Posted April 20, 200916 yr My older brother and I recently took our 80-year-old father to retrieve some memories in Youngstown and Struthers. Dad was born in Youngstown in 1928 and graduated from Struthers High in 1947, but spent most of the time between and since in our hometown. But he frequently visited uncles who had worked at Sheet & Tube and used to go up for high-school reunions. Dad's first home, on Midlothian, next to fire station No. 9 Dad at the Elmton Inn in Struthers, where, in 1947, he had his first pizza. It's still a great neighborhood restaurant/tavern. Heading down Walton Ave., at the end of Midlothian Blvd., toward Sheet & Tube. It was a few blocks walk to work for my uncles (except in later years, when they worked at Brier Hill). Used to be big white brick buildings on either side of Walton, across from the mills -- administrative offices on the right and R&D on the left. North of Sheet & Tube on Poland Ave., along the Mahoning. Vicinity of the Riley Chemical tar plant, where my Dad worked in 1947, applying asbestos insulation, by hand, on 500,000 gallon tanks. Downtown Skyline above the industrial Mahoning Valley. My brother and I used to take the train from Dover to Youngstown with our grandma in the early 1960s. Uncle Roy would pick us up at the station and drive along here past the mills on the way home to Midlothian Blvd. We always thought it was Roy's car that stunk. Church across the valley, reflecting the immigrant heritage. More skyline and former industry Rail and industrial heritage Closer to downtown. Downtown looking northwest on Federal St. Ditto Federal Square skyscrapers Originally Central Savings & Loan, built 1929, 18 stories, 224 feet. Youngstown's tallest, and a grand art deco tower. Home Savings & Loan, 1919, 10 stories -- set apart from the other downtown giants. Realty Building, 1924, 12 stories, Neo-Classical Revival Federal Street again Federal Square, with 13-story 1909 Mahoning National Bank building in center. I remember taking the bus downtown with Grandma and Aunt Jane to visit my Dad's cousin here. Mahoning County courthouse is at left. Federal Square again And now for something completely different: Old Stagecoach Inn, North Georgetown in Columbiana County, on the way home.
April 20, 200916 yr Youngstown looks like it must've been an incredibly charming town in your dad's age.
April 20, 200916 yr I don't know that "charming" ever described Youngstown, though there were charms here and there. But it certainly was vibrant. Lively. Interesting. Even raucus. Even in 1979, two years after mills started shutting down, Youngstown still had two busy downtown department stores -- Strouss and McKelvey's.
April 20, 200916 yr Great idea for a tour. I'm envious of your dad's memories of Youngstown in its hey-day; the photos I've seen are full of energy and vitality -- and soot and grit. I speculate that it's a good thing that cameras don't capture odors. KJP's photo threads from a while back ("We Make/Made Steel") do a good job of capturing the essence of Youngstown's erstwhile industrial might. Youngstown has good people. During my stopover in 2008 en route to Pennsylvania I spent parts of two days walking around with my camera, and the people I met were friendly and hospitable. Despite years of demolitions, the city still has an amazing collection of downtown massive buildings by nationally-known architects.
April 20, 200916 yr Good stuff. Did your father or his friends take any pictures when they were young? "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
April 20, 200916 yr Nice! "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
April 20, 200916 yr Good stuff. Did your father or his friends take any pictures when they were young? We've got some family stuff, but I really don't know of any downtown or workplace photos. I'll double check with Dad, though.
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