{"id":1045,"date":"2013-01-12T15:36:35","date_gmt":"2013-01-12T13:36:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.spookymarion.com\/?p=1045"},"modified":"2015-01-17T10:42:27","modified_gmt":"2015-01-17T08:42:27","slug":"marions-ruins-a-photo-essay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.spookymarion.com\/?p=1045","title":{"rendered":"Marion’s Ruins: A Photo Essay"},"content":{"rendered":"

Like a lot of cities across America, Marion has its share of neglected and decaying buildings and houses. Since we, the spooks at Spooky Marion, are enamored with all things neglected and decaying, we thought it would be interesting to put together a collection of photographs documenting a few of these places as well as their stories.<\/p>\n

While some of the structures pictured here are probably still salvageable \u2013 local landmarks like the Union Station and the Harding Hotel are proof that such run-down buildings can be restored and put to good use \u2013 others are probably beyond saving and will be demolished in the coming years. Of course, this is especially unfortunate for the buildings that are historically significant<\/p>\n

These photos are by no means a comprehensive collection of Marion’s “ruins” but rather the beginning of a collection we hope will grow. That said, anyone with photos (new or old), ideas for photos or information about photos already shown here should leave a comment below or drop us a line at spooks@spookymarion.com<\/span>. Last but not least, a special thanks to Kirk Wyckoff, who was kind enough to contribute many of the photos shown below.<\/p>\n

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This once-grand house, located at 247 North Prospect Street, originally belonged to the Kellys, a prominent local family that later included Judge Robert Kelly. According to local resident, Phyllis Ingmire, the Kelly family had the house built in the 1870s. It is now a rental property. Photo courtesy of Kirk Wyckoff.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The construction of the Prospect and State Street overpasses in the 1960s made many of the houses on both streets less desirable places to live, and many have fallen into disrepair. Photo courtesy of Kirk Wyckoff.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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This house, located on the corner of Blaine Avenue and West Church Street, has certainly seen better days. However, the craftsmanship that went into its construction is still evident even now. It must have been a sight to behold at one time.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Founded in 1904 by W.H. Houghton, the Houghton Sulky Company built world-class sulkies (lightweight, two-wheeled carts, usually horse-drawn) for 103 years before finally closing its doors in 2007 due to financial difficulties. Photo courtesy of Kirk Wyckoff.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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In his book about Marion,\u00a0Stuart Koblentz writes that the oldest part of the building was originally a Centenary Methodist Episcopal Church. However, after Marion\u2019s rail lines were built, the location was no longer suited\u00a0for quiet church services. The structure was later used as an industrial manufacturing space, first by the Huber Manufacturing Company and later by the Houghton Sulky Company. Photo courtesy of Kirk Wyckoff.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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An advertisement for Houghton Sulky that appeared in Time Magazine on March 15th, 1937, stated: \u201cHoughton Sulky \u2013 Proudly manufacturing the world’s finest quality show horse vehicles. Quality is a hallmark of Houghton training and show vehicles. Traditional quality is a blend of elegance of design, the highest quality materials, and demanding standards of craftsmanship. Houghton Sulky carries a full line of carts for horses, ponies, and miniature horses.\u201d Photo courtesy of Kirk Wyckoff.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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According to Aaron Turner\u2019s website Old Ohio Schools<\/a>, the Tully Township School out in Martel was built in 1915 but closed its doors in 1987. The building, however, is not abandoned. When this photograph was taken in late 2012, people were living in at least part of the building. Photo courtesy of Kirk Wyckoff.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The Tully Township School shortly after its completion. Photo courtesy of Aaron Turner.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The former Courtesy Budget Inn, located at 1361 Harding Highway East, was once a modestly priced motel but has been sitting derelict for the past few years. The rooms that occupied the east side of the complex have already been razed, and it seems reasonable to assume that the rest will not escape the wrecking ball much longer. Photo courtesy of Kirk Wyckoff.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The motel is located in a heavily-trafficked part of Marion, a fact that\u2019s likely to appeal to developers in the coming years. Photo courtesy of Kirk Wyckoff.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The Courtesy Budget Inn during its more respectable days. Photo courtesy of Randy Winland.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Although originally a Mansfield-based company, the Isaly name played a part in Marion life for many years. This particular building, located at 202 North Prospect Street, is all that remains of a group of buildings that housed the dairy plant as well as the Isaly offices. Photo courtesy of Larry Henne.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Brian Butko, author of Klondikes, Chipped Ham, & Skyscraper Cones: The Story of Isaly’s, writes that this particular location was in use from 1915 to 1947. He goes on to write that the Isaly brand began to decline in the 1960s and disappeared completely from Marion in the 1990s when The Isaly Shoppe went out of business. Photo courtesy of Kirk Wyckoff.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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This building, located at the end of Rose Avenue (past the halfway house), is a bit of a mystery. Although the words \u201cSteam Shovel Co.\u201d are still visible on the west side of the building, its purpose and when it was in operation remain unclear.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The same building seen from the east or Leader Street side.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Like a lot of cities across America, Marion has its share of neglected and decaying buildings and houses. Since we, the spooks at Spooky Marion, are enamored with all things neglected and decaying, we thought it would be interesting to put together a collection of photographs documenting a few of these places as well as […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1045","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-all","category-landmarks"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spookymarion.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1045","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spookymarion.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spookymarion.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spookymarion.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spookymarion.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1045"}],"version-history":[{"count":50,"href":"https:\/\/www.spookymarion.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1045\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1938,"href":"https:\/\/www.spookymarion.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1045\/revisions\/1938"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spookymarion.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1045"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spookymarion.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1045"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spookymarion.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1045"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}