Downtown Youngstown

Last updated
Downtown Youngstown, facing east on West Federal Street Downtown Youngstown 2019.jpg
Downtown Youngstown, facing east on West Federal Street

Downtown Youngstown is the urban downtown center of Youngstown, Ohio, United States. Located on the north bank of the Mahoning River, Downtown Youngstown is the site of most of the city's government buildings and banks. A number of entertainment venues are also located in downtown, including the Covelli Centre, Powers Auditorium, the DeYor Performing Arts Center, and Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre. In addition, the downtown sits to the immediate south of notable cultural and educational resources, including Youngstown State University, the Butler Institute of American Art, and the McDonough Museum of Contemporary Art.

Contents

History

The Man on the Monument Civil War Memorial at Federal Plaza ManontheMonument.jpg
The Man on the Monument Civil War Memorial at Federal Plaza

Youngstown's traditional downtown area fell into steep decline in the 1970s and early 1980s. Amid the departure of retail businesses along the main thoroughfare of West Federal Street, municipal officials made a decision to close the street to vehicle traffic in order to build a pedestrian-oriented shopping area. By the mid-1980s, most of the downtown area's department stores and movie theaters had closed up. Meanwhile, the city's car dealerships relocated in the suburbs. By the early 1990s, the downtown had become a stark symbol of the community's economic decline.

In the 2000s, additions included the Nathaniel R. Jones Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in 2002 (which features an award-winning design by the architectural firm, Robert A. M. Stern Architects [1] ), the Mahoning County Children's Services center and George Voinovich Government Center in 2004, and both the Covelli Centre and Ohio Seventh District Court of Appeals in 2006.

In 2005, Federal Street, a major downtown thoroughfare that was closed off to create a pedestrian-oriented plaza, reopened to traffic. The downtown area has seen the razing of structurally unsound buildings and the expansion or restoration of others. [2] New construction has dovetailed with efforts to cultivate business growth. One of the area's more successful business ventures in recent years has been the Youngstown Business Incubator. This nonprofit organization, based in a former downtown department store building, fosters the growth of fledgling technology-based companies. The incubator, which boasts more than a dozen business tenants, recently completed construction on the Taft Technology Center, where some of its largest tenants will locate their offices. [3]

While the city has been less successful in drawing large retail businesses back to the downtown, older buildings are being refurbished for smaller businesses, while others have been razed to make way for new buildings. The downtown is currently the site of the Covelli Centre, which has given Youngstown a professional hockey team.

Economy

Youngstown State University is the largest employer in the city. Steelite, a British ceramics manufacturer, has its U.S. headquarters based in Youngstown. [4] Other companies with offices downtown include JPMorgan Chase, FNB Corporation, Huntington Bancshares, KeyBank, PNC Bank, InfoCision, and the Youngstown Business Incubator. The United States Postal Service has a distribution center downtown.

The Youngstown Business Incubator (YBI), in the heart of downtown, houses several start-up technology companies that have received office space, furnishings, and access to utilities. [3] Some Incubator-supported companies have earned recognition, and a few are starting to outgrow their current space. Inc. Magazine rated one such company–Turning Technologies–as the fastest-growing privately held software company in the United States and 18th fastest-growing privately held company overall. [5] To keep such companies downtown, the YBI secured approval to demolish a row of nearby vacant buildings to clear space for expansion. [3]

The Stambaugh building, which once housed the Youngstown Sheet and Tube headquarters was renovated into a 4-star DoubleTree by Hilton hotel in 2018. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warren, Ohio</span> City in Ohio, United States

Warren is a city in and the county seat of Trumbull County, Ohio, United States. Located along the Mahoning River, Warren lies approximately 14 miles (23 km) northwest of Youngstown and 56 miles (90 km) southeast of Cleveland. The population was 39,201 at the 2020 census. The historical county seat of the Connecticut Western Reserve, it is the third largest municipality in the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area after Youngstown and Boardman, and anchors the northern part of that area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Youngstown, Ohio</span> City in Ohio

Youngstown is a city in and the county seat of Mahoning County, Ohio, United States. At the 2020 census, it had a population of 60,068, making it the eleventh-most populous city in Ohio. It is a principal city of the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area, which had 430,591 residents in 2020 and is the seventh-largest metro area in Ohio. Youngstown is situated on the Mahoning River in Northeast Ohio, 58 miles (93 km) southeast of Cleveland and 61 miles (100 km) northwest of Pittsburgh.

A business incubator is an organization that helps startup companies and individual entrepreneurs to develop their businesses by providing a fullscale range of services, starting with management training and office space, and ending with venture capital financing. The National Business Incubation Association (NBIA) defines business incubators as a catalyst tool for either regional or national economic development. NBIA categorizes its members' incubators by the following five incubator types: academic institutions; non-profit development corporations; for-profit property development ventures; venture capital firms, and a combination of the above.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Downtown Phoenix</span> Central business district of Phoenix, Arizona

Downtown Phoenix is the central business district (CBD) of the City of Phoenix, Arizona, United States. It is in the heart of the Phoenix metropolitan area or Valley of the Sun. Phoenix, being the county seat of Maricopa County and the capital of Arizona, serves as the center of politics, justice and government on the local, state and federal levels. The area is a major center of employment for the region, with many financial, legal, and other national and international corporations housed in a variety of skyscrapers. Major arts and cultural institutions also call the area home. Downtown Phoenix is a center of major league sports activities, live concert events, and is an equally prominent center of banking and finance in Arizona. Regional headquarters for several major banks, including JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, US Bank, Bank of America, Compass Bank and Midfirst Bank are all located within or close proximity to the area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Covelli Centre</span> Arena in Ohio, United States

The Covelli Centre is a multi-purpose arena in Youngstown, Ohio, United States. It opened in 2005, thanks in a large part to a $26 million HUD redevelopment grant secured in 2000 by Congressman James A. Traficant Jr. It is home to the Youngstown Phantoms of the United States Hockey League. The Covelli Centre was previously known as the Chevrolet Centre and is nicknamed "The Chevy Centre" or "The Convo" by some in the area from its former names.

Smoky Hollow is a neighborhood in Youngstown, Ohio. Located northeast of Youngstown's downtown, Smoky Hollow is now part of the campus of Youngstown State University. The district has long been in a state of decline, but plans are now underway to transform Smoky Hollow into a large field built to serve the University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nathaniel R. Jones</span> American judge (1926–2020)

Nathaniel Raphael Jones was an American attorney, judge, and law professor. As general counsel of the NAACP, Jones fought to end school segregation, including in the northern United States. From 1979 until 1995, he served as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit before assuming senior status, and in 2002 retired to resume a private legal practice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Downtown Albuquerque</span> Neighborhood of Albuquerque

Downtown Albuquerque is the central business district of Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. It is where a significant number of the city's highrise buildings are located, and is the center of government and business for the Greater Albuquerque metropolitan region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strouss</span>

Strouss was a department store serving the U.S. states of Ohio and Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mahoning Valley</span> Metropolitan Statistical Area in Ohio, United States

The Youngstown–Warren, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area, typically known as the Mahoning Valley, is a metropolitan area in Northeast Ohio with Youngstown, Ohio, at its center. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the metropolitan statistical area (MSA) includes Mahoning and Trumbull counties. As of the 2020 census, the region had a population of 430,591, making it the 125th-largest metro area in the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George D. Wick</span> American businessman (1854–1912)

Colonel George Dennick Wick was an American industrialist who served as founding president of the Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company, one of the nation's largest regional steel-manufacturing firms. He died in the Atlantic during the sinking of RMS Titanic.

The Youngstown Champs were a minor league baseball team that competed in the Ohio–Pennsylvania League in 1907 and 1908. The club won the league championship in 1907 but disbanded in the middle of the 1908 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Henry Owsley</span> English-born American architect (1846–1935)

Charles Henry Owsley (1846–1935) was an English-born American architect in practice in Youngstown, Ohio, from 1872 until 1912.

The Cascade Center at the Riverplex is a shopping, dining, and entertainment complex located in downtown New Castle, Pennsylvania. Opened in 2006, the complex offers both indoor and outdoor facilities. It occupies much of the site of the Cascade, which was the first movie theater owned by Warner Bros. The complex is situated at the intersection of East Washington Street and Mill Street. As of 2013, Riverplex Partners, Inc. owns the complex. The top three stories are rented by Refresh Dental Management as their corporate headquarters.

Downtown Toledo is the central business district of Toledo, Ohio, United States. Both the Warehouse District and the area surrounding the Huntington Center have been areas of recent growth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Economy of Youngstown, Ohio</span>

The economy of Youngstown, Ohio, United States, flourished in the 19th and early 20th centuries, with steel production reaching all-time highs at that time. The steel boom led to an influx of immigrants to the area looking for work, as well as construction of skyscrapers in the area. The city's population peaked at 170,002 in 1930, just at the onset of the Great Depression. World War II also brought a great demand for steel. After World War II, demand for steel dropped off dramatically, and industrial base of Youngstown began to see a decline.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Standard Plaza</span> Offices in Oregon, USA

Standard Plaza is a 16-story office building in downtown Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon. At 222 feet (68 m) in height, it was the largest office building in Oregon when it was completed in 1963. The 217,000-square-foot (20,200 m2) structure, occupying a city block on SW 6th Avenue between Main Street and Madison Street, is owned by Standard Insurance Company, which also owns the neighboring Standard Insurance Center. It was designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill in the international style.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Civic Center (Cleveland)</span>

The Civic Center is a mostly governmental district in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, that is home to the 1916 erected Cleveland City Hall Building. The 1925 Cleveland Public Library main branch, the 1976 massive Cuyahoga County Justice Center, the 419 foot Anthony J. Celebrezze Federal Building, the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, the historic Cuyahoga County Courthouse, the Cleveland Public Hall, the Howard M. Metzenbaum U.S. Courthouse which abuts Public Square, and the city-owned greenspace Willard Park which is home to the Free Stamp.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Superior Avenue</span> Street in Cleveland, Ohio

Superior Avenue is the main wide thoroughfare and part of U.S. Route 6 in Ohio in Downtown Cleveland, the largest and most populated city of Northeast Ohio. Superior runs through the central hub of Cleveland, Public Square. However, the only traffic that can go through the square is bus, bike, and pedestrian transportation. In 2016, the city of Cleveland completed renovation of the Public Square green space and it was decided that no civilian vehicular traffic should be allowed to traverse the park area. Public Square is the "hub" because all of the main streets in downtown jut out from this central greenery. To the east and west, Superior, to the north and south Ontario Street as all the north–south roads are Streets in Cleveland (which goes back to the 1906 Street Plan Decision, and diagonally to the southwest, Euclid Avenue.

References

  1. ↑ "Frank J. Battisti and Nathaniel R. Jones Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse". U.S. General Services Administration. Archived from the original on September 29, 2006. Retrieved February 18, 2007.
  2. ↑ "City unveils its new logo". The Vindicator . September 21, 2006. Archived from the original on January 12, 2008. Retrieved March 14, 2007.
  3. 1 2 3 Shilling, Don (September 8, 2006). "$2M will expand incubator". The Vindicator . Archived from the original on October 31, 2014. Retrieved February 15, 2007.
  4. ↑ Sess, Dave (June 23, 2022). "Major company announces move from New Castle to Youngstown". WKBN . Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  5. ↑ "Top Inc. 5000 Companies by Industry 2007 – Software". Inc. Magazine. Retrieved October 1, 2008.
  6. ↑ Glaser, Susan (June 6, 2018). "Downtown Youngstown gets first hotel in 44 years, a DoubleTree by Hilton". Cleveland.com. Retrieved September 26, 2019.

41°6′N80°39′W / 41.100°N 80.650°W / 41.100; -80.650

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.