’ve been there a number of times, but with her parents passing away, and most of her relatives we haven’t been back. My last trip was in 2005 to retrieve some furniture her dad had made. He had passed away and left this stuff to her. A lot of the folks I know there used to call it, dreary Erie, the mistake on the lake. Lake Erie and Presque Isle was interesting.
The last time I heard that statement was in 1978 as I departed the region for my career in engineering/process control everywhere.. Fond memories as I reminisce wild sailing adventures on Lake Erie. Rehrig Pacific is well with this era of environmental-driven effort for waste reprocessing, Hammermill and Bucyrus are gone while the local foundries dwindle.
@@jasono2139other opinions from wiki.... The Mistake on the Lake is a pejorative term referring to: >>Cleveland, a city in the U.S. state of Ohio located on the southern shore of Lake Erie >>Cleveland Stadium, a former professional sports venue in Cleveland >>Erie, Pennsylvania, a city also located on the southern shore of Lake Erie >>Exhibition Stadium, a former sports venue in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on the northern shore of Lake Ontario >>New Soldier Field, a professional sports venue in Chicago, Illinois, U.S. >>The Lakeside Center portion of McCormick Place, a convention center in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
@henrytowne7463 how dare Wikipedia try to besmirch Cleveland's DECADES of hard efforts to avoid even remotely appearing to be a functional lakeside city!! Erie DOESN'T EVEN HAVE a river that they could light on fire if they wanted to!!
This video is amazing. I don't have the words to describe the feeling watching a video like this about the place I live. Having seen many of these images in person and stood where they were taken from is wild
My first visit to Erie from 🇨🇦 would have been back when the ideal shopping destination was a staple, back when Kauffmans and Lazarus were in Millcreek mall 😂 back when Loblaws sold groceries in the States.
I remember my family vacationing there 30 years ago. We ate at this old firehouse-made-into restaurant, stayed at the Peninsula Inn (which isn't there anymore). It was nice.
I lived in the Erie area all my life and we may have our issues and setbacks but I absolutely LOVE this city and want to spend the rest of my life here ❤
Great video man. I live around an hour south-east in Franklin, which is another one of the locations of those French forts. I had to work and stay in Erie all summer and I'll say my opinion on the city has changed. I agree with you about the tourism, Presque Isle is awesome in the summer. I-90 brings in a ton of cross-country traffic and a lot of Canadians as well. The rough spots are very rough. The poorest zip code in the US is actually in east Erie. I was driving through the downtown at 11am on a Tuesday and I saw someone casually shooting up heroin. A common case across the rust belt for sure but Erie was the only place I felt like it was out in the open. But there are some very nice areas both along the shore and in the suburb areas. Good restaurants and a few things to do like the zoo, Waldameer in the summer, and Splash Lagoon all year round. And like you said you're not far from Buffalo, Cleveland, or Pittsburgh, but you're also not far from some great nature spots. Lake Erie Bluffs state park is a half hour west and has 100 foot cliffs on the lake. Pymatuning and Wilhelm Lakes are around an hour south and the Allegheny National Forest is around 2 hours east starting in Warren.
@dylanlowers5236 so is Conneaut lake... but it doesn't seem to help the area too much. People just come to their vacation home, ride their boat around the rather dirty lake, and then leave back to Pittsburgh. The amusement park is a shadow of its former self too.
In 1980, it took ten man-hours to produce one ton of steel. Today that number is 1.5 man-hours. Plants that failed to modernize disappeared from the earth. In reality, there are few steel jobs remaining, because it is a heavily computerized and automated industry today. The same is true of auto manufacturing. The days when 10,000 people were needed to run a factory are gone.
That's sad to hear it's in decline. When I was growing up, across the lake in Canada we received stations WICU (NBC), WSEE (CBS) and WQLN (PBS). And at that time, probably not so much now, TV stations had a strong sense of local identity, so over time it was like getting to know the city and its locals, resulting in feeling some connection to it (that ilkely sounds odd to modern TV viewers with most broadcasts no longer having that local feel these days). To give some idea of the stations' quirks: I remember WICU (channel 12) seemed to have very religious owners who'd sometimes preempt NBC programming in Prime Time to run things like the Billy Graham Crusade. There was this family run furniture business that always did these nice ads wishing everyone Merry Christmas. WSEE often had little historic clips ("don't give up the ship" was a common one -- a bit unintentionally jingoistic since the context was the US's hostile invasion of Canada, a context sort of glossed over). I can't recall for sure if it was WICU or WSEE that sometimes gave paid airtime to Lyndon Larouche conspiracy theory rants. I think WQLN mainly survived thanks to donations from Canadian viewers from London Ontario with whom their British progamming was popular. And, of course, there were all the ads for Froggy 101, so I always get a smile seeing the Froggy stickers show up on The Office when I watch it here in Australia -- it's a bit of a memory of "home".
@@seanmichaels9953 Definitely. You could, e.g., receive multiple NBC affiliates, and the programming for most of the day would be completely different, and there were often shows made by the local station itself, my favourites being all the horror movie hosts. We also received stations from Cleveland, Buffalo, Detroit, etc, and all had a very different flavour, complete with their cheap local advertising from local merchants. I remember one used car dealership had an ad with Jermaine Jackson talking about how his tour car broke down, but the dealership gave them a great deal (no doubt it was something like "we'll give you a used car if you do an ad for us", but he didn't say). But even before I moved to Australia, that sort of thing started to vanish with a lot of stations without network affiliation giving up some of their uniqueness to become part of networks (sometimes multiple ones) like WB, Universal, etc, and buying into blocks of programming outside of primetime. And the variety of shows and movies getting shown also decreased. One of the reasons I love Weird Al Yankovic's film UHF is because it's a way of reliving the earlier more independent era.
I'm not sure the Ch. 12 owners were that religious, it was that the Billy Graham Crusade would pay top dollar for airtime on the Erie market's biggest TV signal.
@@JoelNatalieMedia Possibly. But I seem to recall them having seasons greetings spots around Christmas and Easter that seemed less generic ("Happy Holidays") and more overtly Christian / religious than most (e.g. Jesus instead of Santa or the Easter Bunny). I could be mistaken.
Being from Ne Ohio,i love visiting..Its less than 90 minutes away and no tolls..It was a nice trip when i had money restrictions but still needed to get out. Even now when i have a few gjurs its nice to drive out, dit by the water, get domething to eat and go home. Its a great midwest city.
I remember driving through some of the hoods in Erie just to look around. One thing that impressed me was a brown and white Ford Bronco(?) that I saw. It had a set of gold wire wheels and said "Gold Shoes on my Ho" in black letters on the back.
I've been fascinated by Erie since the first time I flew over lake Erie in the 80's & noted that it's essentially Toronto, but flipped 180º. I've wanted to visit but never have. Some day.
Erie Metropolitan Statistical Area population, 2023 (est.): 0.27 million Greater Toronto population, 2023 (est.): 7.0 million But ok, the two cities have a roughly mirror-image shape when seen from the air.
I used to work for a company that bought American Sterilizer Co. Two things happened in quick succession; 1) Pennsylvania passed a new inventory tax and made it retroactive, which cost the company a couple million, then 2) the union workers went on strike for about two months and crippled delivery of items to customers. A year or so later parent company said screw you and pulled out of PA.
I moved to Erie in 2005 for my job, having grown up in the CLE-AKR area. My wife and I work for two of the largest remaining employers in the area. Before I get to the criticisms, we DO like it here. We are not warm weather people, and actually enjoy having four seasons. It is a great safe, quiet place to raise a family. Living costs are reasonable, and there is no rush hours or traffic issues. The reason Erie will not grow is the people. The attitudes are very provincial. If you are not native born and are related to the 10-12 big name families in the area, forget getting involved in the churches, schools or local politics. After 18 years, we are still treated as outsiders. Many people here have attitudes of entitlement that confuse my wife and I, because in any big city or metro area, these people would be nobodies (and there is nothing wrong with being one!). Anyone that breaks the poverty line in the city is instantly snooty. You see the attitudes in driving. There is no rush hour here, and no need to be rude, but people make up traffic laws as they go. Others get in your way on purpose, I guess because they think they are the State Police (who are especially friendly and nice in our area). Having come from OH, we had already selected a builder for our home, based in OH. When they went to get local contractors to sublet the work on the house EVERY LOCAL contractor REFUSED. Everyone from the Amish that framed the house, the HVAC, electrician, plumber, all had to come from over 100 miles away. Sad. Driving more of the decline, , schools (both public and religious) are closing at a breakneck pace, as there are exponentially fewer and fewer kids. Old people are moving south or passing away. And religion is even drying up. We do have a good influx of Ukrainian, Syrian and Iraqi refugees, who are all great people. Hopefully they will bring some vibrancy back.
Many people are comfortable in the misery of their own 💩 especially locals who’ve never gone anywhere or done anything with their lives. I see it in my hometown just up the road in Silver Creek NY. A vibrant town up through the 1960’s, the people still keep bellyaching that the building of the NYS Thruway ruined it. FFS that was 60 freaking years ago, get over it 🤦♂️
Having lived in PA all my life, I have to say the attitude you describe holds true in every PA town, city or municipality. Every town has a hierarchy where certain last names are and always remain predominant. It's a PA mindset that is an engrained tradition. Don't like it, myself. But virtually impossible to change.
I grew up in Philly. My mother used to say that Pennsylvania was Philly and Pittsburgh with Alabama in between. That’s more true than you would think. When people fail to change, they get left behind. That’s the reason I left Pa and moved west. One writer talking about the provincial attitude of people in the town is the reason many rust belt towns are dying. This has nothing to do with regulations, unions, high taxes or whatever other bs I’ve read here. We went from industrial manufacturing to the digital age. Most factories use robots to build cars etc. towns in the rust belt will continue to deteriorate until they become willing to change. You can’t survive with old technology and rigid thinking. If you can’t survive with the old skills, then go to school and learn something new. Most of all, stop bitching and living in the problem and go for the solution, whatever that is for you.
@@garytorresani8846 well said. Thankfully Buffalo is slowly changing with the 43North accelerator program, bringing new and growing tech companies to the area. Alas a lot of Western New Yorkers have about as much vision as Stevie Wonder 🤦♂️ Lead, follow, or get the hell out of the way of the people actually doing something.
I'm a Southern CA native and have never been there. But I will always remember a college professor of mine who frequently lamented living in dreary Erie Pennsylvania before migrating to CA like he had just been released from prison.
Now it's California's turn. From a peak in 2020 of 39.6m its population has been dropping steadily to an estimated 38.9m at the end of last year-and falling. (Figures from US Census Bureau.)
@@dixonpinfold2582 Fine with me I remember. In the 1970's I had a bumper sticker on my car that said "Welcome to California, Now Go Home! Beside the primary reasons people are leaving CA is they're seeking a less expensive cost of living especially people reaching retirement age.
I had family there in Erie - tied to the Eastern Orthodox Church. They were just down the street from the lake shore. I ended up in Edinboro for college and after 3 years of those brutal winters, we left for warmer weather in NC! I do miss Erie though.
Had a business meeting in Pittsburgh and decided to extend the trip and drive to Erie for a couple days just to see Lake Erie. It was the first day of spring, so of course that means heavy snow. Made it to Erie just as the snow was accumulating and watched the storm from my hotel on the waterfront and had some delicious Lake Erie perch for dinner.
Excellent vid. Short, concise, to the point. Well done, thank you. And a note about content, it seems too many mayors and such are always gullible to have arenas, bars, restaurants, hotels located downtown. All service jobs, not high paying, don't create value out of raw materials, and can be extinguished when crime overtakes the area. People have to actually make something. When will they ever learn? I'll repeat, like the song "Where have all the flowers gone....", "when will they ever learn?"
I don't like cities but it's where I was born and I love the history of the place. And Presque Isle is gorgeous, loved going there when I was younger. I live about 30 minutes away and still enjoy doing things up there sometimes
I have visited Eire from the cleveland area, and it is a potentially fantastic tourist destination: beaches, boating, fishing, hiking, all it needs is a civic commitment to spruce up and invest. Leave the rust belt behind; honor your history but don’t try to bring it back; look to the future, and this town could prosper mightily.
I’ve lived around Erie for all of my life (I’m an elder millennial). No one is mentioning the average snowfall of around 100 inches a year (not exaggerating) and businesses rarely shut down because of snow. You still go to work in snowstorms; the work ethic is the best in the country here. It’s not uncommon for the last snowfall of the season to happen in May. Still not as cold as Buffalo, and I’ve noticed the temps overall becoming more mild. This is going to be a top place to move when people are displaced by climate change. The weather can only get better!
I’ve been to Erie a few times in recent years, and in general it seemed old (including the age of the people) and depressed. Not much to keep educated, young people there from what I could see. Nice, slower pace of life compared to bigger cities, but not a lot of opportunity.
In the mid 60's we hauled 42" wood to Hammermill from land they owned in Potter County. In the mid 80s early 90s I loaded rail cars with 22' wood in McKean, Cameron Counties and also in Lock Haven that was railed to Hammermill. The Mill lost in Erie hurt all across the state.
I am sitting here in Erie as I am about to watch this. What was great about growing up in Erie in the 1970's was watching a bunch of Canadian (Ontario) TV stations on Cable TV and radio.
While your history of Erie and your statistic were very informative, there is one thing that I will say: Erie is not a "Forgotten Place" like the title of your channel states. It is very loved and booming for people who love to shop or go to Presque Isle. It may not have the industry that it had in the past, but it is surviving in other ways and is definitely not a FORGOTTEN PLACE.
I got married and moved to Erie in 1987. Kids grew up and I moved away in 2022. Erie suffered, as all rust belt cities suffered from lack of industry. Hammermill closed, Amsco went to Mexico, and as the video said G.E. went from 20k employees to 1800. Its population fell to below 100k for the first time in a long time. The only knock I have against Erie is the weather. While it has similar temps to Pburgh. it has a heavy wind coming off the lake which really sucks in wintertime. But Erie is great foe hunting and fishing. And it is a great place to raise a family. Just one comment about jobs. Yes. Erie did lose a lot of good paying union jobs. But I see these car companies hiring down south at $17 an hour. How can you make ends meet on that? The government wanted to make this a global economy and now the Asians are eating our lunch. In everything. I had a friend who worked ar Wal-Mart but also collected welfare for his family because he didn't make enough. Sad.
The U. S. government has been going South on its own people gradually from the rejection of the proposed Monroe Doctrine to the CFR establishment 100 yrs ago to promote globalized wickedness ! The white collar tying nooses around the blue collar. It is more involved, however, than just the U. S. ; because Satan controls ALL the governments of the world and their institutions! At this point, One World & eventually Armageddon is nigh !!! Luke 4:5&6 / 2 Corinthians 4: 4. // Daniel 2 :44 /// Revelation 16:14 & 16 !!!
Happened in Canada too. A friend of the family worked for Ford, and it used to be that if you got a job there, you were set for life. Thankfully for him, he was reaching retirement when things went bad. A lot of Wal-Mart employees throughout the US require welfare -- goes to show that particular business is built on greed and avarice.
They live in a much better area than the rust belt, that’s how they “make ends meet”: lower taxes, realistic housing prices, lower cost of living, better weather. Plus, no union dues going to support liberal/anti-American politicians, better schools (no woke shit), etc, etc. Oh yeah, the vehicles they make are so much better than any UAW crap.
The most meaningful count of a city's population is that of its metro area, not the core city. The latter tends to stay roughly stable, more or less permanently, long after the city spills over its borders and keeps growing. In Erie's case it's around 270,000 vs. 94,000.
It's like Rochester NY. Used to be an amazing city and then just died. It's also mostly service jobs or university jobs. Now they try to have tourism but the poverty and crime are just out of control.
Before we got our casinos here in Cleveland, we would always go to Erie and go to Presque isle downs casino. They have a good buffet. If im not mistaken I had some good pizza there too.
Erie lives on in other ways. GRISWOLD is probably the most collectible American brand name cast iron pan. Made in ERIE, PA until 1957. The original factory building at 12th and Raspberry St is STILL THERE despite closing 65 years ago. I use my GRISWOLD 8 cast iron pan daily, it's almost 100 years old now. People will still be using them 100 years from now.
Looking like a nice chill place, solidly located to go see small bands I like on tour. Pennsylvania also does 0 property tax for 100% DAVs. Might have to check it out 🤙🏻
Nearly 50, left Erie in 99' for the military and never moved back, on a recent visit home I found the city reinvented itself. When I last visited, felt like I was seeing an old HS crush, the wash of childhood, teen memories, family, that city was probably just the right size growing up in for someone born in the mid 70s. I hated Erie, wanted more, now I feel it calling me back, or maybe I just seen my "younger shadow" that never left, and been waiting for me to come back home.
I moved from North Georgia (Kennesaw) to Girard, then Lake City (Erie County) both less than 20 miles west of Erie in May of 2006. Although it being a nice place to live , I still can't get used to the three seasons here. Spring, Fall, and long, cold Winters. 🥶There rarely is a true Summer here.
I grew up in Erie and went to NPCA then moved to Atlanta... Still know a few ppl there. If you were in my shoes, would you move back and settle down ( I in aa career that would facilitate this)?
I just couldn't take the weather. That, for me, was #1. If you don't mind the cold and snow, it's a great place to live. It's a quiet, small, city, so if you don't need a lot of excitement and activities, it's great.@@johnnytran420
There should be laws against selling out American industry that hard. I understand it’s protectionist which has economic implications but our manufacturing tech could have developed so much more if we invested instead of sending money abroad for a quick profit.
I pass through Erie a few times per year. Vacationed there once. Presque Isle is over crowded. We were not impressed. There are some decent places to eat off of I90 on Peach Street. I did consider retiring there because it would roughly put me half way between my children. But ultimately madea different choice.
We stayed in late August and it was dirty, didn't seem safe, and was run down except for the grid downtown. Not sure what they can do as the entire area is slowly being abandoned. It would take many bulldozers to clean up the East Side...
I grew up near Pittsburgh and have been going up to Erie since I was a small child. I’d have to say the biggest disappointment to this day for me was the decline / drop-off of the independent mom & pop motels - they haven’t been the same since the 90s! But in a way I kind of like that Erie hasn’t exploded beyond its maximum population, as there’s still a “getaway to somewhere more quiet vibe” at many times, but not all times… Afternoon traffic can be a PITA around there and there seems to be a lot of drivers who don’t know what they’re doing, especially in the summer. Another perk of the surrounding area is not only wine country but the generally fertile land and spread-out geography / rural population. There are lots of great land parcels and homesteads in that whole corner of the state - a generally nice place to live!
Erie is a beautiful old port city with a lot of historic landmarks and great architecture. However deindustrialization along with the typical quota of urban problems has hurt Erie just like other rust belt cities and communities. At least Erie didn’t completely eviscerate its downtown core like both Niagara Falls NY and New Haven CT did in the 60s and 70s. Erie has done urban renewal but not on nearly as destructive in scale as in some rust belt cities. If Erie is to revitalize and it will eventually become a go to place, the city still needs new leadership in both the public and private sectors.
Last I checked, 16502 was the poorest area code in the US. It's only getting worse here. Downtown is getting a little revamped, but it means nothing cause there isn't currently extra money to spend for most. Especially during our often brutal winters.
Our economy will and already is getting a temporary boost; April 2024 we will be directly under the total solar eclipse. Director at environmental center at the entrance of Presque Isle said 130,000 people are estimated to be visiting. It's going to be chaos. Avoid Peach street and Presque Isle at all costs, trust me. Go out west in the country to the bluffs or something, that will be better for views and traffic; especially if you come in from the west. PS we regularly get voted top 5 sunsets in the world!! Stay for that
As a seventy year old Canadian from across the lake in London Ontario, I'd like to say we've been through very similar cycles of growth and decline. We have had a window into your bit of America since the late 50s when your PBS station was picked up by our cable companies in London. In my younger years I used to sail a midsized catamaran from Port Stanley to Erie and it was a treat to visit and sail home the next day. I wish only the best for your people and city in the future, this video was very nostalgic.
Erie was my intro to American tv culture early 60s, Port Stanley, watching Sunday morning televangelists tell the viewer if satan had a fancy car the preacher deserved one so send in your money.
never saw anything so brazen. some got real good and real rich since.
took the village authorities decades to get rid of the wreck beached at tiny beach very close to the pier. then longer still to get rid of the oil tanks. l used to ping rocks off the sides. the metal would vibrate and shatter the rock with a TOING sound. stepped inside the Stork Club once in the daytime, never had the money to see any of the bands.
We had a window into Canadian culture during the 1960's as well. It was an over the air channel. Channel 10 I believe it was. CFPL? Serviced London, Hamilton, Kitchener. My dad had a big antenna that rotated on the roof, and we could get that channel clearly unless the weather was bad. It was a major part of our TV watching rotation because we only had NBC and CBS at the time. ABC didn't come until later in 1966. I loved staying home "sick" from school and watching the movies.
The Erie PBS station has most of their antennas pointed towards Canada as London Ontario is the largest part of their viewing audience.
My father, brother and I used to put our little 22-foot boat out in Erie, and sail all around the lakes on adventures. We've planned many times to visit Canada - but something always came up; missing passports, weather etc.
I'm very glad as a Pennsylvanian and an American that a little slice of our state was able to provide you with fondly-remembered experiences; and I'm still hoping to get up to see some of Canada eventually.
Cheers, cousin! ⛵
Growing up in Ashtabula, Ohio about thirty minutes west from Erie we also got CFPL TV from London, Ontario. Never missed Hockey Night in Canada! The Maple Leafs and a huge bowl of popcorn. 1968-1975 were great years for the NHL
I love Erie with all my heart. I grew up in Rural Pennsylvania. In 2004 I went to Erie for college at Penn State Behrend. I fell in love with Erie. I graduated and went back to my rural hometown. I found that there was nothing for me in my home area. I went back to Erie. I had my start in Erie. I met so many great people. The City was the perfect speed for me. I'm not built for a place like New York City. Erie was the perfect size. Erie made me battle tested and hardened to winter snowstorms and cold! 30 degrees is Hoodie Weather. I have since left for a better opportunity in State College. I just feel sad for the continued decline in Erie. I can only hope that UPMC, AHN, LECOM, and tourism can help keep the city going. GE Transportation downsizing has had a ripple effect.
Economic diversification is the only way, especially in technology and healthcare. And perhaps some reshoring of manufacturing, but certainly don’t want to rely on that. Buffalo native here, same story.
Reshoring is coming. The price of labor in China has shot up and China is in a drastic demographic decline (decades of their "One Child" policy has doomed China). Unfortunately, the US is in a demographic decline too, with Generation Z being the smallest generation EVER. And Gen Z aren't buying houses or planning on having kids. It seems that focusing on Corporate Profits and 401k growth and ignoring everything else (looking at you boomers) has screwed America with an inverted population pyramid, like Japan. But boomers don't really care, they'll be gone in ten years and they won't have to live with the mess they created.
I taught at Behrend... nice students, the laid off GE train guys were super fun and the female students happy as all get out. The folks in the city proper were fairly unpleasant though, especially for so near the midwest. Seems a lot like the dying cities in Louisiana, the good folks leave when they can (like you did).
Crazy never been there and live in Scranton and attended Penn st Worthington Scranton. I may need to take a visit and check out the place one of these days.
That's a really great story. I've never been to Erie but I have relatives there. Also welcome to the area! I live in altoona and I have a lot of friends who live in state college and many who go to Penn state. Not sure if you've been to altoona much but it seems to have suffered a similar fate to that of Erie. Thankfully there has been a large initiative to revitalize the city and they're certainly doing a good job of that so far.
Deindustrialization happened like thousands of other municipalities throughout the US. Thank a politician and the CEOs, managers who exported the jobs to countries with cheaper labor so they could gain fatter profit margins.
Translation, Globalists
Yeah but did you fund the Chinese Communist Navy in buying the products from China ? And fill the pockets of the treasonous treacherous traitorous CEOs from an American company but really a Chinese Communist Company?
You are right. But you must also add to the list unions who demanded more and more.
The CEOs got too greedy. The unions got too greedy.
And I say that as a very pro-union person.
You mean, thank a union for artificially inflating wages.
@@rogerr2796 couldn’t disagree more. Blaming unions while they’ve been under assault since the 1970s when the Powell memorandum was written. It’s not a both sides issue like many things. I’m not sure why people in America fall victim to this 50/50
Black and white thinking but if you crack open a book on the history of labor and the constant assault it’s been under you then can’t blame unions. Unions literally had gun battles with private police in PA and Appalachia to end child labor, 8 hour work day, etc.
I went to Erie on a whim during the summer a few years ago, while visiting my father in law in western Pennsylvania. Not knowing anything about the area, I drove out to Presque Isle to see the lake and go for a swim. Without a doubt one of the best hidden gems I would never have expected.
3 months out of the year
I also went to Erie on a whim during Covid and it was cool to see a place in PA that was like a beach town. I'd go again.
Good synopsis of the history. I’ve been here fifty years, and we have never gotten over the loss of “a good paying job for anyone that wants one.” It wasn’t just that our major union shop employers started leaving, but those that remained were attractive to larger out of state companies. They would be bought, and then closed after a couple years. The phrasing “transitioning from manufacturing to a service economy” described a brutal change where steel workers were forced into McDonald’s jobs. It was galling, but these people were proud of their work ethic. It’s ironic, but Erie higher education is some of the best in the nation, but it’s extraordinarily difficult for locals to find employment here justifying their degreed efforts.
I went to Behrend and if that is representative of some of our best, I'm terrified for the future.
Can't always wait around for a job , have to get together and start a business.
Yes our only export is college graduates.
Never were "steel workers forced into McDonald's jobs".
@@Mike-fx4nu like hell buddy, I went from a machinist to a pizza delivery guy and made 3$ an hour more!
67 year old lifelong Erie guy here. I've spent over a quarter century traveling all over the US for work. Whenever I came home to Erie, I appreciated it more and more. In addition to all the good things others have posted, I love the ethnic and specialty foods you'll have trouble getting anywhere else. Pepperoni Balls? Ox Roast? Smith's Hot Dogs? We got 'em. When people leave Erie the first thing they ask for are Smith's Hot Dogs. They're like gold currency! Real Italian Bread from Italian bakeries. The kind with the crispy crust. Polish meat markets that are always jammed on the weekends. Polish, German, Italian and other ethnic church festivals every year. All jammed with people. 10+ miles of the nicest freshwater beaches you'll ever visit. Mountains? Vineyards? Farmer's Markets? Fishing? Hunting? Skiing? Low crime? Big affordable houses? People you be friends with for life? Yeah, we got 'em all. We don't have deserts, droughts, and wildfires. You'll have to move to the southwest for that. We have all the fresh water you could ask for. It's sparkling clean and cheap. We do get an occasional earthquake every decade or so but they're so mild the only way I find out is to hear about it on the news. One thing the video does not talk about is the renaissance going on in the city. Local government, major businesses, along with the local community leaders have developed a plan to transform the city. They are executing the plan, and the downtown area is full of scaffolding and workers. Infrastructure is being updated. Businesses are moving back downtown. Dilapidated buildings are being bought and modernized. Buildings with historical value are being restored. It's a great time to live in Erie. I hope it never becomes a big city.
Nice post 👍👍🇺🇸
I am also 67 years young, having graduated from Tech Memorial in '74 (Go Centaurs). I always loved Erie, we had almost everything, especially Smith's Hot Dogs, Ox Roast and Pepperoni balls. We used to bug State Street on the weekends and meet our friends at the Dock. Most of my family and some friends worked at GE, so proud that Locomotives were built in my hometown. We had friends who worked at Zurn Industry, Eriez Magnetics, Bucyrus Erie and Marx Toys, Koehler Brewery, the Boston Store, not to forget the three or four Foundries. We had an International Airport, I guess because it flew to Canada. I remember we had soo many High Schools, Academy, East, Strong Vincent and Tech. there was Cathederal Prep , Villa Maria, and Mercyhurst Prep for private highschools. I left in '79 to serve in the Air Force but enjoyed coming home on leave to visit. The memories of growing up in Erie are priceless to me, the friends I made, the crazy stuff we did, luckily before social media so you can't prove anything. I try to bring up the deep history of Erie when I get a chance, like Admiral Perry's Flagship Niagara, Mad Anthony Wayne's Blockhouse, The secret passages in the Customs House used in the Underground Railroad, AND Waldameer, one of the oldest amusement parks in the country. and a few more I can't remember now since I am getting older. I sincerely hope Erie can bounce back again, It is too great a city to just fade away. OK, rant over, I LOVE ERIE!
@@larryfredricks6205 tell us how you really feel ,don’t hold back 😂👍👍
Wow that was great summary ! I Ieft Erie 26 years ago to serve in the military. I went to McDowell High School , Edinboro University and Graduated from LECOM in 1999. My family is still there. every time I go home I am reminded how lucky I was to grow up in Erie. A great town full of great people !!
I was born and raised in Erie and now love in Pittsburgh. Thank God Pittsburgh has Smith’s Hot Dogs! My wife is from the other side of the state and never liked hot dogs until she had a Smith’s hot dog. In order to get ox roast down here, you have to go to Kuhn’s in Ross.
It is also annoying when I see pepperoni “rolls” all the time and not pepperoni “balls.” They seem so deformed to me 😂.
Got an Erie local here. I've lived in my Erie my whole life (with the exception of college) and I've traveled a lot of the US, and I can say without a doubt Erie is a hidden gem. There is so much potential in this great city, and everyone here wants to make it better. I appreciate the video, because the whole world needs to know about Erie and our potential.
What type of potential?
@@The_Bad_Guy.there's potential but the same potential exists elsewhere.
There are no jobs and even if a company wants to move their on few of their potential employees would consider living there.
@@Kandralla incorrect because its not "the same". Very arrogant to assume that. Especially with all the small businesses there.
@@srobeck77 And yet the population is still falling, and people like me who tried to stay there have left because the potential is the same potential that can be had in other cities that are more attractive to people and don't require employers to pay a premium to bring people in.
Truth hurts and arrogance is assuming you're special somehow.
@@The_Bad_Guy.I am confused by your question. I met many people from the area who spoke highly of the area. Jobs and opportunities they say are many and crime is manageable. Please explain thanks.
We love living in Erie! My husband and I moved here a year ago bought a house and are totally happy. Yes, the winters are rough… But the arts scene is starting to really expand, the Warner theater gets really decent entertainment, we have three major universities, three major healthcare system is it… One of which is a teaching hospital, and the lake is gorgeous. Right outside in Erie, or farms and vineyards, breweries And all sorts of gorgeous scenery. The housing is affordable and there’s a lot of entertainment and places to eat. I’m selfishly a little glad that Erie Pennsylvania doesn’t show up on the radar for everybody. I also am glad that we moved here at a time I think the city is experiencing a revival.
Moved to Erie in 2022 for a slower pace of life! Really enjoy it! And also agree, glad Erie isn’t huge in terms of city demand as whats nice here is the simplicity and a population that isn’t massive meaning less traffic! Love reduced stop
Lights, shopping that is centralized, the nature, farms, and outdoor opportunities that are endless. Yes the beach is fun but to be honest, my
Opinion is that living in Erie is way different than visiting. As a tourist I would be ready to go home after a few days, I came, I saw, I was done.
On a whim I moved my huge family here, bought land and built a house. As a resident yes taxes are high, But the treasures hidden in Erie County are incredible! Only residents get the time to dig deep and truly see ALL that Erie has to offer! Completely surprised me!
@@lisab.1559 💛
You must live on the west side
@@russsettelmaier625 nope, I live on the east side
@@pegwatts6120 I'm sorry
One of the things I love about Erie are the numerous small businesses that are still family owned and operated. Yeah, there are the big-box stores here too, but if you ask for a recommendation on where to buy something from someone who's lived here any significant amount of time, they'll send you to a local business that's been here since the 40s or 50s, and still gives great customer service. We also have lots of great small restaurants that have been here for decades and decades. Erie is a city, but it feels like a small town. Manufacturing is also coming back to the area with plastics and machining. Erie's been through rough times, but we're not out of the fight.
They tried their best to destroy those family owned businesses with the 2020 lock-downs but Erie is too innovative and has a remnant of rebels that hung in there.
A good 90% of my family live in Erie. Always loved my trips to see my grandparent's for Christmas and spending time at waldameer when i was a kid. About 6yrs ago i was able to come back and bring my kids to waldameer!
I've always wondered why Erie never became a big city like Cleveland or Buffalo. It seems to have had a lot of advantages in the "old" economy, but it never really thrived as other Rust Belt cities did.
John D. Rockefeller had oil in Titusville that needed refining and the port of Erie would have been an easy choice. However, Rockefeller had refineries already in Cleveland so they became a major city (along with years of problems) and we stayed a smaller community (without those problems).
Geologic conditions. Presque Isle was very well suited to early merchant marine - shallow draft small sailing vessels. But the embayment is all very shallow, there is no major river outletting there that would push sediment outwards, like at Cleveland & Buffalo & Detroit. So it was useless as a port by the civil war era. They also never developed a large enough canal to connect it to the Ohio/ Mississippi watersheds, again, the geology wasn't suited.
Note that it was even too shallow for the 1812 era warships built there ("Lawrence" & "Niagra") - they had to be lifted over the sandbar at the mouth via use of "camels" (barges filled w/water, attached to both sides, then pumped out to raise the entire vessel). This worked two ways of course, protecting the fleet while it was being built from the Brit's, who already had a fleet on the lake.
Very interesting. Thanks.@@sideshowbob
The Democrat controlled governments have driven every good wage paying company out of the area through taxes and regulations. They are confiscating land like there is no tomorrow. Erie is controlled by a mafia family out of New York City and has been that way for over 40 years.
Interesting video and information.
Surprised that the history of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry was not included. He was only 25 years old when ordered to go to Erie, build a fleet of ships, and battle the British for control of Lake Erie. He and his 12 year old brother took a five week sleigh ride to get from Newport, RI to Erie, PA in February, 1812. He then built the ships and defeated the British in the Battle of Lake Erie in September, 1813. Where upon he issued his report, “We have met the enemy, and they are ours.” The first time the British Navy had ever been defeated.
Wow. Great info! Thank you for adding that.
( That's when boys grew up to be men).
I grew up in Erie. Perhaps it wasn’t the best place to grow up, but it was also certainly not the worst place. It’s definitely worth visiting. Take a sunset boat ride out onto the lake, on a clear day the sunset over the lake is one of the most beautiful sunsets in the world.
Are there boat rides into the Erie Canal?
@@lawrencebraun7616 The Erie Canal was never in Erie. The Erie Canal's western terminus was Buffalo, NY
Harborcreek (near Fairfield Fire Dept) was a nice place to grow up at. The eastside Putt-Putt arcade was my teen stomping grounds. Then as an adult it was the westside Putt-Putt. Now it is a water collection place for the Country Fair property.
@@billkeithchannel my parents took me to the west side Putt Putt many times. It was one of my favorite places to go as a kid. I’m sorry it’s gone.
@@lawrencebraun7616 There are boat rides out into the bay and the lake. They’re fun ways to spend a few hours and like I said the sunset is gorgeous.
No, "Erie will never be what it once was" but that's true for everywhere. What Erie IS today is a great place to live. We have seasonal weather which provides a variety of activities and though we are no longer a large city, we live within a few hours drive of 3 major cities. Though there is some crime and some unemployment, so does everywhere else. We do have great schools, neighborhoods and communities as well as an easy drive to enjoy rural areas. I Love my hometown.
First visited Erie in 1969 and it caught my eye. Nice place. Its population challenges are not unlike Syracuse, NY which is on rebound after some big developments came along. Erie has all the quality of life things (as long as you're not averse to snow) and is located close enough to three major cities that you can drive to see NHL hockey, NFL football (and Canadian football if you go to Toronto), NBA basketball and other events only a few hours driving away. North of the Allegheny mountain range, Erie has the advantages of three interstates (79, 86, 90) which connect it to everything and I-80 is only 70+ miles south. As railways replace rolling stock, Erie is well-positioned on main rail routes to renew its rail heritage. And Lake Erie is much cleaned up from 1960s. I could see docks at Erie unloading ships St, Lawrence Seaway into rail routes. Best wishes.
If you love outrageously high taxes, inflation, "Karens", snow and crime you will love it there! 😂.
@@keithhanisek2465better than Florida. Seriously everyone currently moving to Florida seems insane knowing that the hurricanes are continually getting worse (more and more insurance companies are pulling out of the state). Not to mention the heat and humidity. You also have to deal with an inflation crisis brought about by mass migration to the state while the jobs are relatively low paying (especially compared to the actual cost of living). Did I mention all of the HOAs and how you will have Karens controlling where you park your car and how you paint your own house. The only downside to the Great Lakes region right now is the weather, which is getting milder every year so I would honestly say that it is an upside.
Some crime? LOL. You have no idea until you interact with its seemly underbelly.
It's not really a "great place to live" when you can't earn a living there and your best aspect is that OTHER cities are within driving distance... that describes 90% of the cities in Ohio (and they don't have idioticly high taxes... and there are still jobs).
Erie SHOULD be a tourism hotbed, but nobody has been able to capitalize on it because of the garbage Democrats leaders and liberal residents running the city into the ground.
My family got our (almost) release day Xbox 360 from Erie. Everyone in NE Ohio was sold out, but Circuit City in Erie didn't let us down. I was so sick that I slept through the whole car ride, not much to see in Ashtabula County anyway, and when we stopped for lunch in Erie my parents thought I was being dramatic when I couldn't keep any food down at lunch and could hardly stand up to wait for our 360. I was 8 years old, and I guess the excitement of the 360 was just enough to keep anyone from noticing that I clearly had a stomach virus of some sort.
That's my personal history with Erie, I should probably go back at some point
I live just SE of Erie in Warren, Pa. Erie is like a second home to many of us here in Warren. I have deep love for Erie and it's people.
Kane, Pa close by?
@@philkenton8318 Yes it's about 25 miles from where I live, give or take.
@@user-wi1776
Remember the "Limber Lost" restaurant out that way?
@@philkenton8318 sure do
@@user-wi1776
I thought the place quaint, so I had a nice dinner there - a hundred years ago. Nice place to live with Allegheny State Park nearby.
I went to college at Gannon in the early 70s -loved it. Nothing but a smaller version of my hometown of Buffalo
My dad, brother and I go fishing in Erie every year in December. I love the downtown area and have walked around there many times. I think that if one company could move there and start up it would become a better town once again. There is so much potential for that city to be so much more. Also it needs more connections via rail to other large cities. There is no reason there should only be one train a day to it. The future is bright for Erie, we just need to help it out.
You need new leadership in both the local public and private sectors with fresh ideas and new approaches to urban problem solving.
Once in a while, the UA-cam algorithm works. I lived near this for a bit and drove past it several times, always wondered what was there. Thanks.
I was among those who fled, and I don't regret it, but Erie will always be home in my mind.
WHERE did you go?
same. I've now lived in my new city longer than I ever lived in erie when I left at 18...but it still is home.
Erie has a very interesting history such as it's connection to George Washington famously ordering the French to withdraw from (I believe) Ft LeBoeuf. Also Erie was instrumental in building warships to fight the British in the Battle of Lake Erie War of 1812. During prohibition in the 1920s Erie became a major port of entry for illegal alcohol from Canada. But we're most famous for being the hometown of Alice from the Brady Bunch lol
Capitalize on that. Do like Jamestown, NY. The whole town is decorated in Lucille Ball.
Don't forget the pizza bomber and facebook killer!
Man we've had it rough
@@DeeSchnutzinger-Mauph - LOL! Yeah, those too!
Waterford/Fort Leboeuf. Home of the only statue depicting Washington in British uniform.
The beach scene in the movie "The Road" was filmed on the peninsula. It was a really cold damp day but in the movie it was a warm place.
I grew up in Erie in the 00s and 10s, and while I've moved to Pittsburgh for school, I do fondly miss the city. Presque Isle is home to some of my most dear memories, and the city's quiet, slow-paced charm is hard to find in other places. The deindustrialization hit my parents and their parents hard; my parents recently moved to Tennessee, and I don't see myself going back after college. Once as a teenager, my friends and I snuck into the old Hammermill plant on a windy, gray winter day and I will never forget seeing the high tide crash against the crumbling brick on the lakeside. Truly beautiful in a way only a Rust Belt city can be beautiful.
Im a student from the suburbs of pgh living in the erie area. Theres not much going on in the city for sure but presque isle state park is criminally underrated and theres definitely some interesting history/lore in the area (oliver hazard perry, pizzabomber); ive heard gripes from some locals who think the city has been leaning too much into tourism and needs to focus on other things to get the economy back in gear; the truth is its a lot faster and easier to get to a real saltwater beach than it used to be and people with money to spend are 9.5 times out of 10 going to pick the outer banks or the like over a rusty ass city (that i love dearly) like erie. I think the city has serious potential to grow and recover like the other rust belt cities if it just shifts its focus to something other than just zoning in on tourists that just arent gonna come in the numbers they need them to.
You are forgetting fishing and skiing, even though the closest ski resort is in New York the hotel Rooms are on I90 and peach street. Duck hunting is going on now on the peninsula.
You are also forgetting the Otters and Seawolves, two teams that have brought a lot of excitement and pride to Erie, along with a few Championships. I made the trip up from Pgh to see the Wolves win their first Eastern League title in Sept and was in the building the night the Otters won their 2nd OHL crown in 2018. Both sports venues have been updated and are a testament to the city and it’s proud people.
I restore cast iron cookware. To this day there's nothing better than a good Griswold, which was made in Erie.
#7 with a lid...
They also made the best fruit presses, I like their 2 quart size!
I lived in Erie in 1968, while working in radio, it was one year, but one of the best years of my career. I will always love Erie!
I lived in Erie in the 70's and the hottest local radio station then was WJET 1400. What station did you work at?
@@markportzer5004 Go Radio wwGO-AM We were WJET's competition. They were much better.
The biggest thing Erie has going for it is lots of affordable housing. Plenty of starter homes under 100k and larger family homes in the 150k range. If you have a remote work job this would be a great place to live.
Good pull. I know someone that works "in silicon valley" making 400k which is garbage if you live there. In Erie he's a king.
Granted... the same can be said for Detroit, but how many people are willing to tolerate living somewhere that looks like a dump and isn't a place they want to invest their time and energy because the surroundings aren't getting better?
There are plenty of places in Ohio that can make the same claim of affordable housing without all the crimes and dilapidated buildings and neighborhoods, so why tolerate the ridiculous taxes and subpar government servants when you can move an hour west and live in a climate that's no worse?
My family and I would sail our 38 foot sloop to Erie PA, or Presque Isle as we like to call it, from Sandusky Bay. You can tour the Brig Niagara in Erie if it is in port, along with the Museum. Presque Isle beaches are very long and popular with kite flying and Kiteboarding. There is a lighthouse, and a monument to Commodore Perry from the war in 1812 as well. "Don't Give Up The Ship"
Never been to Erie. But always was fascinated by it. It is a beautiful place. ❤
Come visit! (in the summer)
As a NW PA person and I can attest the the actual city is very depressing, kind of like Buffalo and Niagara Falls, but the lake and the surrounding nature is nice.
I spent 25-years just below Erie and the clouds and snow eventually drove me south. Snow packed roads for weeks at a time. The sun never shining for months at a time made it impossible for me to live in the area. But did like to go Salmon/Trout fishing on several of the tributaries just west of Erie towards the OH state line...
I like Erie...I was just trucking, there was a shipper that we picked up at on occasion, the loads going to Oxford, NC...traffic was okay, the folks at the shipper seemed nice enough, and amazingly I always had nice weather when I went up there, always coming out of Pittsburgh...cities and towns like Erie speak to the true magnificence of the country, whether the locality ascending or descending kinda beside the point...
I remember it for being the city with the most cloudy day in the US, and the lake effect's massive blizzards, I went to college near there in Edinboro a very nice resort town near Cambridge Springs another very quait resort from the early 20th century. My sister lives right near the shore of lake Erie very cool , they used to have some very old trees there but killed them for gas stations or ghettos.
I actually like Erie and especially the lakefront and Presque Isle. But as a retired career DMV civil servant from New York I feel compelled to warn visitors to watch out for the drivers! Every annoyance seems to be simply some sort of contest as to whether a driver can get away with a traffic violation. Relatiely minor violations (speed limits are apparently only suggestions, turn signals magically stop working at the city limits, lane markers are for straddling as long as possible before finding someone to cut off, etc., the list is too long) have to be ignored so as to pay full attention to the major violations, chiefly running red lights. Even knowing the risks and diligently watching for potential violators is not enough to protect you, you must be on the lookout for the unimaginable.
It’s like that where I live in Connecticut. Wrong way drivers too. Best of luck to you.
Great video as always, I live just outside of Utica NY. It would be great if you could do one about Utica. The rise and subsequent decline plus the rich history is fascinating. Thank you
I 2nd that. Utica is a great pick
Third. I've driven through there.
I'm from utica. Grew up there in the 60s and 70s. Blue collar...ge, Chicago pneumatic,univac,bending, etc employed thousands. Downtown thrived...but cheaper non union labor in the south, lower taxes,better weather. Etc...
I love Erie! Native Pittsburgher here... Between Presque Isle, the Wineries, Waldameer Theme Park, and probably the best pizza I've ever had in my life, Erie is one of my favorite get aways. If your in Erie you have to get Virgil's Pizza. It'll change your life. Virgil takes his pizza seriously like he's making art with every pie. Highly recommend Erie. Just driving through wine country in fall when they harvest the grapes it smells amazing. If your just out with your significant other or planning a weekend trip with the family you can't beat Erie.
I've lived just south of Erie my whole life. I went to Penn State Berend and now work as an Engineer at LORD. Its an awesome place, not crazy like the big cities but not so rual that you have to travel half a day to go shop. I never plan to move from here even though i despise how they lay salt down on the roads in the winter. Erie is central to many big cites, apparently its the only city in the US that is within 500 miles of 50% of the US population.
We have a Presqu'ile Provincial Park in Ontario and we pronounce it phonetically like "presk eel"". This is from an english speaking Ontarian. Drove around Lake Erie once and spent the night in Erie. Thought it was pretty cool. Love old buildings. Love history!
Yes I noticed the pronunciation of Presqu’ile too! My Grand-Dad was born in Erie PA later moving to Barrie Ontario. I grew up between Belleville & Trenton so have been to Presqu’ile Ontario many times. Now retired, I hope to visit Erie (& Presqu’ile) sometime soon!!!🌊🌊🦆🛶⛵️🚤👌👍
It's called "rust bucket"
@@Lorne55 presque is french for 'almost' or 'quasi', so literally 'a quasi island'
Wonderfully informing piece on a place I left a lifetime ago. The history, location and the harbor have always held a place in my thoughts and I was both glad and saddened to hear of the place that contained some of my earliest memories. Thx. for the Times. ✌️👍
I used to go there often, delivering locomotive parts to the then GE plant that came from "overseas". It was a very depressing place, lots of vacant industrial buildings. The people I met at the plant were mostly unfriendly; like they wanted to be anywhere else but couldn't bring themselves to leave. I appreciated the miles coming from either KCMO or LA, but always felt sad afterward. Backhaul were used parts to go to a remanufacturing plant "overseas".
What happened? In 1964 a corrupt man named Lou Tullio was elected as mayor and he destroyed the downtown area, tearing down countless historic buildings, he stifled commerce and travel in the city, he took bribes, chased manufacturing out of town, and is the primary local cause of the city's decline. He ruled the city with an iron fist until 1984, and then was replaced with his assistant, Joyce Savacchio, who continued the same policies and did nothing about the decline. Only in the last 10 years, when a few local businessmen decided to take matters into their own hands due to 30+ years of abject government failure, has the city begun to recover.
erie was the best growing up i have such good memories of day trips to the beach, weekend hockey tournaments, and krispy kreme (buffalo native)
The video was interesting, but I felt that the audio left out a significant amount of information. Yes, the population of the CITY of Erie has and continues to decline. So has the housing stock and the retail business, but Erie is still the center of the economy in the area and the significant increase in the population of Millcreek Township, Summit Township, Harborcreek Township and other areas surrounding Erie means that the Erie metropolitan area continues to be the home to 250,000 or so. The retail center, formerly focused on State Street between the bay and 14th Street has moved to adjacent areas of Millcreek and Summit Townships. We have a fine healthcare system and recent renovations to the Warner Theater, new large buildings under construction downtown area and west 6th Street properties deserve mention. We have turned a bayfront full of mud, derelict buildings and rusty railroad tracks into a beautiful area any city would be proud to feature. So tell a more fulsome tale and make it balanced.
Parents moved from Erie to CO in 1963. Thanks Dad and Mom! Seriously, took her home to visit some family fall of 2017 and got to see the Brig (correction) Niagara sailing on Lake Erie on an actual sunny day in PA. Beautiful! Glad we went as Mom died 6 months later and unlikely to visit again. Cousins love the place tho.
I didn’t realize that GE Transportation once employed 18,000 people at its peak in Erie 😳 Same with Bethlehem Steel in Buffalo, employed well over 20,000 workers at its peak. Now a distant memory 😞
Yep, they made the parts in Erie and the locomotives were primarily built in Grove City about 60-miles to the south down I-79...
@@Snarkapotamus thx, good to know 👍
I believe during WW II the GE employed 24,000.
I’m from Oklahoma, and my wife is from Erie, PA. I’ve been there a number of times, but with her parents passing away, and most of her relatives we haven’t been back. My last trip was in 2005 to retrieve some furniture her dad had made. He had passed away and left this stuff to her.
A lot of the folks I know there used to call it, dreary Erie, the mistake on the lake. Lake Erie and Presque Isle was interesting.
The last time I heard that statement was in 1978 as I departed the region for my career in engineering/process control everywhere.. Fond memories as I reminisce wild sailing adventures on Lake Erie. Rehrig Pacific is well with this era of environmental-driven effort for waste reprocessing, Hammermill and Bucyrus are gone while the local foundries dwindle.
"Mistake on the Lake" is the rightly earned title for Cleveland and Cleveland only!
@@jasono2139other opinions from wiki.... The Mistake on the Lake is a pejorative term referring to:
>>Cleveland, a city in the U.S. state of Ohio located on the southern shore of Lake Erie
>>Cleveland Stadium, a former professional sports venue in Cleveland
>>Erie, Pennsylvania, a city also located on the southern shore of Lake Erie
>>Exhibition Stadium, a former sports venue in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on the northern shore of Lake Ontario
>>New Soldier Field, a professional sports venue in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
>>The Lakeside Center portion of McCormick Place, a convention center in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
@henrytowne7463 how dare Wikipedia try to besmirch Cleveland's DECADES of hard efforts to avoid even remotely appearing to be a functional lakeside city!!
Erie DOESN'T EVEN HAVE a river that they could light on fire if they wanted to!!
This video is amazing. I don't have the words to describe the feeling watching a video like this about the place I live. Having seen many of these images in person and stood where they were taken from is wild
Kelso Beach down the hill from Waldameer back in the 60s & 70s is my main memories of Erie. We had a couple cottages there on the lake. I do miss it.
My first visit to Erie from 🇨🇦 would have been back when the ideal shopping destination was a staple, back when Kauffmans and Lazarus were in Millcreek mall 😂 back when Loblaws sold groceries in the States.
I remember my family vacationing there 30 years ago. We ate at this old firehouse-made-into restaurant, stayed at the Peninsula Inn (which isn't there anymore). It was nice.
Went to college there, lots of great memories and want to go back to revisit 😊
I lived in the Erie area all my life and we may have our issues and setbacks but I absolutely LOVE this city and want to spend the rest of my life here ❤
Erie is my back yard. Lived here a long time and I love it. Great video.
Great video man. I live around an hour south-east in Franklin, which is another one of the locations of those French forts. I had to work and stay in Erie all summer and I'll say my opinion on the city has changed. I agree with you about the tourism, Presque Isle is awesome in the summer. I-90 brings in a ton of cross-country traffic and a lot of Canadians as well. The rough spots are very rough. The poorest zip code in the US is actually in east Erie. I was driving through the downtown at 11am on a Tuesday and I saw someone casually shooting up heroin. A common case across the rust belt for sure but Erie was the only place I felt like it was out in the open.
But there are some very nice areas both along the shore and in the suburb areas. Good restaurants and a few things to do like the zoo, Waldameer in the summer, and Splash Lagoon all year round. And like you said you're not far from Buffalo, Cleveland, or Pittsburgh, but you're also not far from some great nature spots. Lake Erie Bluffs state park is a half hour west and has 100 foot cliffs on the lake. Pymatuning and Wilhelm Lakes are around an hour south and the Allegheny National Forest is around 2 hours east starting in Warren.
Pymatuning and Wilhelm aren't much to write home about. Are they nice to visit once in a while, sure... but Moraine State Park is nicer than both.
@@jasono2139 Every summer the pymie area is flooded with pittsburgers so it’s definitely popular but I agree morraine is nicer
@dylanlowers5236 so is Conneaut lake... but it doesn't seem to help the area too much.
People just come to their vacation home, ride their boat around the rather dirty lake, and then leave back to Pittsburgh. The amusement park is a shadow of its former self too.
Sarahs campground is fun. Beautiful lake. Great bike trails. Cant wait til mext summer.🍻
In 1980, it took ten man-hours to produce one ton of steel. Today that number is 1.5 man-hours. Plants that failed to modernize disappeared from the earth. In reality, there are few steel jobs remaining, because it is a heavily computerized and automated industry today. The same is true of auto manufacturing. The days when 10,000 people were needed to run a factory are gone.
That's sad to hear it's in decline. When I was growing up, across the lake in Canada we received stations WICU (NBC), WSEE (CBS) and WQLN (PBS). And at that time, probably not so much now, TV stations had a strong sense of local identity, so over time it was like getting to know the city and its locals, resulting in feeling some connection to it (that ilkely sounds odd to modern TV viewers with most broadcasts no longer having that local feel these days). To give some idea of the stations' quirks: I remember WICU (channel 12) seemed to have very religious owners who'd sometimes preempt NBC programming in Prime Time to run things like the Billy Graham Crusade. There was this family run furniture business that always did these nice ads wishing everyone Merry Christmas. WSEE often had little historic clips ("don't give up the ship" was a common one -- a bit unintentionally jingoistic since the context was the US's hostile invasion of Canada, a context sort of glossed over). I can't recall for sure if it was WICU or WSEE that sometimes gave paid airtime to Lyndon Larouche conspiracy theory rants. I think WQLN mainly survived thanks to donations from Canadian viewers from London Ontario with whom their British progamming was popular. And, of course, there were all the ads for Froggy 101, so I always get a smile seeing the Froggy stickers show up on The Office when I watch it here in Australia -- it's a bit of a memory of "home".
@@seanmichaels9953 Definitely. You could, e.g., receive multiple NBC affiliates, and the programming for most of the day would be completely different, and there were often shows made by the local station itself, my favourites being all the horror movie hosts. We also received stations from Cleveland, Buffalo, Detroit, etc, and all had a very different flavour, complete with their cheap local advertising from local merchants. I remember one used car dealership had an ad with Jermaine Jackson talking about how his tour car broke down, but the dealership gave them a great deal (no doubt it was something like "we'll give you a used car if you do an ad for us", but he didn't say).
But even before I moved to Australia, that sort of thing started to vanish with a lot of stations without network affiliation giving up some of their uniqueness to become part of networks (sometimes multiple ones) like WB, Universal, etc, and buying into blocks of programming outside of primetime. And the variety of shows and movies getting shown also decreased. One of the reasons I love Weird Al Yankovic's film UHF is because it's a way of reliving the earlier more independent era.
I'm not sure the Ch. 12 owners were that religious, it was that the Billy Graham Crusade would pay top dollar for airtime on the Erie market's biggest TV signal.
@@JoelNatalieMedia Possibly. But I seem to recall them having seasons greetings spots around Christmas and Easter that seemed less generic ("Happy Holidays") and more overtly Christian / religious than most (e.g. Jesus instead of Santa or the Easter Bunny). I could be mistaken.
Look at Bridgeport, CT, that's really depressing now.
Being from Ne Ohio,i love visiting..Its less than 90 minutes away and no tolls..It was a nice trip when i had money restrictions but still needed to get out. Even now when i have a few gjurs its nice to drive out, dit by the water, get domething to eat and go home. Its a great midwest city.
I remember driving through some of the hoods in Erie just to look around. One thing that impressed me was a brown and white Ford Bronco(?) that I saw. It had a set of gold wire wheels and said "Gold Shoes on my Ho" in black letters on the back.
Hey, dat mah whip, bitch! Daint no "hoods" here; just straight-up represent. Get chow ass back home, crackah! 💪😉
I've been fascinated by Erie since the first time I flew over lake Erie in the 80's & noted that it's essentially Toronto, but flipped 180º. I've wanted to visit but never have. Some day.
Erie Metropolitan Statistical Area population, 2023 (est.): 0.27 million
Greater Toronto population, 2023 (est.): 7.0 million
But ok, the two cities have a roughly mirror-image shape when seen from the air.
I used to work for a company that bought American Sterilizer Co. Two things happened in quick succession; 1) Pennsylvania passed a new inventory tax and made it retroactive, which cost the company a couple million, then 2) the union workers went on strike for about two months and crippled delivery of items to customers. A year or so later parent company said screw you and pulled out of PA.
I moved to Erie in 2005 for my job, having grown up in the CLE-AKR area. My wife and I work for two of the largest remaining employers in the area. Before I get to the criticisms, we DO like it here. We are not warm weather people, and actually enjoy having four seasons. It is a great safe, quiet place to raise a family. Living costs are reasonable, and there is no rush hours or traffic issues.
The reason Erie will not grow is the people. The attitudes are very provincial. If you are not native born and are related to the 10-12 big name families in the area, forget getting involved in the churches, schools or local politics. After 18 years, we are still treated as outsiders. Many people here have attitudes of entitlement that confuse my wife and I, because in any big city or metro area, these people would be nobodies (and there is nothing wrong with being one!). Anyone that breaks the poverty line in the city is instantly snooty. You see the attitudes in driving. There is no rush hour here, and no need to be rude, but people make up traffic laws as they go. Others get in your way on purpose, I guess because they think they are the State Police (who are especially friendly and nice in our area).
Having come from OH, we had already selected a builder for our home, based in OH. When they went to get local contractors to sublet the work on the house EVERY LOCAL contractor REFUSED. Everyone from the Amish that framed the house, the HVAC, electrician, plumber, all had to come from over 100 miles away. Sad.
Driving more of the decline, , schools (both public and religious) are closing at a breakneck pace, as there are exponentially fewer and fewer kids. Old people are moving south or passing away. And religion is even drying up.
We do have a good influx of Ukrainian, Syrian and Iraqi refugees, who are all great people. Hopefully they will bring some vibrancy back.
Many people are comfortable in the misery of their own 💩 especially locals who’ve never gone anywhere or done anything with their lives. I see it in my hometown just up the road in Silver Creek NY. A vibrant town up through the 1960’s, the people still keep bellyaching that the building of the NYS Thruway ruined it. FFS that was 60 freaking years ago, get over it 🤦♂️
Having lived in PA all my life, I have to say the attitude you describe holds true in every PA town, city or municipality. Every town has a hierarchy where certain last names are and always remain predominant. It's a PA mindset that is an engrained tradition. Don't like it, myself. But virtually impossible to change.
Pedantic
I grew up in Philly. My mother used to say that Pennsylvania was Philly and Pittsburgh with Alabama in between. That’s more true than you would think. When people fail to change, they get left behind. That’s the reason I left Pa and moved west. One writer talking about the provincial attitude of people in the town is the reason many rust belt towns are dying.
This has nothing to do with regulations, unions, high taxes or whatever other bs I’ve read here. We went from industrial manufacturing to the digital age. Most factories use robots to build cars etc. towns in the rust belt will continue to deteriorate until they become willing to change. You can’t survive with old technology and rigid thinking. If you can’t survive with the old skills, then go to school and learn something new. Most of all, stop bitching and living in the problem and go for the solution, whatever that is for you.
@@garytorresani8846 well said. Thankfully Buffalo is slowly changing with the 43North accelerator program, bringing new and growing tech companies to the area. Alas a lot of Western New Yorkers have about as much vision as Stevie Wonder 🤦♂️
Lead, follow, or get the hell out of the way of the people actually doing something.
I'm a Southern CA native and have never been there. But I will always remember a college professor of mine who frequently lamented living in dreary Erie Pennsylvania before migrating to CA like he had just been released from prison.
Now it's California's turn. From a peak in 2020 of 39.6m its population has been dropping steadily to an estimated 38.9m at the end of last year-and falling. (Figures from US Census Bureau.)
@@dixonpinfold2582 Fine with me I remember. In the 1970's I had a bumper sticker on my car that said "Welcome to California, Now Go Home! Beside the primary reasons people are leaving CA is they're seeking a less expensive cost of living especially people reaching retirement age.
@@whiteorchid5412 Liberals ruined both these states
I don’t care much for the downtown area but presque isle state park is such a beautiful place. Pennsylvania is an underrated beach state.
I grew up on American television living right across the lake. So glad I did.
Good Stuff! I was always intrigued by Erie Penn. ✊🏾💥
I had family there in Erie - tied to the Eastern Orthodox Church. They were just down the street from the lake shore. I ended up in Edinboro for college and after 3 years of those brutal winters, we left for warmer weather in NC! I do miss Erie though.
Had a business meeting in Pittsburgh and decided to extend the trip and drive to Erie for a couple days just to see Lake Erie. It was the first day of spring, so of course that means heavy snow. Made it to Erie just as the snow was accumulating and watched the storm from my hotel on the waterfront and had some delicious Lake Erie perch for dinner.
This was an eerily eerie video about Erie.
Grew up in Erie. Left in 1973 and never looked back.
Excellent vid. Short, concise, to the point. Well done, thank you. And a note about content, it seems too many mayors and such are always gullible to have arenas, bars, restaurants, hotels located downtown. All service jobs, not high paying, don't create value out of raw materials, and can be extinguished when crime overtakes the area. People have to actually make something. When will they ever learn? I'll repeat, like the song "Where have all the flowers gone....", "when will they ever learn?"
I don't like cities but it's where I was born and I love the history of the place. And Presque Isle is gorgeous, loved going there when I was younger. I live about 30 minutes away and still enjoy doing things up there sometimes
I have visited Eire from the cleveland area, and it is a potentially fantastic tourist destination: beaches, boating, fishing, hiking, all it needs is a civic commitment to spruce up and invest. Leave the rust belt behind; honor your history but don’t try to bring it back; look to the future, and this town could prosper mightily.
Born and mostly raised here,moved away 6 years ago because of my job. Great memories from my time there.
I’ve lived around Erie for all of my life (I’m an elder millennial). No one is mentioning the average snowfall of around 100 inches a year (not exaggerating) and businesses rarely shut down because of snow. You still go to work in snowstorms; the work ethic is the best in the country here. It’s not uncommon for the last snowfall of the season to happen in May. Still not as cold as Buffalo, and I’ve noticed the temps overall becoming more mild. This is going to be a top place to move when people are displaced by climate change. The weather can only get better!
"Climate change"... that's the kind of wishful thinking that let Erie deteriorate to its current state.
I’ve been to Erie a few times in recent years, and in general it seemed old (including the age of the people) and depressed. Not much to keep educated, young people there from what I could see. Nice, slower pace of life compared to bigger cities, but not a lot of opportunity.
A simple thing called the interstate highway system replaced the Great Lakes as a transportation hub.
I lived just south of Erie for a few decades. I loved going to the VFW on 26th st. And then going to Eli's for wings.
I lived right down the street from the vfw on ellsworth ave for 37 yrs.
In the mid 60's we hauled 42" wood to Hammermill from land they owned in Potter County. In the mid 80s early 90s I loaded rail cars with 22' wood in McKean, Cameron Counties and also in Lock Haven that was railed to Hammermill. The Mill lost in Erie hurt all across the state.
I am sitting here in Erie as I am about to watch this. What was great about growing up in Erie in the 1970's was watching a bunch of Canadian (Ontario) TV stations on Cable TV and radio.
While your history of Erie and your statistic were very informative, there is one thing that I will say: Erie is not a "Forgotten Place" like the title of your channel states. It is very loved and booming for people who love to shop or go to Presque Isle. It may not have the industry that it had in the past, but it is surviving in other ways and is definitely not a FORGOTTEN PLACE.
I got married and moved to Erie in 1987. Kids grew up and I moved away in 2022. Erie suffered, as all rust belt cities suffered from lack of industry. Hammermill closed, Amsco went to Mexico, and as the video said G.E. went from 20k employees to 1800. Its population fell to below 100k for the first time in a long time. The only knock I have against Erie is the weather. While it has similar temps to Pburgh. it has a heavy wind coming off the lake which really sucks in wintertime. But Erie is great foe hunting and fishing. And it is a great place to raise a family.
Just one comment about jobs. Yes. Erie did lose a lot of good paying union jobs. But I see these car companies hiring down south at $17 an hour. How can you make ends meet on that? The government wanted to make this a global economy and now the Asians are eating our lunch. In everything. I had a friend who worked ar Wal-Mart but also collected welfare for his family because he didn't make enough. Sad.
The U. S. government has been going South on its own people gradually from the rejection of the proposed Monroe Doctrine to the CFR establishment 100 yrs ago to promote globalized wickedness ! The white collar tying nooses around the blue collar.
It is more involved, however, than just the U. S. ; because Satan controls ALL the governments of the world and their institutions! At this point, One World & eventually Armageddon is nigh !!! Luke 4:5&6 / 2 Corinthians 4: 4. // Daniel 2 :44 /// Revelation 16:14 & 16 !!!
Happened in Canada too. A friend of the family worked for Ford, and it used to be that if you got a job there, you were set for life. Thankfully for him, he was reaching retirement when things went bad. A lot of Wal-Mart employees throughout the US require welfare -- goes to show that particular business is built on greed and avarice.
They live in a much better area than the rust belt, that’s how they “make ends meet”: lower taxes, realistic housing prices, lower cost of living, better weather. Plus, no union dues going to support liberal/anti-American politicians, better schools (no woke shit), etc, etc. Oh yeah, the vehicles they make are so much better than any UAW crap.
Even sadder that Walmart doesn't pay enough for people to live on while the heirs of Mr. Sam are worth billions...now that's SAD!
Interesting side note: Erie is around 27 miles from being considered a Midwestern town (Ohio).
The most meaningful count of a city's population is that of its metro area, not the core city. The latter tends to stay roughly stable, more or less permanently, long after the city spills over its borders and keeps growing. In Erie's case it's around 270,000 vs. 94,000.
It's like Rochester NY. Used to be an amazing city and then just died. It's also mostly service jobs or university jobs. Now they try to have tourism but the poverty and crime are just out of control.
Been living in Erie all 19 years of my life and I feel I will always be here
Mercyhurst Pride right here. I am a graduate of Mercyhurst College and loved my time in Erie.
Before we got our casinos here in Cleveland, we would always go to Erie and go to Presque isle downs casino. They have a good buffet. If im not mistaken I had some good pizza there too.
Erie lives on in other ways. GRISWOLD is probably the most collectible American brand name cast iron pan. Made in ERIE, PA until 1957. The original factory building at 12th and Raspberry St is STILL THERE despite closing 65 years ago. I use my GRISWOLD 8 cast iron pan daily, it's almost 100 years old now. People will still be using them 100 years from now.
I always thought Erie, PA was named after the lake
Both named after the Eriez indians.
AND Erie, CO is named after Erie, PA by Mr. R.J. Van Valkenburg in 1874@@questionmark6971
The Jones Act has really done a job on a lot of the Great Lakes towns.
Looking like a nice chill place, solidly located to go see small bands I like on tour. Pennsylvania also does 0 property tax for 100% DAVs. Might have to check it out 🤙🏻
Nearly 50, left Erie in 99' for the military and never moved back, on a recent visit home I found the city reinvented itself.
When I last visited, felt like I was seeing an old HS crush, the wash of childhood, teen memories, family, that city was probably just the right size growing up in for someone born in the mid 70s.
I hated Erie, wanted more, now I feel it calling me back, or maybe I just seen my "younger shadow" that never left, and been waiting for me to come back home.
I moved from North Georgia (Kennesaw) to Girard, then Lake City (Erie County) both less than 20 miles west of Erie in May of 2006. Although it being a nice place to live , I still can't get used to the three seasons here. Spring, Fall, and long, cold Winters. 🥶There rarely is a true Summer here.
wow! moved from georgia to Erie! Hope you brought your flannels..
@@jamj2912 I own stock in the company I've bought so many over the years ! 🤣
I grew up in Erie and went to NPCA then moved to Atlanta... Still know a few ppl there. If you were in my shoes, would you move back and settle down ( I in aa career that would facilitate this)?
I just couldn't take the weather. That, for me, was #1. If you don't mind the cold and snow, it's a great place to live. It's a quiet, small, city, so if you don't need a lot of excitement and activities, it's great.@@johnnytran420
There should be laws against selling out American industry that hard. I understand it’s protectionist which has economic implications but our manufacturing tech could have developed so much more if we invested instead of sending money abroad for a quick profit.
I pass through Erie a few times per year. Vacationed there once. Presque Isle is over crowded. We were not impressed. There are some decent places to eat off of I90 on Peach Street. I did consider retiring there because it would roughly put me half way between my children. But ultimately madea different choice.
Well Sir Larry Wildman did buy Anacott Steel there. That is the only time I heard of it.
Obscure reference, but Oliver Stone appreciates it!
We stayed in late August and it was dirty, didn't seem safe, and was run down except for the grid downtown.
Not sure what they can do as the entire area is slowly being abandoned.
It would take many bulldozers to clean up the East Side...
I grew up near Pittsburgh and have been going up to Erie since I was a small child. I’d have to say the biggest disappointment to this day for me was the decline / drop-off of the independent mom & pop motels - they haven’t been the same since the 90s! But in a way I kind of like that Erie hasn’t exploded beyond its maximum population, as there’s still a “getaway to somewhere more quiet vibe” at many times, but not all times… Afternoon traffic can be a PITA around there and there seems to be a lot of drivers who don’t know what they’re doing, especially in the summer. Another perk of the surrounding area is not only wine country but the generally fertile land and spread-out geography / rural population. There are lots of great land parcels and homesteads in that whole corner of the state - a generally nice place to live!
Erie is a beautiful old port city with a lot of historic landmarks and great architecture. However deindustrialization along with the typical quota of urban problems has hurt Erie just like other rust belt cities and communities. At least Erie didn’t completely eviscerate its downtown core like both Niagara Falls NY and New Haven CT did in the 60s and 70s. Erie has done urban renewal but not on nearly as destructive in scale as in some rust belt cities. If Erie is to revitalize and it will eventually become a go to place, the city still needs new leadership in both the public and private sectors.
Try the entire state needs new leadership too.
All of PA is suffering from liberal brain rot.
Last I checked, 16502 was the poorest area code in the US. It's only getting worse here. Downtown is getting a little revamped, but it means nothing cause there isn't currently extra money to spend for most. Especially during our often brutal winters.
Our economy will and already is getting a temporary boost; April 2024 we will be directly under the total solar eclipse. Director at environmental center at the entrance of Presque Isle said 130,000 people are estimated to be visiting. It's going to be chaos. Avoid Peach street and Presque Isle at all costs, trust me. Go out west in the country to the bluffs or something, that will be better for views and traffic; especially if you come in from the west. PS we regularly get voted top 5 sunsets in the world!! Stay for that