The latter half of the 19th century was a period of great industrial
expansion and manufacturing in Erie. Robert Jarecki and the Jarecki
Manufacturing Company were instrumental in this economic and
residential development of West Sixth Street at this time. Many other
large businesses, such as Erie City Iron Works, Black & Germer Radiant
Stove Company, and Continental Rubber Works, helped to settle the area,
building homes for their own families along West Sixth Street. These
manufacturers and industrial innovators made up the majority of Erie’s
elite during this time, leading up through the 20th century. Many of
these powerful Erie families were related by blood or marriage, and
they used their local status to form family complexes that were
beneficial to their continued economic success in the region. The
legacy of these families continued throughout the industrial boom, and
their legacy remains in the West Sixth Street Historic District, which
was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984 and
continues to uphold the industrial past of the city.
In the late 19th and early 20th century, Alexander Jarecki was one of
Erie’s leading industrialists. He was responsible for many residential
areas and commercial works in Shaker Heights, but also had strong
connections to the wealthy elite in Erie’s industrial districts. The
Jarecki house in particular was built in 1909 by Alexander Jarecki’s
brother, Robert. He was a graduate of Lehigh University and a member of
the Psi Upsilon fraternity. The building was designed by architect
Theodore Cuyler Visscher, his former roommate, and the mansion itself
is modeled as an exact replica of the fraternity house.
As the Great Depression rolled through America in the 1930’s, no amount
of industrial power or wealth could be completely immune to the
devastating effects. The combining factors of the severe economic
downturn and new suburban development throughout Erie lead to the
eventual decline of the West Sixth Street elite. The great families
that once monopolized economic manufacturing and industrialization in
the Erie area were soon taken over and replaced with residential
suburban homes. A number of the West Sixth Street mansions were
eventually torn down to make room for new residents and rental units,
which altered the feel and integrity of the once prominent community.
Luckily, the Robert Jarecki Mansion still exists as an important piece
of the West Sixth Street Historic District, offering modern citizens a
sense of place reminiscent of the elite industrial innovators of Erie’s
rich economic history.
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