The Building Behind 259 Park

[AllanY2525]

I think we have another arsonist on our hands here, folks... buildings that
have no gas, water, or electric - and are damp inside from being open
to the weather - do not spontaneously combust.

YSU will probably buy the lots now that the those houses are gone, they
have been buying the property around them already.

[northside lurker]

They would have come down before the end of this year. There were also plans to partially deconstruct them to salvage some of the architectural features still in them.

What a waste. 

I made a new thread about the houses that burned last night:
http://mahoningvalley.info/forum/index.php?topic=7085.0

[rusty river]

I don't know which three burned down, but the city was planning on tearing a large number of them down soon, anyway.

They would have come down before the end of this year. There were also plans to partially deconstruct them to salvage some of the architectural features still in them.

What a waste. 

[Rick Rowlands]

I would surmise that the existence of leins on this house probably doomed it, since the leins were most likely for a namount greater than what the house was worth. 

[northside lurker]

I just learned about more bad news for this neighborhood.  According to the TV news this morning, three adjoining vacant homes on Pennsylvania Avenue burned down last night.  The fire started in one and then spread to the other two.

I don't know which three burned down, but the city was planning on tearing a large number of them down soon, anyway.

[jay]

I just learned about more bad news for this neighborhood.  According to the TV news this morning, three adjoining vacant homes on Pennsylvania Avenue burned down last night.  The fire started in one and then spread to the other two.

[AllanY2525]

Rusty,

Since the house pre-dated the naming of what is now "Park Avenue" (ie: was
formerly located on the South Side and the name moved to the present day
thoroughfare) I would guess that it's probably at least as old as the house
itself.

The 1905 Burch's City Directory for Youngstown lists the owner as a
"C.H. Krauter".  Wonder if there's any historical info available about
this person/family?  I bet the old microfiche files at the McMillan Public
Library might have some info.. they have copies of the Vindy and City
Directories going way, way back... I found an article about the Renner
Mansion in the society pages of the Vindicator in 1907 - the year the
mansion was completed.

I looked up copies of the old Sanborn Maps of the city on my website:

The 1896 map shows no record of a "Park Avenue".  The 1907 map shows
both the house, and the barn.  I've clipped the section of the map, and
attached it as an image... the house is circled in black....

There is no way of knowing exactly what year the barn was built, the best
I can guestimate with the resources at hand is between 1875, and 1907
when the house and barn (and the street itself) first appeared in the maps.

Who knows what dirt roads may have run close to the house, or what direction
they approached from.....

By the 1920's or so, horses and carriages were pretty much replaced by
the automobile (at least in urban areas...), so that gives a clue as to its age.

From the looks of the carriage house on the outside, she's still in good structrual
condition - what worries me is that, like the mansion that stood in front of it,
it is unsecured against vandals and the like.

I personally think it should be saved... since it's not a house, there isn't much
to maintain, other than some paint, a few windows and the roof...


Like my grandma Louise used to say: "Who left the barn door open?"

LOL

It's also an all-wooden, frame building....and wouldn't stand a chance against
an arson attack.  The wood is so old and dry, it would burn like a match stick.

I love the idea of using it as a community tool shed,  and putting in a garden
on the vacant land in front of it - great idea which would only serve to beautify
and enhance the park across the street.

Can anyone get ahold of Phill Kidd about the photos of the mansion that were
taken?  I really, really want to get copies for the web site.

When my mother and I managed Parkway Tower back in the 1980's, I used
to live in the house that stood to the left of the building, where the
newer parking garage is now... the old carriage house is still there... and
it even had finished (plaster and lathe) rooms upstairs, which were probably
servants quarters...

I still suspect that the mansion was a farm house originally, before being
added on to and re-faced with stone.

What I am wondering now is, how will the numerous (and, reportedly, massive)
liens and encumberances be affected by the fact that there is no longer
a house standing on the lot to put a lien "against"?  Certainly the lien holders
should be more willing to just write off the debt(s), now that the land is only
worth a small fraction of what it was when the mansion still stood on it.

[rusty river]

What do we know about this structure?
Was it as old as the house?
Should it be saved?

It's a carriage house. Possibly as old as the house was, but I'm not certain.
Last time I looked at it, there was all kinds of junk inside.
It might be neat to utilize it as a community tool shed for the Wick Park neighborhood.

The lot could even be turned into a community garden.

[jay]

This building is still standing at the back of the property at 259 Park Avenue.

What do we know about this structure?
Was it as old as the house?
Should it be saved?