"The Mob Festival"

[Youngstownshrimp]

With the amount of feedback on this topic, I think Lyndsey should have Youngstown look into this or get a committee together with the artsy people in town, I'll be the worker (proletariat).

[Rick Rowlands]

What have you done to make that a reality?

[iwasthere]

i rather use my energy in promoting the old idora park into amusement/zoo/waterpark then waste my energy on anything that deals with the Mafia.

[Youngstownshrimp]

The Mob as a theme would not be glorifying the Mafia but rather accepting the past and using it to better ourselves in a positive education way.  Albeit one cannot argue with success as the Sopranos and The Godfather taught us.  As Rick would know, doing is very hard work, one must be willing to get their hands dirty and withstand the ridicule from the talkers.  This is not new, it has been this way for all innovators and is the norm, but the freethinkers move forward and overcome. 

Yes the pillagers have been destroying Youngstown for generations, all the judges, sheriff, congressman, and now the recent indictments of major politicians and their handlers.  Not to mention the discovery of nonprofits (MYCAP) lining their pockets.  In Charleston, on the eve of its renaissance I was privileged to be a roomate of one of the eminent restaurant geniuses Charleston has ever produced.  Aaron Hyman and I were younger then but we and others knew that free enterprise was what Charleston needed again, Mayor Riley was a true leader then and now.  Today, the name Hyman in Charleston is synonymous with Charleston's revival, iwasthere.

The architecture that was left to us by the steel titans of the world is irreplaceable and yes very little reinvestment.  The problem is not that there are no investors, the playing field has been rendered a bad risk for investors, don't take my word, open your eyes.  Or ask Rick what happened to the apprehended thieves who were caught red handed with his iron, NADA, not a %&#$#^& thing.  Here, the entitled tenancy are allowed to roam freely and plunder the real estate with no consequences and yet we blame the investor,  no wonder there are a very few left.  But of course, we won't change, this approach has been going on for decades. 

We need doers and we need leaders, capable leaders like Riley who is a doer. 

[iwasthere]

am i missing something on this thread concerning the mafia museum. i will admit that i enjoyed going to the all nite gin joints and gambling places that were runned by the mob but the other stuff that came with the Mafia lifestyle i do not cherish those images/memories. rr what kind of economic development going on Hubbard rd? there is enough unoccuppied land on the lower ytown ss to recreate ytown history like dearborn, mi.

[Janko]

While tourism is a good thing, a museum to glorify the activities of the mafia is a terrible idea.

The mafia ruined many peoples' lives, and helped to hinder the progress of economic development the Youngstown region for about 20 years.

Charleston did not develop a thriving tourism industry because of highlighting tourism connected to slavery. It did it through protecting and rehabilitating historical architecture, emphasizing the arts, and having a good young leader in Mayor Joe Riley who has now been a progressive chief executive for 36 years running.

We need "doers" in this town who revitalize and renovate the historical houses which they have purchased, instead of not investing in them, which force third parties to clean up their messes.

Just think of the potential of a vibrant north side that was bolstered 20 years ago instead of pillaged.

The tourism solution does not rest on one factor alone. Charleston couldn't have made it if it wasn't for (a) leadership and (b) reinvestment.

I agree on kudos to Rick for his efforts on the East Side.

[Youngstownshrimp]

If we think commerce, first we should form a business plan within this forum,  with those here that can be constructive.  Right here, right on this forum, throw ideas around.  Invite experts, like the Oakland artsy people, Easy Street, or even the Playhouse.  Raise the money privately and government playing a supportive role, a little financial, a little leadership approach.  Get the region behind it with contribution of knowhow.

Let's see how far we can move this ball forward.

[Lynds]

i really like the idea of a downtown museum... how in the world do you get funding for such a large project?

[Shar]

I see a flicker of vision, I don't know if it is going to ignite or burn out, please, catch fire , please don't burn out, ahhhh...crap!

Somewhere in the bible it says "people without vision perish" , is this what happened to Youngstown?

Since you seem to be the only one with vision and claim to be the only "doer" in Youngstown why are you looking for approval here?  I would think that a self proclaimed real estate expert such as yourself would have the ability to just "do" a project.  Haven't you made millions with all of your savvy real estate projects?

[Youngstownshrimp]

Yes Rick, there is vision on Hubbard road and I always admired your hardwork.  Keep it up bro!

[Rick Rowlands]

Who was the one that wanted to build a mafia museum in downtown a few years ago?

There is plenty of vision out on Hubbard Road!  We're growing so fast I can't keep up. Currently working on another 100 tons worth of steel industry equipment to add to the collection!

[Youngstownshrimp]

I see a flicker of vision, I don't know if it is going to ignite or burn out, please, catch fire , please don't burn out, ahhhh...crap!

Somewhere in the bible it says "people without vision perish" , is this what happened to Youngstown?

[Rick Rowlands]

The name of the game is to find something that will bring in the tourists.  An organized crime museum will bring in the visitors.  Its different and that is what sells.  Other places have capitalized upon unsavory parts of their history and turned it into a positive:

Mafia Museum opens in New York:
http://manhattan.ny1.com/content/top_stories/114154/mafia-museum-to-open-in-east-village

Another one for Las Vegas:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/11/world/americas/11iht-vegas.4.19252064.html

Follow in the footsteps of Jack the Ripper:
http://www.jacktheripperwalk.com/index2.html

Charleston's Slave Mart, building in which humans were sold is now an historic site:
http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/charleston/osm.htm

This just scratches the surface, but I do know that more people would come to Youngstown to visit the "Murdertown USA Museum" than will come here to see the Youngstown Steel Heritage Park.

[AllanY2525]

I sat in Al Capone's jail cell - right on the bed he used to sleep in.

(Alcatraz Island tour - 2001)


LOL

[mooch]

"Several years ago, I spoke of a Mob museum with reenactments of bank robberies or even car bombings on the streets of Youngstown.  Or, even a "hit" with fake blood and actors falling on the street with cop cars flying around. "

Um.....No.   A museum to educate on the history of the mob in y-town is one thing.  But blood and car bombings on the street just seems like glorification to me.  You should tie some positive education behind this somewhere.  The mafia did much more bad than good, that needs to be clear.