New Warren history book brings back memories of Warren’s shopping and industrial glory

By Ed Runyan

runyan@vindy.com

WARREN

For anyone younger than about 55, it might be difficult to remember a time when downtown Warren had major retailers such as Sears, JCPenney and Strouss-Hirshberg.

But the new book “Warren” from the Arcadia Publishing Images of America series provides ample documentation that all of those stores once made the city a top shopping destination.

The 127-page book by Josh Nativio and Meghan Reed is mostly photographs from Nativio’s personal collection, as well as images owned by organizations such as the Trumbull County Historical Society, of which Reed is director.

One photo shows Sears employees on the sidewalk in front of the South Park Avenue store in 1967, two years before the Eastwood Mall in Niles opened, taking stores like Sears, JCPenney and Strouss to the suburbs.

Two other photos from around that time show Strouss-Hirshberg in what is now known as the Atrium Building at Park Avenue and East Market, and JCPenney a block or so east near the marquees for the Robins and Daniels theaters.

“The Images of America books are fun, engaging and accessible to both academic researchers and local history enthusiasts,” Reed said in announcing the book.

“Warren lost so many storefronts within such a short time,” Nativio commented. “All of those stories will be lost if we don’t do something to save them.”

The book also shows industrial landmarks, such as the mill first known as Trumbull Steel, which became the leading steel mill in the Mahoning Valley, employing 9,000 people at its height and boasting the largest blast furnace in the world, the book says.

The blast furnace was one of the last pieces of the mill, later known as Republic Steel and RG Steel, to be removed at the 1,100-acre site south of downtown in October 2017.

The book summarizes the city’s industrial history, especially the Packard brothers’ establishment of Packard Electric on Dana Street in 1890. The authors say the city was dubbed “Lampville USA” after W.D. and J.D. Packard started building electric lamps there. By 1910, the city had many more electric lamp companies.

But during the first years of Trumbull Steel, which began 1913, the city’s population grew 144 percent over one decade. The city’s peak population was in 1970.

Advance copies of the book can be purchased through the historical society for $18 by calling 330-394-4653 or visiting www.trumbullcountyhistory.org. Proceeds from the book will support the historical society’s work.