Biohazard Cleanup Near HarborWalk Lorain, OH

Lorain sits on Lake Erie at the mouth of the Black River, about 25 miles west of Cleveland, and with 65,211 residents at the 2020 census it is the most populous city in Lorain County and the ninth-most populous in Ohio.

The city began as an unincorporated village called Black River Village, was renamed Charleston in 1837, and was finally incorporated under the name Lorain in 1874 before becoming a city in 1896.

Lorain is nicknamed the "International City" and the "Steel City," reflecting the dozens of nationalities that immigrated there to work in its shipyards, auto plant, and steel mills.

On June 28, 1924, the Lorain–Sandusky tornado struck the city and killed 72 people, including 15 inside a collapsed theater — the worst tornado death toll from a single building in Ohio history.

Lorain's economy was built on heavy industry: the American Ship Building Company's Lorain Yard (closed in 1983), Ford's Lorain Assembly Plant (closed in 2005), and the U.S. Steel mill on the south side (idled in 2020).

Lorain has 26,595 households, and Hispanic and Latino residents make up about 29% of the population, including one of Ohio's largest Puerto Rican communities.

Lakeview Park, established in 1917 on the Lake Erie shore, features a swimming beach, a rose garden with about 2,500 roses in 48 beds, and a giant Easter basket sculpture built in 1935 where generations of local families take Easter photos.

The Lorain parks department manages 51 parks covering about 583 acres across the city.

The Lorain Palace Theatre, a downtown movie palace that opened in 1928, is still operating today.

Each summer the city hosts the Lorain International Festival, a celebration of the many cultures that settled in the city.