Parade Street was once a dirt road connecting Fort Presque Isle with a second fort in Waterford. When the town of Erie was laid out in 1795, the streets east of State Street were named after nationalities, such as German and Holland; Parade Street was the exception. The street was named “Parade” because French soldiers once practiced marching maneuvers along the road. For several years, Parade Street was the first and only road leading into Erie from the south, and, as a result, Parade Street initially housed the town’s commercial district.
Today, the street remains a main artery leading to and from the City of Erie, and has been the focus of multiple economic development and revitalization efforts. North of 6th Street to the bluffs overlooking Lake Erie, it features a historic, ethnically diverse residential neighborhood. The prevalence of historic architecture and the community’s interest in revitalization makes Parade Street an ideal subject for a preservation-focused walking tour.
This strolling tour will begin at Parade Street’s northern terminus, about 35 feet above Lake Erie. The tour offers a history of Parade’s rise to prominence, semi-abandonment, and ongoing rebirth through brief vignettes about the people, transportation, industry and buildings from mid 19th through today.
Light refreshments provided at the end of the tour.