As part of the Youngstown 2010 plan, the city has been divided into about 130 neighborhoods.  Some had names already, like Oak Hill, Brier Hill, Fosterville, or Cornersburg.  But, my neighborhood never had a name.  So we chose the name "Garden District."

 

Here is an aerial view:

http://www.youngstown2010.com/neighborhoods/west/garden_district/13_garden_district_neighborhood_aerial.jpg

 

I'm making this tour because I was taking pictures of houses in the neighborhood for possible use on the 2010 website, and thought you might also be interested in seeing a fairly typical Youngstown neighborhood.  Unfortunately, this means the tour will look a little more "rosy" than reality because I was only photographing the good houses, or those that struck me as interesting.

 

We start our tour on McKinley Ave.

Fellows Gardens:

http://www.millcreekmetroparks.com/riversidegarden.htm

and the Davis Center:

http://www.millcreekmetroparks.com/educationvisitorcenter.htm

are across the street from these houses.

 

Unfortunately, the park has been somewhat aggressive in buying up land in this area, and has demolished several nice homes from the late Victorian/Turn of the century eras.

 

Next we have Hillsdale:

 

Whitney Ave.:

 

Halls Heights Ave.:

 

Glacier Ave.:

 

Milton Ave.:

 

Mayfield Ave.:

(Seems like an abrupt transition from "stately brick home" to "multifamily" and smaller houses)

 

 

Hampton Court:

 

Eleanor Ave.:

 

Lakeview Ave.: (sorry, no Evanston)

(I really like this house, and wish it weren't abandoned)

 

 

Olson Ave.:

 

Portland Ave.: (I have a lot of Portland for some reason--I guess I like the American Foursquare)

 

Maryland Ave.:

 

Belle Vista Ave.:

 

Now we head to the intersection of Belle Vista and Mahoning:

(Entrance to Calvary Cemetery)

 

(Groceries, a short walk from home.)

 

(Looking down Mahoning toward downtown)

 

Heading down Mahoning Ave., back toward where we started, there are a few more interesting buildings:

The neighborhood looks charming.  Mature areas with a nice lived in look are my favorite type of area.  The yards all look very well maintained as well.  Also, the Garden District seems aptly chosen.  Well done! Thanks for the tour.

 

Youngstown seems full of surprises.

Thanks for the nice reply.

I'm glad you are here representing Youngstown JRC.

 

The west side of Youngstown is the most "comfortable" side of the city. The neighborhood to the south of the Garden District is very beautiful along the perimeter of Mill Creek Park. The west side neighborhoods of Schenley, Cornersburg, and Kirkmere are among the most stable neighborhoods in the city.

keep the Youngstown neighborhood tours comin'!

Youngstown gets a bad rap but it does have some nice areas.  I appreciate these views of the city.

Thank you very much!

Terrific photos. I think I could live in just about any of them, except perhaps the 1950s and later ranch houses.

 

I would have loved to have seen that city in the 1920s and possibly in the late 1940s or early 50s. Alas my earliest memories of Youngstown are from the 1970s, before the bottom started falling out in 1977.

 

I'm glad to see such terrific housing stock has survived. I suspect it is a key component of the city's revival.

Terrific photos. I think I could live in just about any of them, except perhaps the 1950s and later ranch houses.

Same here.  But even the ranches, with their mature landscape and proximity to the park have their own charm.

I would have loved to have seen that city in the 1920s and possibly in the late 1940s or early 50s. Alas my earliest memories of Youngstown are from the 1970s, before the bottom started falling out in 1977.

I was told, by a former coworker, that when he was a kid (back in the 60's, I think) and his mom would take him downtown, he thought he was in New York City. :)

I'm glad to see such terrific housing stock has survived. I suspect it is a key component of the city's revival.

I definitely agree.  Unfortunately, because of the Youngstown 2010 plan, the city is demolition-happy.  If they weren't hindered by budget or EPA rules, they would demolish large parts of the city with no regard to architectural significance or character.

I was told, by a former coworker, that when he was a kid (back in the 60's, I think) and his mom would take him downtown, he thought he was in New York City. :)

 

In the late 1980s, when I was working on the Cleveland-Pittsburgh Project for what is now All Aboard Ohio, I was having lunch in Youngstown with Mayor Pat Ungaro, Councilman Al Chance and a urban studies guy from YSU (I can't remember his name). During lunch, the trio of Youngstowners were recalling what downtown was like as recently as the 1970s. They said there would be crowds on the streets at lunch-time like you would see on Cleveland's Public Square or Columbus' High Street.

 

I definitely agree. Unfortunately, because of the Youngstown 2010 plan, the city is demolition-happy. If they weren't hindered by budget or EPA rules, they would demolish large parts of the city with no regard to architectural significance or character.

 

That's very unfortunate. All I can say I hope they don't demolish homes that can be salvaged for restoration.

That's very unfortunate. All I can say I hope they don't demolish homes that can be salvaged for restoration.

"Salvageable" is a very relative term in Youngstown these days.  For most, it seems that if there are broken windows and the plumbing in the basement has been stolen, the house is ready for demolition.

 

There are those who would like to see Youngstown implement a program where someone can buy a house--that has been seized by the city--for $1, under the condition that they renovate and live there for a stated minimum number of years. (I can't remember which city has done this already--maybe Baltimore?)

Thanks for the tour and links!

[...]

 

There are those who would like to see Youngstown implement a program where someone can buy a house--that has been seized by the city--for $1, under the condition that they renovate and live there for a stated minimum number of years. (I can't remember which city has done this already--maybe Baltimore?)

 

Yes. Baltimore in the seventies. I think it worked well.

 

I enjoyed the tour around the neighborhood. It looks like a comfortable place to live.

i dk -- i am very intrigued and kind of a fan of turning a former big industrial city back to nature. it's certainly a unique approach that gets a lot of people talking about youngstown, be they of the "it's awful, it's erasing history" belief or the "it's great, it's cleaning up a shrinking city" belief.

 

i guess i've been curious about this kind of approach since the richfield coliseum was handed back to mother nature.

 

otoh....i'd hate to be the one to decide what stays and what goes.  :|

personally i am very leery of teardowns, but am not convinced 'shrinking cities' isnt a creative solution either if it's done carefully and creatively. more parks & maybe some urban tomato or cornfield garden swathes or stuff like that are not necessarily bad things. certainly youngstown is a grand experiment & is the poster child for shrinking cities solutions in the usa.

 

 

Adopting the shrinking city plan is almost like throwing in the towel.

I think it's being more realistic.  Making the city the best it can be for 80,000 people is more achievable than insisting that the city's population is going to double again in the near future.

 

Let the suburbs die and have people move back to Youngstown.

That's easier said than done.  The same thing could be said for every rust belt city.

 

I am not happy at all with the 2010 plan.

Except for the concerns I expressed earlier, I'm OK with the 2010 plan--it gives the city a direction to follow.