3 views from the Valley: An in-depth look at Trump's America

EDITOR’S NOTE — “The Promise” is a yearlong series following the men and women living in cities where the issues at the core of President Donald Trump’s campaign promises are more than just rhetoric – they’re everyday life. In Youngstown, Vindicator reporters will tell stories of citizens living in the shadow of industry loss; in McAllen, Texas, reporters from The Monitor illustrate life on the border; in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Gazette reporters give voice to one of the country’s oldest Muslim communities. These stories are all brought together at TheBigRoundTable.com.

Youngstown stories in the series

Local GOP volunteer sings praises of president

Immigrant from Turkey has mixed feelings about immigration reforms

Local union rep roots for Trump to succeed

By GRAIG GRAZIOSI

ggraziosi@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

To many people, “Youngstown” is best known as a name on a highway sign on the way to Cleveland or Pittsburgh.

Or, worse, as a punch line to some endless tome about the Rust Belt.

Perhaps, even as a Bruce Springsteen song.

For travelers who catch a glimpse of the city, it’s often from Interstate 680, likely while on their way to or from somewhere else. A small cluster of high-rise towers pokes up from a valley next to the highway – as though the seed of a great East Coast city began sprouting but stopped midway through.

On the hill north of the towers is Youngstown State University, easily recognized by its monolithic football stadium and a nearby cellular tower emblazoned with a large red and black “YSU.”

Just below the interstate is the Covelli Centre arena, clearly newer than most of the city’s buildings. It has hosted Tony Bennett, John Mellencamp and Elton John, among others. Most travelers will never see this building, or know what it has to offer, unless they actually stop and visit Youngstown.

For those who do know of Youngstown as more than a road sign, it’s likely due to its ties to nefarious activities – organized crime, political corruption, car-bombs (locally known as the “Youngstown Tune-up”) – which are sometimes outlined in snarky list articles written by individuals who’ve never set foot in the city.

Other times the city is used for ponderous profiles of “Real Americans” longing for the days of steel mills and the might of the United Steelworkers.

It is that latter narrative that is often revisited when Youngstown comes to prominence in the national eye.

Youngstown also is a useful symbol for illustrating the decline of the status, wealth and hope of a Midwestern community and the workers who called it home. What’s left are the survivors who manage to coexist amid abandoned mills, shuttered factories, gutted labor unions, massive population loss, poverty and high infant mortality.

Of course, the city has more to offer than its utility as a symbol. Over the last decade, revitalization efforts downtown have resulted in the birth of an arts and entertainment district, which in turn spurred creation of a handful of downtown apartment buildings aimed at young professionals.

A business incubator – which was named the world’s best university/affiliated connected business incubator in 2014 – has attracted innovators in technology and business-related fields ranging from additive manufacturing to virtual reality video-game publishing.

Depending on who’s describing the city, Youngstown may either be characterized as a hub of innovation and community-led revitalization or as a cesspool – a vestigial organ of America’s 20th-century war machine.

Regardless of whether one thinks Youngstown is phoenix or ash, the evidence for both can be found through the neighborhoods surrounding the city.

The South Side, still economically unstable, connects Youngstown with its more affluent and attractive suburbs, such as Poland and Boardman. The husks of former storefronts line the once-vibrant commercial corridors along Market Street and South Avenue, while a handful of immortal bars and businesses are sustained by a fiercely loyal customer base. This side of town also served as the home of the iconic Idora Park with its amusement rides and fresh-cut french fries.

The North Side, more so than anywhere else in the city, is haunted by the ghosts of Youngstown’s former affluence and prominence. Stambaugh Auditorium, a temple-like entertainment venue, marks the entrance to the North Side. It once was frequented by the city’s wealthy, educated and elite, who conveniently lived near the historic building that opened in 1926. Today, it largely serves everyone and hosts a wide range of performances, though now the wealthy travel in from the suburbs.

The West Side neighborhood – thanks to the efforts of community action groups and the nearly 3,000-acre Mill Creek Park – has seen the most significant improvement in beautification and removing blight. Mahoning Avenue – which local revitalization groups have identified as the strongest candidate for rebirth as a significant commercial corridor – runs from downtown Youngstown through the center of the West Side and out into Austintown.

If the West Side has best experienced the boon of Youngstown’s revitalization efforts, the East Side has felt the most pain of the economic disaster that befell the city.

Simultaneously broken and beautiful, the East Side is home to entire neighborhoods that may house only a single person and residential roads that taper off into overgrowth. A hidden lake and sprawling forests lie adjacent to the stone rubble of demolished homes and to long-abandoned storefronts. Some portions of the East Side have effectively been turned over to nature, while others house an active citizenry working to breathe in new life.

Youngstown may feel at best obsolete, at worst a corruption of the American Dream. But it also teems with life, culture, and diversity – all yearning for some kind of rebirth.