Propped Productions

When you drove West on Lorain, the Fridrich Bicycle mural was hard to miss.

The red brick wall, faded painted bikes, little houses, and old storefront scene became part of the ride through Ohio City. Now part of that building is gone.

Fridrich Bicycle opened in 1883, first as a coal and animal feed business before the family moved into bicycles in the early 1900s. By 1925, the shop was operating from the former Steinmetz Livery and Stable building on Lorain, later expanding into the neighboring Schenck Building. Before it was known for bikes, this stretch of Lorain served horses, wagons, shops, and the everyday traffic of a growing west side neighborhood.

For 141 years, Fridrich served generations of Clevelanders with bikes, repairs, parts, sleds, wagons, and the kind of hands-on service people remembered long after they left the shop. It closed in 2024, ending one of Cleveland’s longest-running family business stories.

In late May, the city ordered an emergency demolition of part of the former Fridrich complex after sections of the building became unsafe. You can see it in these photos: bowed brick, boarded windows, cracked walls, cones along the sidewalk, and finally the excavator....

It was a safety issue, but it was also a visible change to Lorain Avenue. A familiar wall, a neighborhood landmark, and part of Cleveland’s bicycle history came down piece by piece.

These aerial views show the new Parma Heights Cuyahoga County Public Library branch, built beside Greenbrier Commons on the site of the former Greenbrier indoor skating rink, later used as the NEO Soccer facility. That older rink site was cleared in 2023, making room for a new library in the heart of the city’s civic and recreation area.

The new branch opened in April 2026, replacing the former circular Parma Heights Library that served the community for more than 60 years. The old branch opened in 1963 and became known for its unusual round footprint, slanted windows, and Space Age mid-century design. It was a building people remembered, not only for how it looked, but for the decades of school projects, summer reading, children’s programs, quiet afternoons, and first library cards that happened inside.

This new building brings a very different kind of library to Parma Heights.

At 22,000 square feet, it is larger than the old branch and built for how people use libraries today. From above, you can see the broad roofline, large windows, new parking areas, landscaped walkways, and the full-service drive-up window and book drop. The building sits close to the pool, park, trails, and neighborhood streets, making it feel like part of Greenbrier Commons rather than a separate stop.

Inside, the branch adds more meeting and study spaces, a conference room, a dedicated tech classroom, children’s areas, and an Innovation Center makerspace with access to creative tools like 3D printing, design software, printing equipment, a Cricut, and more.

The branch is also the new headquarters for Aspire Greater Cleveland, which provides free adult education and workforce services throughout Cuyahoga County. That means this library is not only a place for books. It is also a place for job skills, technology access, classes, early learning, community meetings, and everyday support.