How residents plan to preserve the memory of an iconic landmark

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    AVON LAKE, Ohio (WEWS) — The Avon Lake Power Plant was a fixture in the community for nearly a century, providing jobs, tax revenue and electricity.

The plant was decommissioned in 2021, then demolished in 2024.

The Avon Lake Historical Society formed a committee composed of city officials and volunteers to preserve artifacts from the power plant.

“They’re going to start to tear down the original building here soon and we’re going to save the archway and the stairway and the walls that alongside that stairway,” said Tony Tomanek, president of the Avon Lake Historical Society.

Good Morning Cleveland anchor Tiffany Tarpley spoke to Tomanek about what the group recovered so far, including the clock that ran the plant and lights that were on top of the smokestacks.

Some of the artifacts are being stored at the Avon Lake Public Library.

The library’s director, William Rutger, told Tarpley the items will be showcased in a special room.

“What we’re envisioning with the space is taking all the walls and telling the history of the power plant from construction to demolition and throughout the space adding the different artifacts that really illustrate key moments in the history,” said Rutger.

The project at library should be completed in the next year or so.

As for the future of the site where the power plant once stood, Avon Lake plans to purchase a portion of the property along the lakefront and transform it into a public park.

Tomanek said he wants to build a commemorative garden there.

“I want my grandchildren and my grandchildren’s children to be able to walk down this park and see this plaque and this this display that says this was once here,” said Tomanek. “I want people to know the story, I just don’t want it to disappear.”

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