My recent visit to Youngstown

[AllanY2525]

Hi everyone,

I returned this past Saturday from my visit to Youngstown
and just wanted to share my experiences on the message
board.

First, I want to thank Kitten44504 for her hospitality
and the wonderful historical photos she burned onto a
CD for me, plus some valuable info about the Renner
Mansion she has in the form of old newspaper articles
and info about various members of the Renner family
and the Renner Brewery.

I also wanted to say how encouraged I was to see some
of the new construction going on around town. I drove
past the new Convocation Center and the new Senior's
apartments and single family homes going up on the site
of the old Westlake Terrace projects.

I drove down to the Wick Oval in Smokey Hollow and saw
the new YSU apartments that have been built there.
The new Cafaro dormitories by Madison Avenue look
awesome!

I drove around on the lower south side and noticed
quite a few new homes have been built on sites
formerly occupied by delapidated homes.  It's good to
see new housing going up on the lower south side.

I was surprised to see a new building on the lot
next to the old St. Paul's Lutheran Church building
on 5th Avenue - I think it's a day care center.  I
was sad that the old Strouss house that the church was
built onto is no longer there - only the old carriage
house remains standing behind the church.

I drove downtown and saw the newly-opened Federal
Street blocks where Federal Plaza used to be.

My mother and I took photos of some of the beautiful
old historical homes around Wick Park, Fifth Avenue,
Illinois Ave, Indiana Ave, Madison Ave, Tod Lane,
Ottowa Drive (Southside - Mill Creek Park area),
Ford Nature Center on Old Furnace Road, and a few
more buildings as well.  

One of the tenants living in the Renner Mansion let
us inside to take photos of the main halls upstairs
and down - the old Mansion is still beautiful inside,
though far removed from it's hey-days.  I am trying to
find old photos of the mansion's interior rooms that we
were unable to see, since these are private apartments.
I would have loved to explore the basement and the attic
at the Mansion, but these areas were also locked and
"off limits".  Maybe I can get ahold of the landlord on
a future trip to Youngstown and get access to these areas
and take some photos.  I am also trying to find a photo
of the huge "art glass" mural window that used to be over
the main staircase landing.

I've posted all of the photos on my Yahoo Group:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/YTownHistoricHomesBldgs

Please stop by and take a look at the photos when you
have some time.  Feel free to contribute any historical
information or old photos you might have on any of these
beautiful homes and buildings.

We spent some time at the main library on Wick Ave
looking through old microfilm, researching the
Renner Mansion.  Trying to use the microfilm machine
was a challange at first, as I am "analog impared" after
working in the I.T. industry for almost 17 years. Using
non-digital equipment takes a little practice, I guess.
I also got some info from the Mahoning Historical society
while I was in town.

All in all, it was really great coming home to visit
my old home town.  I plan to come back and shoot more
photos in a few weeks or so, when the weather warms up.
The weather was warm and sunny the first day we were
in town, but turned cold and snowy the rest of the week,
so we didn't get all the photos that we wanted - but
there's always next time !

Best Regards,

AllanY2525