DIANE MAKAR MURPHY Tour Wick Avenue buildings with historical society

Love history?
Or maybe, you just love Youngstown?
Or possibly, like me, you're looking for something fun to do on a lazy, late-summer afternoon.
The Mahoning Valley Historical Society has an outing to satisfy any or all of the above. The brainchild of local architect Frank Rulli, who is a member of the MVHS Young Leader's Advisory Board, it is a guided walking tour of Wick Avenue in Youngstown.
In conjunction with this year's Annual Founder's Day Celebration Open House at the Arms Museum, MVHS, in collaboration with the Wick Avenue churches, cultural institutions and YSU will offer free, one-hour junkets to look at architecture.
Registration required
Advance registration is required for the walks, which will depart from the Arms Museum on the hour, between 1 and 3 p.m. Sunday.
Several building exteriors are included, and many buildings will be open afterward for inside viewing. Among the stops will be the Butler Institute of American Art, Wick House, YSU Alumni House, the Mahoning County Public Main Library, the Rose Melnick Medical Museum, the Youngstown Board of Education, McDonough Museum of Art, St. John's Episcopal Church, First Presbyterian Church and more.
About some sites
Maybe the best way to get you interested is to tell you about some stops on the tour.
YSU Alumni House: According to Shannon Tirone, director of alumni relations, staff will be on hand to give tours through the house, which was originally built in 1865. Tirone invites you to have a free root-beer float on the grand porch, listen to the YSU jazz ensemble and view photographs of the original owners enjoying an afternoon tea.
Board of Education Building: It was 1866 when the first students, 40 in all, were led from the Wood Street School to a brand new building. Boasting Greek Revival design, it was made possible by Judge William Rayen's bequest of $31,000 and was built by black businessman and bricklayer P. Ross Berry. Now, nearly 137 years later, the building still stands and houses the Youngstown Board of Education.
St. John's Episcopal Church: When fire destroyed the original St. John's Episcopal in 1895, a breathtaking, Norman Gothic church was constructed on Wick Avenue in its place. Dedicated in 1898, it has undergone several architectural additions to include a great window over the main entrance and a window mural of God watching over Mahoning Valley steel-making.
Wick House: YSU's Web site inviting new residents to the Wick House declares, "If you love history, you'll love residing in the restored Wick House." First, George Dennick Wick lived there before he went down with the Titanic in 1912, stoically waving from the deck to his wife and niece as their lifeboat departed. Second, the home, built in 1906, was once a four-story mansion and still boasts impressive fireplaces, lovely woodwork and a beautifully crafted dual staircase.
Mahoning County Main Library: A gift of $50,000 from industrialist Andrew Carnegie and the sale of the old library made possible the building of the one at the corner of Wick and Rayen in 1907.
Rose Melnick Medical Museum: Decades newer than most of the other tour stops, the Melnick Museum officially opened Oct. 15, 2001, the fruition of Youngstown radiologist John Melnick's dream. Named after his mother, the museum houses instruments, equipment and research that document the history, not only of medicine, but of dentistry, nursing and pharmacy in the Valley.
If this partial preview has whetted your appetite for more, be sure to reserve a spot with the tours by calling the MVHS at (330) 743-2589. Free parking will be available in the YSU M-4 lot adjacent to St. John's Church and the library. And don't forget to leave time to enjoy the Founder's Day celebration at the Arms Museum.
murphy@vindy.com