Most of the back wall along Boardman Street has been removed. The next building heading west is the Oakland Center for the Arts.
Click on the photo for a larger view.
Demolition of State Theatre is back on track
http://www.vindy.com/news/2008/dec/26/demolition-of-state-theatre-is-back-on-track/
"The west wall touches the Morley Building, which houses Ballet Western Reserve and the Oakland Center for the Arts. Caution is required to prevent damage to the neighboring structure, said Popa."
If this is the case, why don't they just let the west wall continue to stay put, do whatever patching need to be done and even out the top so that its flush with the Morley Building?
Afterwards they could paint the wall like they did when the buildings on either side of the DeYor were torn down.
This is what's left of the stage area of the theater.
Click on the photo for a larger view.
Re: The West Wall
There is a very good chance that this wall has the old, double layer construction
where real, solid brick was used for the outermost layer of the wall, and hollow
ceramic brick used for the inside layer(s).
They call this hollow, ceramic block "Speed Tile". It was used because it could
be laid very quickly in comparison to solid brick masonry. For buildings of this era,
Speed Tile was ubiquitous - it was VERY commonly used.
The problem with speed tile is that it becomes brittle, and often unstable with
age. If this stuff is indeed present in the west wall of the theater, then it is
best to remove it entirely, for safety reasons. They could cement over it, but
if it started to come apart it could cause large chunks of concrete and masonry
to fall.
They're probably going to remove the west wall until they hit the solid, outer layer
of the brickwork in the adjoing wall, then put some kind of concrete covering or
sealant over that layer of brick.
If I'm not mistaken, the Morley building was constructed in the early 1900's as the Moose Auditorium. I have a couple of pictures of the building somewhere in my files, and if I can find them I'll put them up on my Webshots site.
When did they start using speed tile?
I've just uploaded two photographs of the Morley building from 1920 when it was the Moose Temple.
http://community.webshots.com/user/ladynews500
Look at the top of the building ... the building had a rooftop Summer Garden and Pergola.
When it was built (It took about 2 years to build) it cost $200,000.00.
In the basement was a grill, billiard room, bowling alley, and shower rooms. The large auditorium (see photo), complete with a balcony was on the third floor and was used not only by the Moose but opened for concerts and other uses for the general public.
Is the balcony still in the auditorium today?
The building was constructed with red brick and Terra cotta.
[Source for information: Youngstown Vindicator, Sunday, August 29, 1920]
Quote from: Towntalk on December 28, 2008, 03:04:51 PM
When did they start using speed tile?
I'm not sure exactly when they started and stopped using Speed tile, but my apartment building
was built between 1910 and 1914, and it is loaded with the stuff. I'm thinking it was probably
used from around 1900 or so, up until the forties, when cinder-block came into use.
Another bad quality of speed tile is that in a fire, it tends to shatter/explode from the heat.
By today's standards, it is definitely NOT very strong in and of itself, but fares better when
used with layers of real brick.
:)
Off topic, however, I went to the demo site yesterday and requested a brick as a keepsake. The demo crew folks were very nice and asked if I wanted a white or a red brick (not sure where the white was located inside of the theater). So, if you'd like a brink, just ask the friendly demo crew and they will grant your request.
PK
Allan,
See the photo below. Are these the hollow ceramic bricks you mentioned?
---------------
PK
I believe the white bricks were on the exterior wall along West Boardman Street. See photo below.
---------------
Click on the photo for a larger view
Jay,
EXACTLY ! Those hollow, fluted (terra cotta, I believe) bricks with the
ridges along their outside edges are "Speed Tiles". By today's standards,
they are quite weak structurally. That layer of real brick over top of the
speed tiles in your photo is what provides most of the structural support
for this old type of masonry.
:)
So weak in fact, that the building only stood 100 years!
Quote from: Rick Rowlands on January 07, 2009, 10:58:47 PM
So weak in fact, that the building only stood 100 years!
I'm not saying that the old speed tiles weren't strong, I'm just saying that they are not
as strong as newer materials. Most of the new houses being built now aren't even using
cinder block any more - they are using solid concrete foundations, poured into a mold
with steel re-bar embedded in it.
My apartment building on the North Side is also about 100 years old, and still standing - BUT
there are several areas in the building that are going to have to be re-inforced and repaired
when the building is rebuilt inside. This is mainly due to the failure of several areas inside
where speed tile was used in the construction of the building.
There was a fire in one of the third floor apartments in 2002 (before I bought the place) and the
speed tile at the top of the structural walls basically shattered and disintegrated due to the heat
from the fire. When they put the new roof on the place a couple years ago, they had to replace
it with concrete block and mortar to lift the deck of the roof up to where it should have been
when the fire damage was originally repaired.
Cinder block tends to fare better in the presence of fire than speed tile, for sure.
Bear in mind, also, that the State Theater had a structural skeleton composed of
STEEL GIRDER beams - whereas my apartment building does NOT have steel
girders inside its walls.
Another major reason for some of the structural failures in the building is the
fact that the concrete slabs that make up the bathroom floors were poured over
old fashioned, WOODEN beams - it's hard to believe that they actually built the
place in this fasion, when structural steel probably should have been used
beneath the slabs.
We've had to put safety trusses and steel jack posts under these slabs to make
them stable, for the time being.
:)
What will become of the land? Another parking lot?
Quote from: Smokey362 on January 16, 2009, 05:54:44 PM
What will become of the land? Another parking lot?
Yes. :( At least for now.
Well, I am glad that the facade was saved. It is a piece of Youngstown's history
and, if done tastefully, will make an excellent display that should augment whatever
they might build on that piece of land in the future.
All that remains are piles of scrap and piles of demolition debris.
Click on the photo for a larger view
Now the rubble is being scooped up and hauled away.
Click on the photo for a larger view
I just noticed the old sign painted on the side of the building next to the State Theater. I will start another message thread to discuss the Bloch Bros. sign.