Medina

Medina

Site Data:

Address: 3833 Weymouth Road (Rt. 3) Medina OH 44256, opposite the end of Fenn Road.

Lat.: N 41d_10m_13s

Long: W 81d_48m_54s

Imagery here shows the station backed up to the woods, and the water tower to the south of it. The two white-roofed buildings are the garages. The entrance building is just outside the leg of the inverted "L" garage. The towers are to the SW of it, and have a separate driveway visible.

The country club can be seen across Rt. 3.

Description:

There is no microwave at the station. (The TD2 backbone does run along the Ohio Turnpike (I80) about ten miles north, and into Cleveland.) A local reports that there was backup microwave from the Medina CO {Northern Ohio Tel, later GTE} north to connect with Ohio Bell, but the CO is ~5 miles south of the station.

The underground entrance building is screened from the road by foliage. Medina has many (?20-25 bays) garages behind the entrance building, but they seem currently unused. The site appears to be staffed with 1-3 people during the day.

There are no blast detectors visible. Generator exhaust vents are inside the cage in the yard.

History

Medina hosted five L4 cables. During a site tour in the early 1970's, we were told the spurs went into Cleveland and Akron. It was a major maintenance base, hence the large garages.

The A cable appears to arrive from straight east; it crosses Rt 94 between Granger and I271.

The M cable heads SE, crosses Granger just W of I71 and then heads east across I71, parallel to Rt. 18. It may be the cable to Akron. Its trench can be seen leaving to the SE. (There may be fiber overlaid on that right of way; it's doubtful the original trench would still show up at this date.)

The T cable heads north, running along I71 & the Rapid Transit tracks; it can be seen at the W117th Street station. It's most likely going to 750 Huron Rd, the historic Ohio Bell/ATT building in downtown Cleveland; "750" housed the NPA 216 toll switch and a microwave site.

The E cable heads west; reportedly to Whitehouse, SW of Toledo.

The C cable went to Bluffton; during the tour it was mentioned that it was the next station west. (So the C & E must cross at some point.) The on-site tech did confirm that Bluffton was now dead.

Present Function

Medina now hosts fiber & cellular service. A technician answered the entry phone but offered little data beyond the fact he arrived there after the L cables were all turned down. Overhead fiber, added in the 80's, can been seen arriving from the south via the Rt. 3 pole line. That fiber comes from the east on Rt. 18 - the direction of Akron.

The towers have changed over the years. Originally, the first tower supported only Long-Lines' own 150 MHz maintenance frequency; within the last ten years, the bigger tower has been added to support cellular service.

Image Gallery

Looking east into the facility from Rt. 3

The C, the northern of the two western runs; looking west across Rt.3.

Looking east into the facility from farther south on Rt. 3. The E marker is in the foreground.

Looking west across Rt. 3 from the marker above.

The underground entrance, looking SW

The west face of the entrance building, with air intakes. The one garage building can be seen behind it.
Looking SW from the entrance building; exhaust stacks are at the far right

Emergency Exit and exhausts

The stacks, with transformers to the rear, and HVAC condensers {added later}to the left.

Looking SSW from entrance building. The brick building may have held RF equipment. The current towers are later additions. Locals report there was an older tower that the tall one replaced in the last few years; it's not clear when the short one was built. The county water tower can been seen well to the rear.

Looking SE; the M cable marker can barely be seen dead center at the base of the tree line. Note the guy anchors for large tower. It may have held a blast detector.

East of the entrance building are two large garages. Medina was a major maintenance base for Long Lines in the region.
North of the garage is a fenced pad, perhaps for a truck-mounted generator. North of the pad, the A marker can barely be seen against the trees.

The T cable leaving to the north; this line appears to run up along I71 and into Cleveland. (Likely to 750 Huron Road.)

	Looking east into the facility from Rt. 3
	The C, the northern of the two western runs; looking west across Rt.3.
	Looking east into the facility from farther south on Rt. 3. The E marker is in the foreground.
	Looking west across Rt. 3 from the marker above.
	The underground entrance, looking SW
	The west face of the entrance building, with air intakes. The one garage building can be seen behind it.
	Looking SW from the entrance building; exhaust stacks are at the far right
	Emergency Exit and exhausts
	The stacks, with transformers to the rear, and HVAC condensers {added later}to the left.
	Looking SSW from entrance building. The brick building may have held RF equipment. The current towers are later additions. Locals report there was an older tower that the tall one replaced in the last few years; it's not clear when the short one was built. The county water tower can been seen well to the rear.
	Looking SE; the M cable marker can barely be seen dead center at the base of the tree line. Note the guy anchors for large tower. It may have held a blast detector.
	East of the entrance building are two large garages. Medina was a major maintenance base for Long Lines in the region.
	North of the garage is a fenced pad, perhaps for a truck-mounted generator. North of the pad, the A marker can barely be seen against the trees.
	The T cable leaving to the north; this line appears to run up along I71 and into Cleveland. (Likely to 750 Huron Road.)