Work aims to restore Stambaugh's splendor

The auditorium is to reopenin September.
By MATT BIXENSTINE
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Scaffolding rises above 2,554 vacant, plastic-covered seats. Soon the seats will be occupied and a conductor's cue will break the eerie silence.
In the midst of undergoing a 21/2-month restoration, Henry H. Stambaugh Auditorium, 1000 Fifth Ave., has not hosted an event in its concert hall since early June. The hall's interior sits wrapped in plastic as its ceiling gets cleaned and hand-painted for the first time in 77 years.
"This building is too fine an example of Greek and Roman architecture to let it fall by the wayside," said William Conti, project manager and Stambaugh board vice president. "This is something that needed to be done."
The auditorium is tentatively scheduled to reopen in September, with the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra's performing a rededication concert at its original home.
Preservation
Conti said Dependable Painting Co., hired to perform the restoration, has made every attempt to preserve the auditorium's storied history.
A thorough cleaning of the ceiling for the first time turned water black. Now the coffered ceiling will have its original colors and gold-leaf sketches from 1926 duplicated by hand -- one of the final stages in the $341,000 restoration project.
"There's a lot of history behind it, and we want to continue that history," Conti said. "We're even having the original central vacuum system renovated by the original company that installed it."
Sarah Strouss, Stambaugh board member, said Henry H. Stambaugh, the late local industrialist and philanthropist who was responsible for the auditorium's creation, would have enjoyed the much-needed restoration. The largest public auditorium in the area last underwent a minor refurbishment in 1968.
"I think he'd be proud now," she said. "I think he would have been crying 15 years ago when it was in disrepair."
The auditorium fell into disrepair for many years until a group of community members began pushing for improvements in 1988, Conti said.
By then several other architecturally significant structures in the Youngstown area, notably the Palace Theater, had been destroyed, while Edward W. Powers Auditorium, formerly the Warner Theater, narrowly avoided the wrecking ball.
Conti now hopes Stambaugh, Powers and other area centers for the performing arts can combine forces to maintain a strong presence of the arts in the community and provide a "vote of confidence" for Youngstown.
Working together
"Rather than competing, we want to work together as one body," Conti said. "It hasn't always been that way in the past."
Stambaugh Auditorium plans to be aggressive in its attempt to lure productions to its renovated facility. Liberace and the Boston Pops Orchestra are among the numerous artists and acts who previously graced the auditorium, renowned for its natural acoustics.
Barbara Armstrong, Stambaugh general manager, said the auditorium has gone full-circle in recent years with state-of-the-art sound and lighting, improved plumbing and heating and a new roof. Future projects include renovating the seating and the auditorium's exterior.
"I love this building and I love seeing what's happening to it," Conti said. "A lot of people are doing a lot of things to make the Stambaugh Auditorium what it once was."
State grants funded $200,000 of the project, but Stambaugh is still in the process of raising the remaining $141,000. Donations may be sent to Stambaugh Auditorium, 1000 Fifth Ave., Youngstown, OH, 44504-1603 or by calling (330) 747-5175.
mbixenstine@vindy.com