Tour puts spotlight on city buildings
The tour caused one walker to grow nostalgic for buildings that are now gone.
By ED RUNYAN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A couple hundred people were encouraged to crane their necks and really spend some time looking up at architectural marvels that dot the downtown area.
"You just look up and say, 'That is beautiful. Someone put a lot of time into that,'" said Rick Shale, a Youngstown State University English professor and tour guide.
Shale was among about six guides who showed off downtown Youngstown as part of the walking tour presented Saturday afternoon by the Mahoning Valley Historical Society's Young Leaders Advisory Board.
"Just walking around, you don't realize a lot of the stuff is here. You don't look up," said Gordy Morgan of Boardman, who grew up in Campbell. "There should be more things like this. It's nice to see tours in Youngstown like you see in other cities."
Frank Rulli, president of the board, said the group offered a walking tour on Wick Avenue in 2003 and 2005, but this was the first time such a tour of the downtown has been offered. The response suggests that another tour might need to be offered this year or next, he said.
On tour
On a day perfect for walking, a larger-than-expected turnout started at Central Square and proceeded several blocks down Federal Street, part way up Boardman Street and back to Central Square by way of Front Street and Wick Avenue.
Along the way, they took in such landmark buildings as the Stambaugh, Mahoning Bank, McCrory's, Phar-Mor, Kress, McKelvey's, Home Savings, The Vindicator, Hotel Ohio, City Hall, Mahoning County Courthouse, Warner and Paramount theaters and Trinity United Methodist Church.
At most points, Shale pointed out the types of architecture, the year the building was built and interesting details that most people miss when they drive through town.
For example, a Boardman Street parking garage near city hall used to be home to a car dealership, which explains why metal fashioned into old-fashioned tires can be seen protruding from the top of the building. A couple of walkers said they'd never noticed that before.
Some buildings on the tour were popular enough -- even though they don't exist anymore -- that they were mentioned and photographs of them were shown. One such place was the Palace Theater on Wick Avenue.
Considering the fate of the popular theater caused Robert Fitzer of Youngstown, a lifelong area resident, to assess the bittersweet nature of the tour.
"I'm thankful we still have what we have, but it's a tragedy to have had things taken away -- the great buildings that are gone," he said. He was reminded of the existence of so many buildings on the east end of Federal Street that are gone.
Fitzer said it also makes him sad to see newer buildings that are not as appealing as the turn-of-the-century ones, and beautiful structures that have been covered up during remodeling.
'Skyscraper museum'
Shale said a friend has called the Central Square area a "skyscraper museum" because of the number of buildings built around 100 years ago that dominate the skyline.
"You could call them antiques, but there's still something going on inside of them," he said.
Shale said one of the reasons the tour is so appealing is because of the number of big-name architects who designed so many of the buildings -- Morris Scheibel, Albert Kahn, Daniel Burnham, Charles F. and Charles H. Owsley and others.
The tour attracted young and old and a number of people interested in architecture. Jan J. Seidler, executive director of the Downtown Youngstown Community Improvement Corporation, said he brought his stepson, Matthew Huber, on the tour because Matthew is interested in architecture, and also because of Seidler's fond memories of the once-bustling area.
Many of the tour guides are professors from YSU, with others coming from the historical society, Rulli said. Most of the information given out by the tour guides came from the YSU History Department, while photographs shown to the walkers came from the historical society.
runyan@vindy.com