So it was a beautiful sunny day in northeast Ohio, and I conned... convinced my S.O. into a little day trip to my old stomping grounds of Youngstown.

 

Heading in, there's the Youngstown State University football stadium:

 

And the downtown Youngstown skyline:

 

 

Okay, so I'm getting gratuitous with the skyline shots:

 

This church has seen better days:

 

The view from the Market Street bridge:

 

Details of the Mahoning County Courthouse and the SkyBank Building:

 

 

Terra cotta on the SkyBank, an Albert Kahn classic:

 

Downtown Youngstown's been cleaned up, but the foot traffic is still minimal:

 

My favorite, and Youngstown's tallest at 224 feet - the First National Tower:

 

Robert A.M. Stern designed this small but handsome Federal Courthouse:

 

Arriving at the Butler Institute of American Art http://www.butlerart.com, we walk around to the sculpture court. This penguin was part of the Penguin Parade (Youngstown State's mascot is the Penguin):

 

The interior of the Butler, Beecher Court:

 

 

 

Views outside of the Butler, Youngstown's east side:

 

The building in the foreground is the Gwathmey-Siegel designed McDonough Gallery at YSU:

 

The nicely landscaped entrance to the Wick Avenue pedestrian bridge:

 

Back inside the Butler's Beecher Center for Art and Technology:

 

The exterior of the Beecher Center:

 

And the main building of the Butler, designed by McKim, Mead and White:

 

Back downtown, we see the base of First National Tower:

 

Views of West Federal Street:

 

 

Back in the 80s, my punk-club friends and I would see bands at Cedars (on right in background) - instead of a nice shiny office building, we had an abandoned 10-story building for a backdrop  :-o

 

The DeYor Center for Performing Arts - people were milling about prior to a performance:

 

On we go to Mill Creek Park, Youngstown's beautiful Metropark:

 

 

 

We arrive at our destination, Fellows Riverside Gardens at Mill Creek Park - definitely worth the drive:

 

 

Views from the overlook - the former Isaly building and downtown in the distance:

 

YSU Stadium:

 

The neoclassical Stambaugh Auditorium:

 

Beautiful scenery in Youngstown - not what most people would think, but it's there:

 

 

 

 

 

The overlook of beautiful Glacier Lake:

 

Inside the Davis Visitor and Education Center is a library with this reading nook - check out the view of Glacier Lake and the treetops!

 

Exterior of the Davis Center:

 

But it was time to head home - one last look toward downtown and the Home Savings and Loan building:

 

I'm looking at Youngstown - that's what!

 

An utterly CHARMING billboard on our way out!

 

Back in Cleveland - I finally got a shot to prove that yes, you can see downtown from I-480 at the Northfield Road exit! (I admit I'm a geek):

 

The requisite Valley View bridge shot:

 

Home sweet home! :-)

 

Hope you enjoyed!

 

Very nice! Youngstown's loss of steel-industry jobs was so sudden and severe that it was more like collapse than decline, but it still has some impressive buildings, excellent cultural amenities like the Butler Museum, and an attractive topography. It looks like it's trying to come back, little by little.

I did enjoy this trip to Y-town.  And I look forward to the captions.  But a thread of Youngstown without grit is like a thread of Cleveland without Lake Erie. :wink: :laugh:

 

Thanks MayDay, good stuff.

It's like an industrial museum.

The first few skyline pics are really nice!  I loved seeing the parks full of people too.  They're "feel good" pics!  I've never made the short trek down there but I might do so this summer. 

i was going to ask if you went to the beecher center and looks like you did. how was it? did they have any interactive exhibits? i am dying to check it out sometime.

Thanks for the visual update of Youngstown. I haven't been to downtown in a little more than a year, so it was good to see it's getting cleaned up. I just wish there were some traffic -- vehicular and pedestrian. Granted, the day/time may not have been the best for that, but it seems everytime I'm there, even during a weekday, it's pretty devoid of activity. It hurts to see it like it is today, when I can remember what it was like before the bottom fell out. But I keep cheering and hoping for Y-town.

I used to work for the MetroParks in Summit County and we had quarterly marketing meetings with other park systems to share ideas, and each park system would take turns hosting it.  When we visited Mill Creek, I can't tell you how impressed we were with their Visitors Center and surrounding grounds. It really blew us away how fantastic that place is, all the other park systems were jealous.

O man do I love pics of my hometown

 

Great to see

Mill Creek Park is actually alot better then most people think I have family that live a block away from the park; glad to see you included the park.

 

Downtown looks much better and more cleaned up & with YSU most likely only getting larger that will only benefit Youngstown.

 

The East side of Youngstown is a bit rough but has alot of history.

 

 

Did anyone see the article in the PD and Wall Street Journal about Youngstown and it's development strategies for a shrinking population? Their great articles.

This is a gorgeous shot and looks to be a wonderful overlook!

For anyone interested in Youngstown's industrial and urban history, I highly recommend the Youngstown Historical Center of Labor and Industry. The building was designed by Michael Graves in 1986. The space is imposing and the exhibits portray the steel and coal and other industries that made Youngstown a powerhouse and the human element that made those industries prosperous.

 

The Center is located at 151 W Wood Street. If I remember correctly, it's very close to the Cathedral (St. Columba's). It's surprising to me that few people seem to know about it; even the cab driver who took me there hadn't heard of it, and had to think a little bit about where the address was. It's not like it's a small, nondescript building.

nice pics! i also like the mayors new plan for the city. very forward thinking.

Great pics May Day.  You certainly have an eye.

 

Question you may or may not know the answer to.  Did the same architects design both the Old Cuyahoga County Courthouse (on Lakeside) and the Mahoning County Courthouse?  They are very similar.

Htsguy, the architect for the Mahoning County Courthouse was Charles Owsley who also designed the Home Savings and Loan building. Lehman and Schmitt were the architects for the Cuyahoga County Courthouse - I agree there's a striking similarity.

It's like an industrial museum.

 

One thats struggling for donations