I went back to Mansfield last weekend and decided to check on the progress of some random projects going on in the city.

 

The streetscaping project is pretty much finished. However, Main St. and Walnut St. had nothing done to them because the city is looking into making them two-way streets instead of one-ways.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Construction has begun on the Mechanics Bank Project

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The future location of North Central State College's Urban Education Center

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the site of the recently demolished Ambassador Hotel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks!

Thanks!  I don't think we have many tours of Mansfield here.

I fear for Mansfield's future. I think the smaller Ohio industrial cities like Mansfield, Lima, Canton, Middletown, etc. have the toughest time of anyone when it comes to retaining young college grads. The ACS estimates only 14% of Mansfield's population has a bachelor's degree. Remarkably, that's actually worse than Dayton's 15% and Toledo's 17%. The brain drain is most pronounced in small Midwestern cities like Mansfield. Lima and Canton are even worse. It's a real battle to retain young people in cities like this.

 

I think a good model to look at would be Findlay. They have maintained population and wealth, plus the downtown and historic districts are very well-maintained.

 

Findlay is probably Ohio's best small industrial city. The difference is corporate headquarters. Findlay has two, I believe: Marathon Oil and Cooper Tires. The managers' salaries keep the many fine old homes on South Main in good repair, and stabilize the city's tax base. I think it would be very hard for Mansfield or Lima to attract a big HQ; most of them are moving south or to a major metro. I disagree, though, that cities thrive on keeping their own; all cities experience out-migration, the difference is a city's ability to attract educated young people. So even if someone had offers in, say, Mansfield and Findlay, everything else equal, I'd guess they'd choose Findlay. Wouldn't you?

 

Great pictures as always.

Mansfield looks good.

Going to miss the old Ambassador...

 

http://brianbutko.wordpress.com/2009/10/15/1960s-mansfield-hotel-to-be-razed/

CDM and JRC, you're welcome! :)

 

C-dawg, I am unsure what the future holds for Mansfield. I know that I don't plan on returning to Mansfield after college and I know that most of my friends in college don't plan to return either; although I do know of people who have returned after college and others who want to return. However, Mansfield does have several things going for it. For example, Gorman Rupp and Mechanics Bank are expanding and have been adding jobs. Also, AK Steel has brought back all of the people that were laid off and I believe they have added more jobs. This has countered some of the job loses, but the unemployment rate is still pretty high. So, to me the future seems unclear but I hope that things get better.

 

Clueless, thanks!

 

Ink, I am not going to miss the Ambassador. It was an eye sore, was not pedestrian friendly, and was a hot bed for criminal activity (in its dying days). The only bad thing about the demolition is having an expansive, empty lot to try and redevelop; hopefully in a pedestrian friendly way.

Looks like there are some great bones, but the lack of any people bothering to spend time there is telling. It seems like large portions of populations of largish small cities in Ohio not only don't care about making their city livable and enjoying them, but instead making them unpleasant places to live. People tend to be very conservative: unwelcoming for non-whites (not to mention lots of whites), hostile towards gay people, and forget it if you don't go to the right churches. Not exactly the kind of culture a mobile young American is looking for in the 21st century. The kind of establishments that would make Mansfield a cool place, quality eating spots, bars, coffee shops, etc, are a void that local entrepreneurs could fill in and make the city much more livable...if the demand was there. Maybe someday.

Andrew when (time) did you take these pictures?  Looks like you took them early in the day on a weekend.

Findlay is probably Ohio's best small industrial city. The difference is corporate headquarters. Findlay has two, I believe: Marathon Oil and Cooper Tires. The managers' salaries keep the many fine old homes on South Main in good repair, and stabilize the city's tax base. I think it would be very hard for Mansfield or Lima to attract a big HQ; most of them are moving south or to a major metro. I disagree, though, that cities thrive on keeping their own; all cities experience out-migration, the difference is a city's ability to attract educated young people. So even if someone had offers in, say, Mansfield and Findlay, everything else equal, I'd guess they'd choose Findlay. Wouldn't you?

 

Actually, Marathon is no longer headquartered in Findlay, though it still has a major presence. I would suggest that being a college town is as important as corporate HQs. University of Findlay may not be big or prominent, but no doubt adds a lot to the community. I don't know why, but a college like that seems to have more impact than a university branch, such as the OSU branches in Lima and Mansfield. Perhaps it's because the colleges tend to be old and therefore more integrated into the community -- in terms of location and history.

I took these pictures on a Sunday afternoon; needless to say, not many people are downtown at that time. Downtown is far more active during the week days. Around 10,000 people work downtown and a lot of our community events take place on the square. Also, Friday days and nights are pretty busy in the Carousel District. There is a farmers market their during the day and a lot of families take their kids to the carousel. On Friday nights, the stores stay open later, there is usually a concert on Temple Court, and the bars stay pretty busy. With that said, downtown is pretty dead after 5 the rest of the week, unless there is something special going on.

 

Urbansurfin, the OSU branch in Mansfield is about 4-5 miles away from downtown and on the edge of the northern section of the city. So, I think that has a lot to do with the lack of a connection between the city and the college. However, NCSC, the local community college that shares the campus with OSU, is starting a downtown Urban Education Center. Hopefully this will add a connection between the city and the college.

That's good to hear. Those kinds of institutions should be in or near downtown. Too often they are, like OSU Mansfield, on the fringes, whereas the old colleges tend to be in the heart of town. One exception to my earlier comment is Springfield, which has declined despite the presence of Wittenberg.

Looks quite nice; it's a bigger downtown than I expected, with some really decent buildings.

That's good to hear. Those kinds of institutions should be in or near downtown. Too often they are, like OSU Mansfield, on the fringes, whereas the old colleges tend to be in the heart of town. One exception to my earlier comment is Springfield, which has declined despite the presence of Wittenberg.

 

I commented on Mansfield before I looked at the photos; it looks much nicer than I imagined. I also agree that colleges can make a difference, but I think it matters less how old, or even integrated the college is in the town, as it does the kind of student the school attracts. UFindlay is a private college, which means that students are more likely to have money and the time to spend it. Branch public universities are more likely to serve working students who don't have extra time or money to spend in the local economy.

 

Findlay is probably Ohio's best small industrial city. The difference is corporate headquarters. Findlay has two, I believe: Marathon Oil and Cooper Tires. The managers' salaries keep the many fine old homes on South Main in good repair, and stabilize the city's tax base. I think it would be very hard for Mansfield or Lima to attract a big HQ; most of them are moving south or to a major metro. I disagree, though, that cities thrive on keeping their own; all cities experience out-migration, the difference is a city's ability to attract educated young people. So even if someone had offers in, say, Mansfield and Findlay, everything else equal, I'd guess they'd choose Findlay. Wouldn't you?

 

Actually, Marathon is no longer headquartered in Findlay, though it still has a major presence. I would suggest that being a college town is as important as corporate HQs. University of Findlay may not be big or prominent, but no doubt adds a lot to the community. I don't know why, but a college like that seems to have more impact than a university branch, such as the OSU branches in Lima and Mansfield. Perhaps it's because the colleges tend to be old and therefore more integrated into the community -- in terms of location and history.

 

 

Well, your sort of right. Marathon oil is no longer hq'd in findlay but marathon petroleum is. This is the hq for all marathon gas stations and subsidiaries. Findlay has been very agressive as well in getting companies like lowes,home depot,kohls,and best buy as well as cardinal health to build huge distrubution centers which employ thousands.

I also think that the having the university of findlays prescence basically in downtown findlay is a huge boost for the economy and retaining and attracting young people. These are kids who can afford a private school tuition and will be living in the area for at least 4 years and maybe more with grad school. OSU Lima and OSU mansfield are predominately commuter schools in which the majoritys goal is to transfer to columbus or another school after a couple of years. Basically its a stepping stone to bigger and better things.

Some wonderful looking older buildings there.  Thanks for sharing the pics.

^You're welcome.  :-D