Hey everyone! One year ago, I did an in depth photo tour of Downtown Steubenville, Ohio and a photo tour of Steubenville's Fourth Street Historic District. I have a thread for Random Youngstown area photos, but I felt as if you guys might be interested in seeing some of my pictures from the Ohio Valley as well! I grew up in the area and have been exploring it a lot recently during the COVID shutdown. The area is naturally beautiful, has a ton of great architecture, and a ton of history. These pictures will mainly be from the Steubenville area but I hope to get down to Wheeling sometime this summer. Also, if you want to see me post some other photo tours (German Village, Ohio City, Baltimore, Charleston, ect) let me know!

 

I will start with photos from this weekend, but stay tuned because I'll post some older pictures later on!

Edited May 18, 20205 yr by Dblcut3

DISCLAIMER: I am not super sharp on specific history of buildings in the Ohio Valley like I am with Youngstown, so pardon any vagueness.

 

Victorian Home on Fifth Street

I've been meaning to take pictures of this house for a very long time! It's located on Fifth Street, right behind the Fourth Street Historic District. The street is no where near as grand as Fourth, but it has many cool homes like this mixed in. Sadly, this one is likely nearing the end of its lifespan.

 

 

 

 

Downtown Steubenville:

Next, I took this quick picture of a skyscraper along Fourth Street in Downtown Steubenville while I was stopping for a coffee. Downtown Steubenville actually is surprisingly pretty structurally in tact for a solid few blocks of Fourth Street.

 

Next is "The Kingston" - an amazing but abandoned apartment building, built in 1917. This is in a pretty sketchy part of town, and even I who takes pictures everywhere, did not want to get out to get a closer look... maybe another time though! But it's still a pretty good picture from my car. As a side note though, you'd be shocked at how sketchy Steubenville can be. I even feel a bit more unsafe in some parts of town here than back home in Youngstown believe it or not. Also, this building was/is for sale as of a year ago, so if you want a project, here you go! ?

 

Steubenville's "Polish Hill":

Next, we have an area up on the steep hillside behind Downtown near the now abandoned St. Stanislaus church. The area used to be a Polish neighborhood, hence the name of the church. I believe some locals refer to it as "Polish Hill" -  not to be confused with Pittsburgh's Polish Hill neighborhood. Like most cities of the time, Steubenville had quite a variety of ethnic enclaves including Slovak, Italian, and Polish. I even found out through some family ancestry research that my ancestors owned a popular market in the Italian ethnic neighborhood - but that's a post for another time! Anyways, here's some of the remnants of the Polish neighborhood... These rowhouses have to be really old, at least in comparison to most buildings left in town:

 

Next, we have this abandoned building with some very photogenic graffiti... Recently Steubenville has had a massive uptick in Anarchist and anti-capitalist graffiti and vandalism across town. Some advocating for a rent strike, some exposing the two party system, and some calling for a full blown revolution with a hammer and sickle symbol and all. This little town can surprisingly get pretty politically charged, partially due to rampant poverty, blatant corruption, and possibly even some vocal Franciscan University students I presume as the college is a mecca for some pretty fringe Catholic movements. Anyways... "capitalism killed the hood" is ridiculously fitting for this photo:

 

 

 

 

 

Belleview Boulevard:

At the top of the hill is the La Belle neighborhood, also known as "The Hilltop" - La Belle is a very dense, diverse, but extremely poor neighborhood. Many Valley residents know to avoid this area all together as it's constantly the site of gang violence related to Chicago and New York gangs competing over the lucrative drug trade in the Valley. Despite this though, the neighborhood still has many beautifully maintained properties and pockets of stable areas. But deep into this neighborhood is Belleview Boulevard, a very beautiful and sought after street with 1920s and 30s mansions overlooking the city below. In fact, houses here still regularly sell for upwards of $300,000, which is very rare to see in Steubenville. This house I took a picture of is currently for sale and is a former convent for the Sisters of Saint Francis - the interior of the house sure reflects this! As I said before, Steubenville is incredibly Catholic. Just driving around this neighborhood, you will see countless Pro-Life and other catholic yard signs and bumper stickers. It's normal in Steubenville, but for other cities it's nowhere near this prevalent.

 

Regretfully, there's only one public viewing area for the view below. This picture doesn't do a justice though as it is very beautiful and almost surreal to see in person. However I didn't want to stick around for a better picture as the owner of the property didn't seem to excited for me to be out there taking pictures, even though it was from the street ?

 

Hope you enjoyed the tour! More pictures coming soon!

Edited May 18, 20205 yr by Dblcut3

Thanks!  I find the Ohio River cities (Stuebenville, East Liverpool, Wheeling, etc)  to be incredibly interesting.  In fact, I've never quite known how to classify them- they have the population of small towns, but always seem more like little misplaced chunks of some larger industrial city, like if Pittsburgh got run over and smeared along a highway.

21 minutes ago, X said:

Thanks!  I find the Ohio River cities (Stuebenville, East Liverpool, Wheeling, etc)  to be incredibly interesting.  In fact, I've never quite known how to classify them- they have the population of small towns, but always seem more like little misplaced chunks of some larger industrial city, like if Pittsburgh got run over and smeared along a highway.

Agreed, it's really hard to classify them! Many of these towns feel really urban, such as Steubenville or even the neighboring town of Mingo Junction. Bellaire, OH for example has a population of 4,000 but has a small skyscraper - These towns all used to be thriving and much larger but sadly are not like that at all anymore - it makes for interesting urban exploration opportunities though!

4 hours ago, Dblcut3 said:

Also, if you want to see me post some other photo tours (German Village, Ohio City, Baltimore, Charleston, ect) let me know!

 

Yes, to all of them.

7 hours ago, ColDayMan said:

 

Yes, to all of them.

Agreed! 

Disclaimer: Not all of these photos are edited so excuse any poor photo quality

 

View of Steubenville from Highland Hills:

One of my favorite photo locations is Highland Hills Memorial Park above Folansbee, West Virginia. It has the best view of the Ohio River around Steubenville that I know of. Sadly though I never can get a great picture here I feel like! But here's the view. Notice Market Street Bridge, which was saved and repainted in recent years from a rusty brown color to its current blue and gold colors. At night, it lights up in those colors as well. Historic Fort Steuben from the 1780s, named after Prussian Revolutionary War hero, Baron von Steuben, is to the left of the bridge.

 

 

Morelli Building (Steubenville):

This is the Morelli Building in Steubenville. It is on 6th Street in Downtown Steubenville. I'm not sure of its history, but it is very beautiful! I love the columns and balcony on the second floor. It has been used as an "adult novelty store" for many years but now seems to be a "smoke shop" of the same name. There's usually interesting clientele out front ?:

 

 

Mingo Junction:

Just south of Steubenville is one of the weirdest towns in Ohio, if not the weirdest: Mingo Junction. Mingo is a very very rundown steel town. It is unique because it still has many of its old buildings left as the town has no money to tear them down. In fact, there's been two burnt out houses and a burnt out church, all visible from the highway, which have not been demolished for years. The town's Downtown in particular looks as if it's from a much larger city. I only got a few pictures on the day I stopped by, I was mainly scouting out future photo opportunities. But oh my god does the infrastructure in this town suck! I have never felt more unsafe driving than in Mingo - there'd just be random gigantic potholes that are unavoidable and would probably destroy your tire if you aren't careful. There's tons of insanely steep pothole infested roads that have likely not been maintained since the 70s. Tons of narrow one lane roads meandering up and down the hills. There's also a lot of public steps, like in Pittsburgh, which could still be used; though they are in terrible shape as predicted. I can safely say I was actually thrilled to get out of Mingo and back onto the highway as driving through it was insanely stressful. However, Mingo is one of the coolest towns in Ohio as it is basically a ghost town stuck in time. In fact there's still lots of 1970s-90s cars around which I found interesting. If you enjoy urban exploration, you have to visit Mingo. Anyways, here's the few photos I got:

 

The abandoned Mingo Junction High School building, now merged with the old Wintersville High School to form Indian Creek High School:

 

 

 

 

Bonus Mingo Junction Fun Facts: Mingo is home to the 1970s one hit wonder Wild Cherry, of "Play That Funky Music White Boy" fame. Woody Hayes also had his first coaching job at Mingo High School, and is where part of "The Deer Hunter" was filmed. George Washington also set up camp here in 1770 on his expedition of the Ohio River Valley. He noted that the town, which he called "Mingo Town," was inhabited by about 20 cabins and 70 residents, all of the Iroquois Confederation, but specifically the Mingo people.

 

Also, here's a pic (NOT MINE) of Downtown Mingo Junction - I hope to get here again soon for more photos! Next photo tour will be of Wellsburg, WV:

Edited May 19, 20205 yr by Dblcut3

Great stuff.  Mingo is one of my favs in the state as well.

Drovers Inn (Wellsburg, WV):

Located up the hill from Wellsburg, WV along the historic Washington Pike is Drovers Inn, a very popular local restaurant inside a historic tavern/inn. The three story sixteen room home was completed in 1848 by John Fowler. His home was opened to travelers along the Washington Pike in 1850. Travelers could enjoy a drink or meal at the tavern or lodging in the many rooms upstairs. In 1965, the aging brick building was purchased and beautifully restored into a restaurant. I didn't get pictures of the inside, but it is a very grand and stately looking interior - here's the website with photos. The house is located in a small hamlet which was known as Fowlerstown - as a result, the inn was historically known as the Inn at Fowlerstown. Also, no joke, the food here was really good. It is known locally, including even 30 mins away in my hometown, to have the best wings around. I didn't try those, but I did have haddock which was easily some of, if not the best, fish I have had in such a landlocked area like the Ohio Valley. They also had very generous portions! 

 

 

Drovers Inn has a really cool basement which is known as the Tavern. It is accessible through a narrow and steep root cellar entrance at the side of the home. The basement is insanely cool and has original stone flooring and walls.

 

 

The only other building on the Inn at Fowlerstown property is the log house. The log house, astonishingly, dates back to 1790! That is pretty old for this area and there are very few 1700s homes left - there's one left in Wellsburg (which will be in a future post as I took enough pics for a whole photo tour of the town) and another was recently tore down to build a county annex building. Yes, they literally tore down a large 1790s tavern/inn which was frequented by river travelers to build a stupid addition to the courthouse - what a travesty. Anyways, here's one of the few 1700s Upper Ohio Valley log cabins left:

 

 

Art-Deco Steubenville Rowhouse:

I do not know any backstory to this home, but it has always really intrigued me. It is located on Sunset Boulevard in Steubenville and is very out of place compared to the rest of the houses in the city. It has a very art-deco feel to it. It looks like something you'd see near a beach in Florida or California! One of my relatives claims to vaguely know the old owners and thinks they did this weird art-deco style in the 90s as an add on and that the house was just a normal looking home beforehand. I have a hard time believing this however.

 

 

East Liverpool Giant Eagle:

Lastly, we have East Liverpool. Like all of the valley towns, East Liverpool has sooo much history and so much to take pictures of - but like always, I am too pressed for time to do a comprehensive photo tour. The town has certainly fallen into disrepair and has a wide variety of issues, notably the opioid epidemic. There is a small spark of revitalization in Downtown, but I'm not sold on the fact that the town is genuinely in an upswing quite yet. I didn't get a picture today, but I found a very cool boarded up and abandoned mansard/second empire style home. I wouldve stopped for a picture, but I was too busy making sure my tires didn't burst on the incredibly broken and narrow brick road.. yikes! I also noticed some old overgrown public city-steps, like the famous ones in Pittsburgh. They're all over the valley towns but are all in terrible shape and out of use, and until recently, I had no clue they ever existed. The only town that maybe still uses them in some capacity is Mingo Junction. But today, I was in town only to stop at Giant Eagle real quick, and I think it's worth sharing this Giant Eagle. As you can see, the signage and the store itself is very outdated and looks the same as it has for decades I presume. The inside of the store as well feels like a step back into time. Surely this must be one of the last totally non-updated Giant Eagle locations left!

 

And it wouldn't be East Liverpool if it didn't have a burnt out building across the street!

 

 

Hope you guys enjoyed this rather random assortment of photos! I'll try to finally post my Wellsburg tour soon. 

Edited June 2, 20205 yr by Dblcut3

Revisiting Mingo Junction:

So, I had time to go back and take pictures in Mingo today. It was a bit better than last time because the sun wasn't so bright outside today. Anyways, I decided to walk around Commercial Street, which serves as the center of "Downtown Mingo." I've gone over the history of Mingo in a post a few weeks ago, so scroll up if you are interested in that - it is a really cool little town with a ton of history to it. Downtown Mingo Junction looks like it was built for a neighborhood in a bigger city - it's hard to imagine that this town only has ~3,000 residents despite having such a dense looking Downtown area. Sadly, most of the buildings on Commercial Avenue are abandoned and way beyond repair. The funny part is that I looked at the National Historic Places registry form from the 1970s, and frankly the buildings looked just as terrible back then! The good news? Well, the city has absolutely no money to tear them down. None. That means I can still go take pictures of this corridor, which is largely unchanged from its days as a bustling steel mill town. The few businesses that remain in Downtown Mingo are dive bars, and surprisingly a new coffee shop which just opened. I plan to check it out soon. 

 

 

This is down at the southern end of Downtown. It is actually right near a viaduct under a railway which serves as the only route connecting the lower parts of Mingo to Downtown - I didn't get a picture of it, but man it is just another example of Mingo's super sketchy infrastructure. As I said before, I actually feel a bit on edge driving on these crazy roads in town.

 

One of the larger buildings is the Avalon Building. I believe it has been awaiting demolition for years - last time I was in town, they had the sidewalk below closed due to falling bricks.

 

 

Here's a cool view from a vacant lot, which really shows the steep hill between Commercial Street and the homes above:

 

Looking down Commercial Avenue.... I love this photo because it shows just how vast and vacant this stretch of road is:

 

 

More vacant buildings. The one with the yellow brick facade actually has "CONDEMNED" written on the storefront, so perhaps the town may actually get to tearing down some buildings soon - but hey this is the same town that has had 3 burnt out homes which have been sitting there for three years with direct view from the highway.

 

You can see the condemned building better in this next picture - also, notice all the parking meters. Do they still work? I don't know. I didn't pay the meter myself because some of them look like they haven't been touched in decades, and frankly I imagine Mingo just doesnt have the money to remove them:

 

 

You can see the new coffeeshop in this picture towards the right side. It's actually a coffee shop mixed with an antique shop. I'm curious to check it out, but they were closed since it was Sunday.

 

 

 

 

I like the boarded up building on the right here:

 

Next, there's this burnt out church up the hill from Downtown.... Again, the town has no money whatsoever to tear it town:

 

Looking down towards the steel mills and Downtown from Lincoln Avenue:

 

Lastly, there's this cool tudor-style apartment building in Steubenville's Pleasant Heights neighborhood, known as The Hillcrest Apartments:

Edited June 22, 20204 yr by Dblcut3

Thank you for this.  I adore Mingo Junction.

Commercial Avenue...with little commercial. 

I somehow missed this thread earlier. I grew up mostly there. It's sad. Steubenville has some nice bones because it was a booming little city for the first half or so of the 20th century. It still had a downtown old school department store when I was kid. It eventually died and the building taken down (it's where the Rite Aid sits).