Take Your Beer For a Walk: Erie's East Side

Contributed

This month, Jeff McCullor takes us on a stroll (with beer in hand, of course) to Erie's east side, experiencing the Denny's empire as well as imagining what the corner would have looked like many (blue) moons ago.

We're headed to Erie's east side this month folks – lace up those sneaks, grab your beer, and let's take a walk together. Snag a can or growler-fill from a local brewery and we'll all meander along the mega-wide sidewalks of Erie's first main thoroughfare, Parade Street.

Let's begin at the north east corner of East 10th and Parade streets, home to all things Denny: Denny's Ice Cream Stand, Denny's Coin Laundry, and Denny's Touchless Auto Wash. Ice cream has been a fixture in this spot for the last 43 seasons, imagine how many cones have graced those serving windows. We'll raise a pint to you!

This exact spot once housed the Parade Street Market House, a large building where local vendors could sell their produce, meats, and other provisions. Similar to Cleveland's wonderful West Side Market, its interior was lined with stalls for rent from 1895 through the 1960s when it closed. At one point in time, Erie had no fewer than four market houses. Shopping local was the norm and chain stores didn't exist.

Just turn around for our next stop and look across Parade Street, you'll see a new ErieBank branch, the first new bank to open in this neighborhood in decades, marking one of the most visible projects of the Erie's East Side Renaissance (ESR) efforts in revitalizing the Parade Street corridor from East Sixth to East 12th. Cheers to you, ESR and ErieBank!

Next, let's stroll north a bit to 810 Parade, home to Kraus Department Store, Erie's oldest and arguably most beloved hardware store. Their tagline is, "If we don't have it, you don't need it." As a frequent flyer here myself, I can attest this is 100 percent true. The family-run business has been cranking out excellent service since 1886, which is nothing short of incredible. Cheers, Kraus Family!

We'll continue our travels northbound on Parade eventually landing at the northwestern corner of East Sixth, home to the fortress-like Erie Armory. If you can't spot it just look for the crenelated parapet – when was the last time you spotted a sweet parapet, am I right? Purchased and modernized by Erie Insurance in 2013, this spot was once home to the Pennsylvania National Guard's 112th Infantry Regiment, a unit with formation roots dating back to the Civil War.

I hope you'll agree this has been a delightful stroll along through an often overlooked piece of Erie. Thanks for coming along with me. Drink local, and keep on walking. 

Jeff McCullor is the co-owner of Erie Ale Works. He can be reached at jeff@eriealeworks.com