CityScape Plans ‘Virtual Streetscape’ Planting Day

The self-guided walking tour signage project features five 24” x 36” signs which explain the history of each respective location. Each sign includes captioned photos as well as a QR code which discusses current and future plans for that location. The five locations include:

Mahoning River (B&O Station observation deck)
The Founding & History of Youngstown (bicentennial marker near the Mahoning Avenue bridge)
Central Square (Civil War Soliders Monument)
Wick Avenue (Main library)
Wick Park Historic District (Wick Park)
The project was funded by the J. Ford Crandall Memorial Foundation, Kennedy Family Fund (Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley) and the Ward Beecher Foundation (Huntington Bank). Project partners included the Mahoning Valley Historical Society (MVHS) and Friends of the Mahoning River.

The utility box art project features a mix of art and photography from local artists Daniel Rauschenbach, David Tamulonis and Chauncey Hay. The locations include five boxes in Central Square and one on West Federal Street near the Youngstown Business Incubator and DeYor Performing Arts Center. YSUScape served as the project partner and funding was provided by the Ohio Arts Council.

Now it its third year, Happy Birthday Youngstown! is a celebration of the city’s founding which took place on June 27th, 1796. Those in attendance received free birthday cake and and a walking tour of downtown provided by Youngstown CityScape and MVHS staff. The event was sponsored by Downtown Youngstown Partnership (a component of Youngstown CityScape), MVHS, Platt Insurance, One Hot Cookie, Jett Creative and Buffcakes.

Media:

New Signs Celebrate City’s 222nd Birthday (Business Journal)
New Walking Tour In Youngstown Unveiled For City’s 222nd Birthday (WFMJ)
Happy Birthday Youngstown at Tyler History Center Celebrates City’s 222 Years (WYTV)
City’s 222nd Year Celebrated at 3rd Happy Birthday Youngstown Event (Vindicator)

On Friday, July 20th, Youngstown CityScape held its campaign kickoff for the Welsh Congregational Church Renovation Project at Noble Creature Cask House (an example of a successfully renovated church in the city).

Welsh Congregational Church was built in 1861 and has remained at its current location ever since. At 157 years of age, it remains the oldest in the city of Youngstown and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. It was closed permanently due to a fire in 1997.

In 2015, the church was purchased by the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown for purposes of clearing the land to make way for an expansion project at Saint Columba. Not wanting to demolish the structure, the Diocese sought community partners who might be able to relocate and repurpose the church. This led to a discussion with CityScape.

In 2017, CityScape convened a site visit and meeting with the diocese, mayor, architects and others to assess the feasibility of the project. It was determined that relocation of the church to Wick Park would be ideal given the park’s strong community identification and usage, location in a historic district, recent major investments, and proximity to nearby Stambaugh Auditorium, YSU and other institutions which could utilize it for various events. The facility will also be able to rented by the community for events such as weddings, arts/cultural events, community meetings, etc.

CityScape is seeking to raise approximately $10,000 for the first phase of the project. If you would like to make a tax-deductible contribution, you can do so here.

Media:

Fundraiser Hopes To See Historic Park Moved To Wick Park (Vindicator)
Youngstown Non-Profit Aims To Relocate and Renovate City’s Oldest Church (WFMJ)
Fundraising Begins To Restore Youngstown’s Oldest Church (WKBN/WYTV)

Youngstown CityScape and Green Youngstown have partnered to tackle the issue of cigarette litter throughout downtown. 36 TerraCycle cigarette butt recycling containers have been installed on Federal Street, Phelps Street and Central Square as well as around 20 Federal Place and Eastern Gateway Community College. The butts are collected regularly by CityScape staff and sent to TerraCyle who recycles them. The recycled material is then used to create new plastic products. The first 12 bins were purchased and installed last Fall by the Downtown Youngstown Partnership with sponsorship from H.D. Davis CPAs. Green Youngstown was able to secure a grant from Keep America Beautiful for 24 more with VXI serving as an additional partner. Those interested in sponsoring a container can contact CityScape at info@youngstowncityscape.com

Media:

CityScape Helps Bring Cigarette Recycling Bins Downtown (Business Journal)
Youngstown Cigarette Butts Being Recycled Into Plastic Products (WFMJ)
More Traffic Downtown Brings More Litter, How One Organization Is Recycling It (WYTV)

The Downtown Youngstown Partnership, a component of Youngstown CityScape, completed the planting of 18 new street trees in the medians on Walnut and Commerce streets downtown. The project was part of a tree stewardship certification training conducted by the Western Reserve Land Conservancy and Holden Forests & Gardens. In July, Ohio State Extension also conducted an Urban Tree Training.

Support for the educational program was provided by the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley. Funding for the tree planting portion was provided by the Raymond John Wean Foundation Neighborhood SUCCESS Grant program.

Special thanks to all project partners: Downtown Youngstown Partnership/Youngstown CityScape, Western Reserve Land Conservancy, Holden Forests & Gardens, Ohio State Extension, City of Youngstown, Second Nature Landscaping, and Boardman Township Zoning Department.

On Tuesday, November 13th, Youngstown CityScape recognized 13 different winners of the 2018 Youngstown CityScape Beautification Awards at DeYor Performing Arts Center. The awards are presented each year to those who have made exceptional beautification or preservation efforts and, in doing so, continue to raise the aesthetic standards throughout Youngstown. Awards are given in three categories: Business, Community and Residential. Below is a list of this year’s awardees:

Residential

1170 State Street – Petra Rios
584 Wills Ave – Tommie & Vernell Harris
939 E. Boston Ave – Karen Wright
302 Midlothian Blvd – Paul Peace
2010 Elberen Street – Theresa Moon
Community

Downtown Utility Box Art Project & YBI Mural – YSUScape
Wick Park Community Information Sign – Eagle Scout Anson Hankey
Boys & Girls Club of Youngstown Greenspace Expansion Project – Community Corrections Association (CCA)
GROW Urban Farm – Flying High Inc.
Business

Eastern Gateway Community College – Art Daly & Staff
Nexus Sound Studio – Alex Thomas
International Towers Renovation Project – Millenia Housing & resident Kelli Way
DoubleTree Hotel by Hilton in the Stambaugh Building – NYO Property Group
Media

Big and Small: CityScape Honors Beautification Projects (Business Journal)
Youngstown CityScape Recognizes Property Owners for Going Above and Beyond (WKBN/WYTV)

The Rotary Club of Youngstown, in partnership with the City of Youngstown and Youngstown CityScape, held a dedication ceremony on Wednesday, November 27th for the recently renovated Wick Park Pavilion.

Since 2016, the club has raised over $350,000 for the project which served as part of the group’s 100 year Centennial Campaign. The pavilion was selected because of its great use by the entire community as well as the park’s historic location. Improvements include new roof, gutters, HVAC system, electrical system, windows, indoor and outdoor bathrooms, kitchen, main hall and universal accessibility upgrades. Youngstown CityScape served as the project manager.

In 1890, members of the Wick family donated wooded land to the City of Youngstown for the development of Wick Park. Today, the 34-acre park is considered the crown jewel and anchor of the Wick Park Historic District. Wick Park’s pavilion was built in 1957 as an answer to a growing need for a post-war community gathering space. It remains one of the most used facility’s in the park system’s inventory.

Media:

Youngstown Rotary Celebrates Wick Pavilion Renovation (Business Journal)
Rotary Shows Off Renovations To Youngstown’s Wick Park Pavilion (WKBN/WYTV)