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I believe it was located where the State Park is now, I've heard people still occasionally find artifacts there.

Abandoned Kroger Grocery Store in the South Side: Here's a really quick post about the abandoned Kroger grocery store in the Uptown area of Youngstown's South Side. I went and took pictures here because it caught on fire earlier this week, and I was worried it might get torn down before I get pictures of it (It happens a LOT that buildings I meant to get photos of get demolished before I ever get around to it) - It turns out the fire only did minimal damage, and the city just doesn't have the money to tear down such a big building. Unlike more modern shopping plazas, this Krogers is set back from Market Street behind an old McDonalds at the end of a dead end street (E. La Clede Avenue) - In fact, it seems like most people don't even know this building exists! The Krogers shut down in 1982 and I believe it's been abandoned ever since, like most of the neighborhood. There is no future for this building, and until it gets demolished, it will likely continue to be used as nothing more than an illegal dumping ground. Also, I could have gotten better pictures, but I decided to not go too far away from my car. The neighborhood is pretty bad, and the building is sketchy as it not only abandoned and overgrown, but set far back from the road, away from any traffic. However, if anyone is more daring, I encourage you to go check this place out and get some pictures before it's gone!

I live pretty close to there, and the consensus among the neighborhood seems to be that they worry it will lead to more commercial development down Lockwood and will erode away the neighborhood slowly. Which I guess is a better concern than most NIMBY causes. But to me, I don't see that happening. I just think that intersection would become an absolute nightmare if they put a gas station there. Plus, people would be trying to get to it from 224 causing an unnecessary amount of traffic flooding that intersection. I wouldn't be mad if it were built, but I also wouldn't care if it wasn't. I know suburban big box developers want huge parking lots (they wanted an even bigger one for this Meijers...) but I still think they could find room in the parking lot out from to put a gas station in if they really wanted to.

WRPA Ok's Deal for Dunkin Donuts at South Side Bank Site: https://businessjournaldaily.com/wrpa-approves-deal-for-dunkin-donuts-at-bank-site/ A Dunkin Donuts could be coming to this site on the corner of Market and Midlothian, across the street from Popeyes and the original Handels Ice Cream. Unfortunately, that means tearing down this unique building, which I definitely think could have been reused into a restaurant or something. However, it will bring more business to this intersection, which is important towards making sure the decline north of Midlothian does not spread south of the street. The developers are also going to build a 1200 sq. ft. building on the site but have not announced the tenants yet. The Port Authority claims the building needed $1 million in renovations, which is why they didn't restore it. That's hard to believe, as it was occupied as recently as last year. Overall, the North end of Market Street in Boardman has seen a lot of recent changes. There's a new Carribean restaurant a block away, a historic tudor commercial building which has been being renovated, and a great facelift to a small vacant plaza building, which I hope to post pictures of soon.

I wasn't aware of that! I can try to get more pictures tomorrow if I remember. The building closer to Target is also coming along quite well.

It's a bad picture, but here's a photo of the progress on the WOSU building on 14th and High I took on the way home today. The brick is pretty much all up.

Agreed! I'd like to see Ashtabula do a little bit of what Sandusky is currently doing. They also have a great lakeside location, nearby Geneva, etc. They already have a nice main street area by the water, but there still needs to be a little more work done to it. But yeah, it's crazy how long it took Sandusky to finally capitalize off of Cedar Point's presence and make the city proper more than just the doormat and motel room of the amusement park.

Last month, I was on a trip to the Sandusky area, and I decided to stop by Downtown Sandusky to check out all of the development going on there. Overall, I was extremely shocked by how much Sandusky has improved since I was last there. Compared to most mid-size Ohio cities, Sandusky seems to be light-years ahead now with lots of development projects, which you'd typically only see in big cities. I think it's long overdue, and it's nice to see the city start to grow into being something more than just Cedar Point. Also, I apologize if this tour is a bit disjointed or not super comprehensive. Disclaimer: These photos are unedited. If you want to see the edited versions, make sure to follow my Instagram First, we will start with the few pictures I took on the first day. This is East Water Street. Here you can see the new Lake Erie Shores and Islands Visitors Center: Next is this site where a large building was demolished - however, the good news is, a new building is coming there soon which will look very similar to the old one. The Cooke Building, which stood on the corner of Market and Columbus, was deemed too far gone to save. I believe it will have first floor retail and upper floor apartments, and if I recall correctly, a small parking deck inside. The facade of the small building still standing here will remain. But overall, they are going above in beyond to keep the building close to the old one. Going down Market Street is this building, which houses Value City Furniture. It's one of the few buildings left in Downtown that still need a lot of TLC. You can see new apartments at the end of the road, but we will come back to that later. More buildings on Market Street: Next we have the Feick Building, which is Sandusky's tallest building. It was in very bad shape, but it currently being renovated into office space. I believe it is being used for the project between Bowling Green State University and Cedar Fair, which will give classes on the amusement park/entertainment industry. Next we have the Jackson Street Pier and waterfront area, which is the part that has seen the craziest change. Last time I was here, it was just a parking lot with some old and unkept looking buildings behind it. Now, it's a beautiful public space with a bike path and many restored buildings. I feel like Cleveland could take some lessons from Jackson Street Pier for the area behind Browns Stadium. Also, I love the frequent use of rooftop spaces here in Sandusky: Here's where the ferry to Pelee Island, as well as the Goodtime fleet (one of which is pictured here) docks up. There's even a small customs station nearby for people taking the ferry to Pelee. Behind the boat is an old warehouse which is now luxury condos. Here's the view of Johnson's Island (home to the Confederate cemetery) and Marblehead Peninsula behind it: Looking back towards Downtown Sandusky: The view of Cedar Point: I'm not sure what they use this orange building for, but I really like the outdoor plaza/seating area: The Jet Express ferry terminal to Cedar Point, Kelley's, and Put-in-Bay: Here's the plaza linking the center of Downtown (Columbus Avenue) with Shoreline Drive/the waterfront: Here's some commercial buildings on Columbus Avenue: Looking down West Water Street: And East Water Street: Next is the State Theater, which unfortunately experienced a tragedy which caused the back half of the building to cave in due to high winds. A large portion of the theater is now exposed and destroyed - but I believe it will be restored luckily: More along Columbus Avenue. I tried the restaurant seen in the far right of this image, BARRA, which had great tex-mex style food. That's another great thing about Downtown Sandusky - the food and nightlife seen is quite high quality and even sophisticated. I like to describe what Sandusky is becoming as the fancy man's version of Put-in-Bay! Another view of the Feick Building with the construction zone around the former Cooke Building in the foreground: Here's Peddler's Alley, which is just a small pedestrian alley with seating for nearby restaurants and a connection to a parking lot: Looking down East Market Street: And West Market Street: I'd like to see the Green Building get renovated and have its original storefront restored: Jackson Street Parking Lot with West Water Street and the State Theater damage in the background: West Water Street: Hotel Kilbourne, which can be seen here, is a really beautifully restored boutique hotel with a rooftop taco bar overlooking the waterfront. The street is also home to Soda Pops, an old fashioned candy store, and Dandelion, a boutique clothing store. Next, here's this apartment building on East Water Street towards the edge of Downtown: The new apartments on East Market Street and Hancock Street: Lastly, here's some smaller building on East Market Street, on the edge of Downtown: Overall, I really enjoyed Sandusky, and I didn't even get to explore all of it! It's a really cool city that has a ton of untapped potential. Even the residential neighborhoods that I didn't photograph are pretty cool. The way the urban neighborhoods are set up, as well as the housing styles, remind me much more of neighborhoods in Cleveland than the typical mid-size Ohio farm town, which I expected Sandusky to look like. But it definitely has a much more urban Great-Lakes city vibe. Want to see more? Check out my photo tour of Sandusky's Cove District, a neighborhood made of boat-houses!

If you haven't already, try Sauceeino. I'm sure you have since it's in Newport Historic District area, but it's super good and healthy Lebanese cuisine. The owners are great people as well. There's also the Ohio Baklava Company where Family Video was, and it's really good Turkish style baklava. But yes, Youngstown has a surprisingly good array of Mediterranean food!

Speedway Coming to 224 in Boardman: https://businessjournaldaily.com/parcels-for-new-boardman-speedway-sell-for-1-47m/ A new speedway is coming to Boardman on the corner of 224 and West Boulevard. It will require the demolition of the now-vacant former-Antone's building in adition to the adjacent plaza which included the well known Plaza Donuts as well as the Kabob House, both of which seem to have not made it through the COVID pandemic. Obviously this isn't too exciting on a development and is pretty standard for 224 - but it certainly represents a trend of building gas stations on the road! Last year, GetGo was built near the mall and by Route 11 - this year Sheetz built a new location by the mall, and now Meijers wants a gas station on the corner of 224 and Lockwood.

Council Defeats Measure to Pay for Anthony's Demolition https://businessjournaldaily.com/council-defeats-measure-to-pay-for-anthonys-demolition/ Unsurprisingly, the demolition of Anthony's on the River has raised a lot of suspicion. I was confused why it was demolished so hastily when it was not even in that bad of shape. Well, the demolition company ended up tearing it down a day before the council was supposed to vote on whether or not they should do it. This angered Julius Oliver in the City Council who alleged something shady was going on because of the lack of transparency and how quickly they tore it down. He managed to get enough council votes to defeat the measure for the city to pay for the emergency demolition. The burden now falls upon the owner of the property, Two Bridges LLC, who has conveniently wanted to redevelop the lot with new buildings for a few years now. If you ask me, this was definitely something shady, and I figured that as soon as they announced the intent to demolish it - By Youngstown standards, this building wasn't even that bad. Planet Fitness, Golf Range, and Restaurants coming to Southern Park Mall https://businessjournaldaily.com/golf-range-planet-fitness-to-open-at-southern-park-mall/ Part of the revitalization of the former Sears space will now include an indoor golf range with an attached restaurant. There will also be a new Planet Fitness nearby, likely relocating from their Boardman Plaza location. There will also be more restaurant spaces that are yet to be filled facing "DeBartolo Commons," which is the planned outdoor green space. Lastly, the PNC Bank Branch on the mall property by Market Street will be renovated.

With only minor changes, the Legal Arts Building could look pretty modern even. I would love to see them do something with that rooftop patio space above the fourth floor!

City Seeks Emergency Demolition of Anthonys-On-The-River Building https://businessjournaldaily.com/city-seeks-emergency-demolition-of-former-anthonys-on-the-river/ Sadly, the historic building which used to hold Anthony's On The River is being demolished. It's located on the corner of Mahoning and Oak Hill next to the B&O Station. There's been plans by the current property owners to redevelop the large riverfront property into new townhouses or mixed used buildings. I don't think that is going forward though ever since COVID. But either way, this building won't be a part of the project now. Work Begins on Legal Arts Building https://www.wkbn.com/news/local-news/developers-working-on-old-legal-arts-building-hope-to-make-it-into-a-restaurant/ Work has begun on the Legal Arts Building in Downtown which has been vacant since 2005. The new developers will redo the facade and the attached parking garage. They are also looking to open a restaurant in the first floor of the building.

Great pictures! I really like Downtown Kent and all the progress it has had recently. I hope they find a way to connect it to the campus better though. The campus still feels very suburban to me, which I guess some people might like, but it's one of the reasons I chose not to go to Kent.

Robinson-Shuba Statue Coming to Wean (Amphitheater) Park: https://businessjournaldaily.com/robinson-shuba-statue-will-include-seating-area/ A new addition to Wean Park is coming soon. A statue commemorating the famous handshake 1946 handshake between Jackie Robinson and Youngstown-native George Shuba will be placed in the park above the "YOUNGSTOWN" sign and between Market St. Bridge and the Covelli Center. The memorial will be dedicated on April 18, 2021 on the 75th anniversary of the handsake, which was the first televised handshake between a black and white major league baseball player. The site will feature seating for visitors or groups of students coming to learn about the statue. The site will feature views of the Youngstown skyline in the background.

Foster "Adult" Theater Could be Turning into Concert Venue https://www.wkbn.com/news/local-news/former-adult-entertainment-building-in-youngstown-could-be-turning-into-concert-venue/ Well this one was unexpected. A local businessman who opened a new restaurant in an old building on South Avenue in the South Side wants to turn the old Foster Theater into a concert venue. Foster Theater was built as a neighborhood theater in the 30s for the "Fosterville" neighborhood along Glenwood Avenue. Ever since the 70s however, the Foster has been used as an "adult theater" and believe it or not, it was one of only a handful of adult theaters still open in the United States. I believe it finally shut down due to COVID though. Honestly, the theater has a bad reputation and is in a pretty unsafe neighborhood, so I'm not sure how well it would do. However, if done right, it could definitely work out. The inside of the building is also in better shape than you'd think. I wish him well, but frankly I doubt anything will come of this. But imagine how great it would be to have a renovated Foster Theater and a renovated Uptown Theater! However, I'm skeptical about the Uptown.... the new owner took down the iconic sign and has seemingly done nothing since and has no solid plan for it. The Uptown is much more important and iconic in the community, so I think it would do better business-wise than the Foster would - however, who knows if the Uptown will ever get renovated or not. Here's some pictures of the theater - also, believe it or not, part of the neon sign actually still works but the owners typically don't turn it on anymore. However, you can kinda see it in this google street view image.

So, the "Campus Lofts" on the corner of Rayen and Wick is almost done, and it's hideous! I'm glad to see development and density on that corner of course, but the project looks like something I could've come up with myself in Sketchup. It's a big dissapointment since Strollo Architects usually does a great job, especially with the much better designed "Enclave" development across the street. And yes, this building does actually have the super dated looking "LOFTS" letters coming off the side, which are an eyesore you can see all the way down Wick Avenue. It doesn't look hideous, but from afar it definitely looks like it's not new and maybe even a bit retro. Point is, this building is so horribly designed it makes me want to become an architect to prevent generic buildings like this from being made ? But the inside is great, and I'm excited to see more students moving closer to Downtown and a nearly completed streetwall on Wick - this whole block looks completely different than it did a few years ago and is a testament to how far the university has come recently. Down the street, the latest phase of "University Edge" has been completed. It sits on the corner of Rayen and Fifth next to the new Campus Bookstore. It's a very nice brick design, and it now means Fifth has a full streetwall on that block. The streetscaping work on Fifth has also begun, but I didn't get pictures of that. They currently have the block between Commerce and Rayen closed, and it seems they plan to do this project in phases block by block. Lastly, the proposed bike lanes between Mill Creek Park and Downtown, which would connect to Fifth Avenue, is having some slight issues due to the city having budget issues and there being an increase in cost for the project. But it appears the project should still go through city council without issue.

It's amazing to me how much Dublin has changed in the last couple years. It went from a typical suburb to being a really interesting "edge city" of Columbus. I could be wrong, but in terms of a completely new mixed use development like this, I think Dublin did really well compared to other cities. It feels more urban and less like a typical suburban "lifestyle center" which I really like.

Plans to Move Historic Welsh Church Runs into Problems Due to Underground Steam Line https://www.wkbn.com/news/local-news/plan-to-move-historic-youngstown-church-runs-into-problem-with-discovery-of-underground-steam-line/ In an all too predictable development to this story, the Welsh Church still cannot be moved around the block, this time due to the discovery of a steam line that runs underneath the proposed site. City council seems very divided on whether or not to preserve the church. I absolutely hate the Youngstown Diocese, they love tearing down old buildings whenever they can - Like they'll literally just acquire properties and demolish them just for being on the same block as their churches or schools. I'm very surprised this church hasn't seen a wrecking ball already. The Diocese is eager to redevelop the lot, which is ridiculous. They could easily keep the church where it is and build the new building next to it on the surface lot. Plus, they're plans are vague and for all I know, they just want another surface lot next to the church. Now a new site has to be found, which probably won't happen, especially after the plans to move it to Wick Park fell through when someone on the board got angry about putting a building in the park.

I mean, Painesville's very diverse, but it's also not that big of a city, and I could be wrong, but aren't it's suburbs all rather white? Maybe looking at the most diverse county would be a better way of measuring which region in Ohio is most diverse, and by that measurement, Cuyahoga County likely wins.

How are we measuring "diversity" though? Is it simply which city has the most even percentage of white, black, hispanic, ect? Or does it actually factor in individual immigrant groups that are moving to that area? Because I do agree, Columbus seems to be the city with the most recent immigrants, specifically the Somali community which is probably the biggest Somali immigrant community besides Minnesota. But I still think Lorain and Painsville probably would be considered the most diverse, and I'm not sure that Columbus is more diverse than Cleveland area, even with the new immigrant groups

So this week I found myself up around the Sandusky area, and used it as an opportunity to get a lot of pictures for my Instagram page. I stopped in Milan, Norwalk, Downtown Sandusky, Lakeside Chautauqua, and Sandusky's Cove District. I plan to post a tour for a few of those places at least, including Downtown Sandusky which really blew me away. But, I have to make this photo tour for The Cove District, a really unique and eclectic neighborhood of Sandusky which I had no idea existed! Basically, it's a neighborhood made up almost entirely of boathouses - these homes have small living quarters in the front with a boat garage in the back facing the inlet. This neighborhood has an incredible amount of charm, and is one of the most photogenic places I've ever taken pictures in! To be honest, it doesn't feel like anywhere in Ohio and could easily be mistakened for somewhere in the South. This neighborhood, combined with Downtown Sandusky (as you will see in a future post) really have made me love Sandusky. It's such a cool and underrated city. It feels like people only know it for Cedar Point, but it has so much more to offer. Here's a view of Hastings Drive, arguably my favorite street in this neighborhood. High water seems to be effecting the whole neighborhood, but this street in particular is in dire need of repair. Notice how in most of these pictures, you can see views of Cedar Point in the backgrounds: To the left is the back sides of the houses on Hastings: This next street is Parker Drive, which is also the row on the right side of the last picture. Again, this road seemed to have a lot of flooding issues: Here's the front side of these boathouses on Parker Drive.... And the back side of them.... Two more from Hastings Drive: Next we look at Anderson Street, which sits to the west of Hastings Drive. This next picture is taken from Hastings: Next is Curran Street - I didn't capture the whole street, but the beginning of it is made up of traditional looking homes, while the latter part is a blend of condos, boathouses, ect: Dutch Lane, as you see in the following pictures, is another really cool street, and another one that clearly has flooding issues! Keep in mind, the lake's water level wasn't even that high this week. I love this blue boathouse - it almost reminds me of something you'd see in the Carribean: Lastly, we move onto Kaman Drive, which was easily the most colorful street in the Cove District! Sadly, I missed Billman Drive, which also looks like it would've made for good pictures - you can see it in the background of these next ones: I love all of the boathouses in this next picture. It's really cool how tightly packed they are, especially the ones on the end of the road! A view of Billman Drive: I hope you all enjoyed this photo tour! I know I sure did - these are some of my favorite pictures I've ever taken! Stay tuned for more photo tours - I've got so many to post, but I'm just too lazy to edit and organize them all ?

The fact that Youngstown is the #3 most diverse city in Ohio shows just how non-diverse this state is ? However, I will say, the city itself has a decent amount of diversity, especially due to the fast-growing Puerto Rican population, mostly in the East Side and Campbell (which is #6 here). Im curious to see the 2020 census to see how much the Hispanic population in the area grew in the last 10 years. I imagine the number increased quite a bit since the 2010 census.

Home Savings Sign Removal Spurs Calls for Sign Museum under Market Street Bridge https://businessjournaldaily.com/home-savings-sign-removal-spurs-call-for-a-sign-museum/ An interesting new proposal from various groups is calling for a "vintage Youngstown sign museum" under Market Street Bridge, which would include iconic signs which have been taken down such as the Uptown Theater sign, Home Savings sign, the original Arby's location sign, ect. I think it's an interesting idea to save some iconic Youngstown area signs, but frankly I'm not sure it will happen. I also wish the city would look into the skate park proposal for the new riverfront park area as well, I think that would be a cool attraction for Downtown, especially since the area has a grand total of zero public skate parks.

Youngstown Building in Uptown with Notorious Mob Past Burns Down https://www.wfmj.com/story/42375494/building-burns-in-youngstown-neighborhood-with-notorious-mob-past Another building in the Uptown is gone... It's only going to be a matter of time before they're all gone! The building was pretty nice and had some significant history as it was tied to the Italian Mafia. It's a shame, I was planning to take a picture of the building a couple weeks ago but never did, now it's just a pile of rubble! Also, if you want to know more about this neighborhood and it's mafia ties, check out the article I wrote about Uptown a few weeks ago! It summarizes basically all of the neighborhood's history