Wick Neighborhood Area 1910

[AllanY2525]

I found this real estate listing on a Historic Homes site, posted by a
member of the Northside Coalition:


Frank F. Lyons House
1010 Bryson St.

Bedrooms: 4
Bathrooms: 3.5
Square Feet: 2,380
Year Built:  1910

Architectural Style:
Eclectic Houses
(1880-1940)

1010 Bryson was built by Frank F. Lyons and Elizabeth Lyons, who lived there from 1910 until 1920. Lyons was president of the Lyons/Laerie Medical Supply Co. in Youngstown. The home was subsequently owned by Beecher P. Higby Sr., who had prominent Ford and Lincoln dealerships in Youngstown. The neighborhood is home to a number of significant civic, religious and cultural institutions: Stambaugh Auditorium, Rodef Sholom Temple, First Unitarian Church and Wick Park.

THe Lyons House is a two-story, Craftsman home on Youngstown's historic North Side. It's a contributing property in the Wick Park Historic District (National Register of Historic Places). The Lyons house has an open floor plan. A large living room spans the width of the house and has two sets of pocket doors in a French-door style. An elevated sitting area lies opposite the living room and has Spanish plaster, a red tile floor and fireplace. The second floor has four bedrooms and two full baths. The attic is finished and has a full bath. The house is constructed with Tapestry Brick, an art brick manufactured by Fiske and Co., Inc. of New York. The building's upper floor is stucco. The house has two large parapeted Flemish gables in a Spanish Mission style. Despite its architectural significance, 1010 Bryson has some challenges. The main roof needs to be replaced as does the roof on the front porch and garage. The house also needs restoration of some of its eaves. Despite these challenges, 1010 Bryson is a wonderful building and representative of the golden age of Youngstown. Large open rooms make it appropriate for a public function and upper floor bedrooms could serve as apartments.

[Towntalk]

Allan, not to change the subject very much since the Renner mansion is in the area under discussion, did you view the strange Renner ad that I posted under the heading "Strange Renner Ad Part 2" yesterday for your benefit? In checking Renner ads leading up to that ad and after I didn't find a repeat of the inclusion of "Budweiser Beer" in any of them which is why that ad is so strange.

[AllanY2525]

I was digging around the Vindy archives on Google News the other day and found out
a little bit about Mason Wick:

Apparently, he and some others were responsible for forming the "Log Cabin Land Co." and
platting out the remainder of the land around H.K. Wick's log cabin (on Illinois Ave) and selling
home lots - many of them with houses already built on them - between 1909 and 1912 or so.

He kept one lot for himself and built the residence you see pictured below on it.  From the
street, this house is turned sideways, and faces the Wick Log Cabin.

[AllanY2525]

The pictures from the magazine article say below each photo - the house on Broadway was designed by both of them, for the elder Owsley's retirement home.

[northside lurker]

Which houses were designed by Charles H. Owsley, and which by Charles F. Owsley?   (I don't know if Charles F. Owsley did any of them, actually)

[AllanY2525]

Here's a larger photo of the Owsley residence on Broadway Ave taken from "The Ohio Architect, Engineer and Builder" magazine


I have an article on my website that has this house and many other buildings he designed  - taken from this same magazine.

[Towntalk]

Here is a 1909 picture of the Charles A. Owsley home. Sorry that its not perfect Allan but it is a newspaper photo from 1909 and the sizing restrictions here prevent a better quality.

[AllanY2525]

I had an email an email conversation with a friend of mine in Youngstown several days ago - almost ALL of the houses
that were owned by the coalition have now been sold to private owners.  This is great news for the neighborhood,
as people will be moving into these homes and fixing them up.

[northside lurker]

I really did not (and still don't) intend on getting into a discussion of what anyone's idea of an "entitled" person is...not the subject of
this thread at all...

We don't have a "thumbsup" smiley here.


I believe the "twin sister" house has been bought.  Also, the NSCC has slowly been finding new owners for their houses.

[AllanY2525]

This house was built ca. 1922 as far as I can tell.  it was originally the pastor's house for the Unitarian
Church and sits on a double lot right behind the church.  I bought this property a few years back and
have slowly been fixing it up.  I have already put a lot of time and money into the place, and there is
still lots more to do... it will come, in time.

The second floor apartment got a MAJOR renovation back in April of 2010... refinished hardwood floors,
updated bathroom, new walls and ceilings, insulation and some wiring updates.

You can see a slideshow of most of the work here:  http://allthingsyoungstown.net/124illinois/slide001.html

[AllanY2525]

This house was acquired by the N,S,C,C, and re-habbed a couple years ago.  They did a fantastic
job restoring the interior.  A very beautiful old home inside.  Wish I had some historical info on it.

[AllanY2525]

This house was vacant and boarded up when I first photographed it a few years ago.
Since then, someone bought the place, and did some rehab work on it and now it
is occupied again.

One small success story for the neighborhood...

[AllanY2525]

This mansion is No. 38 Illinois Ave - the "twin sister" to the one that got burned down...

No historical info on who lived there originally.  It was occupied until a couple years ago.

[AllanY2525]

This mansion is now gone...  it was arsoned a few summers ago.  Fortunately, I had the opportunity to
go through the place and photo-document the mansion before it was burned.  The sheer size of this
home and the elaborate floor plan inside speaks to the fact that whoever lived there was very, very
wealthy.

This former mansion has a twin sister just a few doors down the street - identical in almost every
detail from the outside, and most likely quite similar on the inside.  I hope someone buys the place
and does something with it before it meets the same fate as the mansion in this photo....

[AllanY2525]

This is the J. H. Fitch residence on Indiana avenue - now the infamous Y.S.U. fraternity
house where those people got shot... I'm sure Mr. Fitch is turning over in his grave over
what happened at his house...


Charles Owsley was the architect of this home, also.