jeff_lindqvist wrote:So, maybe I should have written "was" instead. (But I don't know how useful Dict.cc is nowadays, since I'm not using it.)
I'd go with your original, used to be, as it doesn't necessarily mean, "and is no longer". I think of "used to be" as bringing focus towards the present based on "how the thing was in the past", whereas was is focusing on the importance of that thing in the past, without respect to its significance in the present.
Example:
She used to be a dancer. (I'm not sure if she still is, she may be).
She was a dancer. (back then, no reference to the present).