LAKEWOOD, OH (WOIO) -
In Friday's Northeast Ohio's Hidden Treasures, we're highlighting Lakewood's Lake Erie Building, commonly known as the "Screw Factory." Viewing the building's outside, you'd have no clue of the treasures hiding inside.
From 1917 to 1924, the building was the Templar Automotive Plant.
Dave Buehler, a Lakewood native, proudly showed off a handful of the 13 templars he owns that were manufactured at this site. The templars are beautifully restored and on display on the floor where they were actually assembled.
The building is also a huge draw for artists, more than a dozen with studios, like Marty O'Conner, a Cleveland Heights fireman, who does his oil painting work here.
"We've got the tall ceilings, great windows, and being in an environment where other artists are working creates an atmosphere that's conductive to working," said O'Connor.
Daniel Pruitt also has a studio here; he creates and teaches fused glass art, and is currently working on Valentine's Day Orders.
Matthew Richards specializes in pottery and abstracts; and there is Gina Desantis, an in- demand artist, who specializes in ceramic tableware as art.
Gina tells us that, "just because you can throw a bowl doesn't make it a good bowl." She describes her artist perspective on objects by thinking about "not only the aesthetic appeal but how does it function, how does it work,"
Quite the creative atmosphere housed within a building that, on the outside, defies an artistic look.
Copyright 2013 WOIO. All rights reserved.
Lakewood's Screw Factory
