State Theater/Armed Services Building demoltion begins Monday

[Jaime Hughes]

I just wanted to say Thank You to everyone that helped us keep that facade up. It's a shame to see that building come down and it breaks my heart to watch them tear it down, BUT-- we are keeping the facade so that a little piece of the State Theatre will constantly remain. There is a $100,000 fine IF they accidentally tear the facade out, but they did a beautiful job not harming it during demolition.

I am touched and honored to say I am from Youngstown, Ohio... look at all the people that came together to keep this facade up? Who really cared about the well-being of their city and their downtown! Not many cities can say that they rallied to keep the facade up and in tact. We are a wonderful place and people on the outside can't really see that (although I wish they could!).


Thanks Again :-D

[Towntalk]

Jay:

A little patience is called for. Tearing down a building like the State Theater isn't like tearing down a house. There is a great deal of interior work that needs to be done before they bring in the wrecking ball.

I watched them tear down the building next to DeYor and it was weeks before the wrecking began.

There is also a matter of safety involved to protect the buildings on either side, one wrong mistake could cause serious damage to Oakland since the auditorium is a shell as opposed to a regular office building or store.

In Toronto, when they were tearing down a theater similar to the State, the auditorium walls collapsed, three people were killed and other buildings were damaged including an occupied building. With the roof gone, the walls were too weakened to stand.

I'm sure that the contractor is taking every safety measure to insure the safety of the surrounding buildings and the folks doing the demolition.

[Elmo-Ytown]

That's because my laptop and I are tied to the top of the building....



I wish

[jay]

As of 1:00 p.m. on Monday, no external demolition had taken place.

[northside lurker]

What's it going to be again? A parking lot? Or is something being built there? I'm really sad to see the State go, I've always wanted to buy/renovate that place...

It sounds like the auditorium of the state theater will be turned into parking, and the narrow front portion will be turned into a green space to compliment the back of the saved facade.

From what I've heard, the State is/was even less salvageable than the Paramount.  I've heard that there was visible structural damage inside.  And there have been photos posted on this forum that show movement in the exterior masonry.  So, unfortunately, I don't think a renovation would have been doable in the near future.

[Elmo-Ytown]

What's it going to be again? A parking lot? Or is something being built there? I'm really sad to see the State go, I've always wanted to buy/renovate that place...

[Elmo-Ytown]

Maybe someone can go down and tie themselves to the building to save it, lol. I'm just kidding..... sort of

[jay]

Some of the demolition equipment is already in place.

[Towntalk]

Thanks Westsider, you are absolutely right.

Certainly the owner of the building had every right to do with the contents as he well pleased, and unfortunately unless some provision was made to keep things intact prior to any transfer, the owner, not being interested in preserving such things as stage lights etc, saw more scrap value in them than making an effort to at least make a good faith effort to sell them.

It's just a case of frustration, knowing that there are organizations that would purchase them if for nothing else, the parts.

The State Theater had for example projectors that were state of the art Todd-A-O. These are highly prized, and on CinemaTreasures there have been listings for such equipment wanted.

I fully realize that even if the equipment were still there that the City can't be expected to fund buyers for the equipment with all the more pressing business it has to deal with, and certainly with all the important business that Phil has on his plate, expecting him to take on the task is out of the question.

Its just a matter of frustration on my part.

[northside lurker]

I'd also like to add my thanks for keeping this board informed.

I don't think Towntalk intended to imply incompetency.  This may have been a case of one man's trash being another man's treasure.  What most people would think is a worthless rusting hulk, might actually be a rare (and still salvageable) projector.

[ForumManager]

The Ramone's autograph wall  might be able to be  excised with a sawsall and then backed and framed... if it is a relatively small area.

Sad to see the old buildings go.

Thanks for keeping us in the know, Phil.

[Defend Youngstown]

Jaime is correct. Everything of value has been removed. I find it troublesome that there is always such as rush to judgement that the city is often assumed to be completely imcompetent in so many matters. While fustration is certainally understandable, there are still good people who sincerely are looking out for the interestes of the public w/in City Hall, believe it or not. I would like to think I am one of them and when I post information on this site, you can rest assured that I do so because I have taken into consideration the public's concern regarding a matter. If there were items of value left in the State that should be salvaged, I would certainally make it known to the CIC that they must be removed and I would inform the public if they weren't, such as posting to this board. Just a FYI for the future.

[Jaime Hughes]

Theres nothing inside the theatre worth saving. The Massullo family who owned the theater before selling it to the City took everything that was worth any significance in the building.


Except, in my research of the building.. The Ramones played in the State a while back and they autographed a wall back stage. I think that's pretty cool.. too bad they couldn't take that!

[ytowner]

Bright Side, blight will continue to be removed from Federal Street. The city is moving forward, as opposed to looking in the past.

[Towntalk]

This is a shame. There was plenty of time before the contracts were let out for people to go in and catalogue items that could be saved such as stage lighting, etc. and allow experts to remove them.

I don't know what their condition would be, but I do know from my many visits to CinemaTreasures that similar theaters fixtures were salvaged, restored and reused elsewhere.

This is shortsighted on the part of the city.