Welcome to Youngstown, the city that is leading Ohio out of the Great Recession! Far from hyperbole, the 10,000 to 20,000 new direct and spin-off jobs announced for the coming year represents a stunning reversal of fortune for this long-depressed industrial city. Large new factories for advanced manufacturing, fast-growing technology companies, an expanding university and more are resulting in visible changes to the city.

 

And it's most visible downtown. I was in Youngstown today for a meeting at the regional chamber of commerce's offices atop the First National Tower, a 17-story building built in 1929 during Youngstown's previous boom. I was late for my meeting because I couldn't find parking -- something unheard of until recently! So I parked five blocks from Central Square. Along the way, I took these 17 pictures from at street level, and another eight from the top of First National Tower.....

 

Here is one of the most celebrated reasons for the city's stunning job growth -- software maker Turning Technologies:

 

Who's your daddy? For Turning Technologies, it was the Youngstown Business Incubator, next door on West Federal Street. It's still cranking out new start-ups:

 

Well, are those pedestrians I see on the streets of downtown Youngstown? Better get used to it:

 

West Federal's streetscape provides a nice break for pedestrians in the expanse of pavement:

 

And where there are "missing teeth" from the loss of downtown buildings, the city is encouraging murals to provide some otherwise missing continuity along the street wall:

 

It helps make walking downtown a more pleasant experience for the growing number of pedestrians:

 

Blight is still common, including the unsalvageable Liberty-Paramount Theater. It has a date with the wrecking ball:

 

But other new businesses are opening, such as the Lemon Grove Cafe which opened last year and is already a hit with downtown office workers and students from nearby Youngstown State University:

 

The closer I got to the Central Square, the more pedestrians filled the sidewalks of downtown Youngstown on this lovely spring day:

 

Another new business is this place -- William Leonard's Extraordinary Gentlemen, in the art deco-carved Peggy Ann building. It's a salon and spa -- for men! Read more about this cool idea at: http://shoutyoungstown.blogspot.com/2009/04/william-leonards-extraordinary.html

 

Yes, more pedestrians! Must be real close to Central Square:

 

Lo and behold, here's the square. And there's a public prayer event going on that's drawing a small crowd:

 

Even families are coming downtown now. That was hardly imagined just a few years ago when the central business district was truly a ghost town. It's not New York City or even downtown Cleveland, but so much better than it was:

 

And so I arrive at my destination:

 

It's a lovely art deco building and the tallest downtown:

 

Some of the internal details of the First National Tower include this exquisite ceiling in the lobby:

 

And these brass details in the wood-paneled elevator:

 

Which brings us to the eight pictures showing the view from the top of Youngstown's tallest.

 

We start by looking down at Central Square. The prayer event has disbanded. I certainly hope their prayers are answered! They were for people wanting downtown living in Youngstown, as the building at right was rehabbed last year into the Realty Tower Apartments (http://www.realtytowerapartments.com/):

 

Looking south toward the Covelli Center where Elton John performed last week to a sold-out crowd:

 

Southwest view, including my proposed train station for downtown Youngstown -- it would require converting the former United Foundries plant (the long gray building) into a trainshed complete with a heritage railroad venue such as the Steel Valley Railroad Museum:

 

Here's looking up your I-680, a westward view:

 

Looking generally west on Federal Street -- the street I walked five blocks from the nearest parking space I could find:

 

Two of the largest buildings on Federal Street. The one on the right is 20 Federal Place (the old Phar-Mor drug store headquarters) which has a newly revitalized and vibrant retail concourse on the ground floor. A big reason for its success is what's upstairs -- VXI Global Solutions, a call center that started out with 150 jobs in 2009 and will have more than 1,000 employees by the end of this year:

 

Northward view. South of downtown, it's called Market Street. North of downtown, it's Wick Avenue. This is looking up Wick through the campus of Youngstown State University:

 

And if you need more evidence that Youngstown means business, there's the new $30 million Williamson College of Business Administration under construction at YSU:

 

That's all! I hope you liked the eight from 17, and the previous 17 from the ground in downtown Youngstown. May these serve as proof that cities can be immortal if their citizens refuse to let them die.

 

Great photos.

I have yet to make it to downtown Y-town.

Too bad that beautiful theater will be razed.

I'm glad you took the time to take the photos.  I've never seen the views from the Metro... First National Tower.  It really was a beautiful day!

 

Great things are happening in Youngstown, if only one chooses to acknowledge them.

 

In fact, we just learned today that my company is hiring 3 people, and a summer intern.  I would have been out enjoying the beautiful weather, but the boss brought in food so he could tell us over lunch.

Thanks for the photos! I grew up in Youngstown and the "20 Federal Place (the old Phar-Mor drug store headquarters)" is the old Strouss-Hirshberg Department store. Wow, the memories! My aunt Mary worked in the tube room in the basement. It was where the air tubes from the sales floor came with billing/money and was received and sent back. I worked on the mezzanine floor in the Young Men's Department when I was going to college. Thanks again!

Love it; my old stomping grounds and First National Tower - the first highrise I can remember seeing (at the age of 6). Great to see how far downtown Youngstown has come along in such short time.

Blight is still common, including the unsalvageable Liberty-Paramount Theater.

 

Unsalvageable? Based on what?

 

Even if the theatre "has" to go, Youngstown should make the effort to preserve the detailed, terra cotta facade for new construction behind. Too much has been lost along Federal to allow this to disappear. For some reason people in Youngstown seem to hate that building, just wanting it to go away with no regard for maintaining sense of place.

Hopefully, someone in Youngstown will at least save the facade of this beaut:

 

 

I'm assuming Youngstown doesn't have powerful preservation enforcement.

The current owner, Lou Frangos, who renovated the nearby Realty Tower into apartments says the building cannot be saved. I don't know if I agree with him, but his plan is to demolish it for surface parking but save some of the facade. There is a strong preservation advocacy in Youngstown, but so many buildings (4,000 I recently read) are in this type of condition that many great buildings get lost in a numbers game.

 

Interior photos are here:

http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/114584817YBUfob

 

Read more at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty/Paramount_Theatre

http://shoutyoungstown.blogspot.com/2007/03/from-one-theater-to-another-theater.html

The current owner, Lou Frangos, who renovated the nearby Realty Tower into apartments says the building cannot be saved. I don't know if I agree with him, but his plan is to demolish it for surface parking but save some of the facade. There is a strong preservation advocacy in Youngstown, but so many buildings (4,000 I recently read) are in this type of condition that many great buildings get lost in a numbers game.

 

Interior photos are here:

http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/114584817YBUfob

 

Read more at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty/Paramount_Theatre

http://shoutyoungstown.blogspot.com/2007/03/from-one-theater-to-another-theater.html

 

Hmm, well thanks for that.  Maybe this is a way Ytown could further set itself apart.  I'm reminded of the end of that Semper Youngstown article from Inc magazine.  Maybe, Ytown could create a sort of architectural board of review for those gems which really are irreplaceable.

 

Don't let progress take away what forever took to find.

Impressive! When I visited in 2008, on a Friday afternoon, there weren't more than a half-dozen cars parked on Federal, and in a couple of hours walking around with my camera I don't think I saw more than four or five pedestrians.

Thank you for reminding me I need to get home to see Dad!

Thanks KJP.

 

 

 

Y-town is your town and my town. I don't know if Youngstown has turned the corner but if they haven't it is on the last block and can see the corner from where they are standing. It's really interesting to see how these smaller industrial cities (y-town, akron, etc) keep reinventing themselves. Let's hope the good news keep rolling in.

 

Sooo much better than back in the 90's when the murder rate was through the roof and when I was in college and told people I was from the Youngstown area, their reply was Yompton? (Youngstown + Compton).

 

 

Youngstown belongs to everyone who believes that "fighting the good fight" is one of the best attributes any city can have.

Youngstown belongs to everyone who believes that "fighting the good fight" is one of the best attributes any city can have.

 

There is something to be said for a city whose residents can come up with the slogan "Defend Youngstown", (look for him on facebook if you want to stay up on Y-town news and development). God knows I wish that Cleveland had a little more of that attitude. Your city is your home and you protect and defend your home.

And then there are those cancerous locals that thrive on negativity, they hate to hear any positive news:

 

http://www.vindy.com/news/2010/may/06/not-a-fan-of-life-in-the-city/

 

Yep, I'm a frequent visitor to the Defend Youngstown blog.

 

As for the cancerous locals, I only consider them cancerous when they are acknowledged and given credence. So they are dead to me.

Thanks for the great pictures!  Growing up, I had always heard the stories of how bad and run-down Youngstown was.  Well, when my job brought me to Trumbull County, I had to meet with a few people in downtown Youngstown....and I was pleasantly surprised.  It was cold and snowy in February, but there was a lot of pedestrian traffic and as KJP mentioned, parking spaces filled up quickly!  Although some of the neighborhoods surrounding downtown are a little rough around the edges, my first visit to Youngstown was a good one.  It's not a bad town!!!

Yep, I'm a frequent visitor to the Defend Youngstown blog.

 

As for the cancerous locals, I only consider them cancerous when they are acknowledged and given credence. So they are dead to me.

 

It takes time to come back from the bottom.  It takes many, many years of incremental improvements.  The fact that downtown is improving shows that they have begun the long journey back.  Youngstown has also acknowledged that it has to shrink too and is developing plans for doing so.  Add to that the Grey to Green festival held last year (and hopefully again this year), their strong support for the PGH-CLE  rail corridor and it shows the city is beginning to understand the direction in which it needs to go. 

 

I read the letter and some of the comments.  It's actually rather pathetic that so many supposed adults don't understand that recovery takes time.  Instant gratification has permeated American society to the point of detrimental effect, I think. 

 

 

Great pix.  And if you like parks, you'll find none better than Youngstown's Mill Creek.  It's in a class by itself.  This city has a lot going for it.  I hope this momentum soon leads to better fortunes for its main commercial corridors.  There is immense latent potential along Glenwood Ave, which skirts the edge of the park... and Market St, which features a cool "uptown" area.  Mahoning Ave offers some great skyline views, while the downriver enclave of Struthers has a nice little CBD of its own. 

Great thread, thanks for your effort.  I always enjoy looking at the rolling hill, forested views over N.E. Ohio's cities.  The trees are so close to the down towns.  Is this unique to N.E. Ohio? If you ever get to the top of one of the University Circle bldgs. look north.  Nothing but trees to the Lake. 

For those who expressed concern about the Liberty-Paramount Theater, there is hope of at least saving the facade...

 

http://business-journal.com/clients/business-journal/city-to-acquire-former-paramount-theater-p16591.htm?twindow=Default&smenu=1&mad=No

 

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