In this Youngstown, everybody lived downtown

YOUNGSTOWN

For many people, a discussion of downtown Youngstown’s past probably conjures images of a bustling retail hub where shopping, dining and entertainment were at a premium.

Few, however, would likely think of a compact village with scattered houses and taverns, a smattering of small commercial buildings and a pool of water from which livestock drank.

“Everybody lived downtown, no matter what your means were,” Bill Lawson, the Mahoning Valley Historical Society’s executive director, said during his one-hour lecture, “Historical Perspectives on Downtown Youngstown,” in which he referred to the city’s population concentration in the early and mid-1800s.

An estimated 50 people attended the first of two presentations on the city’s history and development he gave Saturday in the Carriage House behind the Arms Family Museum, 648 Wick Ave. on the North Side.

Lawson’s talks also tied in with “Memories of Christmas Past” and “It’s Christmastime in the City,” two exhibits that run through next Sunday at the museum.

For a further look back, read the full story in Sunday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.