mid-June update on the Williamson College construction downtown

the old building:


the NEW building:












video:

the tailored fabrics and colors within John Lisko's downtown youngstown shop

Tucked within the Commerce Building on Federal Street, you'll find a shop with a lot of things...

yards and yards of the finest fabrics,


silk ties of all colors,


sport and suit jackets of many patterns,


pants of all sizes and variety,


and a gentleman who is passionate about fitting the needs of his clients.


The name of this downtown business: 

Tom James

The man who sells these outstanding custom-made suits: 

John Lisko


Let's take a look around the shop and sample the suit-buying experience...


First off, the shop offers suits and shirts from the rack (often needing alterations), as well as custom-made suits and shirts made from fabrics in various american and european styles.


I thought this was neat: John keeps a files on every single customer, a portfolio of sorts, with samples of the fabrics used to make each of their suits, jackets and shirts.


One gets measured using a variety of the tools of the trade...





And different linings are available for all the tailored pieces:



Here is a great photo of a bunch of guys from the early twentieth century hanging out in front of a tailor in the Smoky Hollow.


a great place to stop. and shop.

John Lisko's shop is located
in the Commerce Building
on East Federal Street

"It's now a trend in the Mahoning Valley to finish first"

Grounds for Change is #1

A Plan for
Creating the First Collaborative Land Bank for Mahoning County
1st Place Vote Points: 9,126
2nd Place Vote Points: 3,822
3rd Place Vote Points: 386
Total Points: 13,334

Free cash in hand to begin project: $61,420

announcement here.

what StreetScape 2010 taught me: we are drowning in cigarette litter

saturday's StreetScape 2010 was full of the usual sights:

beautiful buildings and blue skies -


hundred of volunteers planting thousands of flowers -


installing and straightening trees -


stallions through the central square -


and cleaning up hundreds, even thousands of cigarettes -



When pedestrians, bar-goers, co-workers, etc throw their used cigarettes to the ground, they fill in every nook and cranny one can imagine...

...in tree gratings, in flowerbeds, in sidewalk cracks, in puddles, in benches, in parking lots, in the street, etc.

They don't decompose quickly so they linger, and linger, and collect and collect.


they linger on the sidewalk in front of Barley's -


they linger in the cracks next to glasses left out at a martini bar -


they linger in the broken glass recepticals -


they linger in the moat outside the Rosetta Stone -


they linger behind patio gates and beer bottles.

- - -

While the point of this post isn't to beat up on any particular bar owners, the hundreds of people this morning were definitely greeted with the trash from the previous evening.

while the cigarette butts are only one component of what can be considered as "litter", what can we as a group do to prevent the downtown from turning into one big ashtray?

so can the cigarette littering problem ever get better, or are people's habits just set and things will never change?

done with school? thankful for life? need a jumping-on point? - join the StreetScape Planting Day

a lot of people ask:

"what is something I can do to get on board with improving Youngstown?"

A good first starting/entry point = StreetScape
Youngstown CityScape's Annual Planting Day will be this Saturday June 5.

more info here
7:45am - registration
8:00am - planting begins
12:00pm - planting ends
12:01pm and onward - watch youngstown grow

here's your personal challenge for StreetScape 2010:

Introduce yourself to 5 people you don't know when downtown on saturday.

5 people.

think you can do it?

- - -

pictures from 2007. pictures from 2008.

under a linden tree - a new park for Youngstown's Smoky Hollow neighborhood

Underneath the canopy of a beautiful old linden tree, a community came together today to celebrate the groundbreaking of a new park in the city of Youngstown.


Harrison Commons will be the social and nature-based center of the redesign of the Smoky Hollow neighborhood.


While the overall push to develop the surrounding property into many mixed-use properties has been slower-going because of the nationwide recession, stakeholders are moving forward in the short term with infrastructure and design improvements.

With the recent University Courtyard Apartments in the background...


...along with the metal sculptural gates at YSU's Bliss Hall...


...this new park will have some interesting design components as well.

For example, built in stone spread out on the ground at the entrance to the Park will be a replication of the Smoky Hollow neighborhood as it existed in the early 20th century.

Using old Sanborn fire insurance maps for the 1920s and 1940s, the following map was created:



Interestingly, the neighborhood contained a number of public bread ovens back in the day.



Maybe that would be a fantastic addition to existing neighborhoods in the near future? (go see our friends in Braddock PA to see how it's done)

With shovels in hand,


the space along North Walnut street is seeing new life.


Mmore information on the neighborhood plan is available at Wick Neighbors.

woah, The Drag Hunters are filming in Youngstown

out and about in downtown youngstown at the Calvin Center Idea Incubator...

episode one:



episode two:



filming by Crystal B.

"no brownies or peanuts were harmed in the making of this commercial"

from the Rust Belt Theater Company:

historical context for the video.



June 4, 5, 11, 12

Showtime: 8pm

Reception and silent auction: 7pm

Reservations: 330 507 BELT (2358)

Proceeds benefit the Rust Belt Theater Company's Summer Series and Studio for Young Actors.

The Rust Belt Theater is located
within the Calvin Center Idea Incubator
at 755 Mahoning Avenue
in The Commons.

"We are trying to get the message out that performing in drag is not necessarily about sexuality, gender, or even politics. Anyone can be a drag queen. It's about having fun. It's about creating a caricature and putting on outlandish costumes. It's performance art. It's more like clowning than anything else." - Director, Robert Dennick Joki

Unlike traditional drag shows, which feature lip sync artists, all of the performers are live vocalists.

The show will also include sketch comedy and parodies of popular music and culture.

The show is audience interactive.

Each night, one lucky audience member will be transformed into a drag superstar!

The evening will also feature a fabulous silent auction featuring local artwork, gift certificates from local businesses, and drag related items.

Again, the Rust Belt Theater Company is located in the Calvin Center at 755 Mahoning Avenue, just outside of downtown Youngstown. For reservations, call 330 507 BELT (2358)

The Rust Belt Theater Company is dedicated to producing challenging, alternative, experimental, live theater, empowering artists, and promoting social change in the greater Youngstown area.

after 2 years, 11 months, and 5 days - Warner Brothers historical marker back up on Federal Street

Almost three years ago in June 2007, a massive storm ripped through the Youngstown city limits.

The storm knocked out a few things, including the sign in front of the Golden Dawn, the largest and oldest tri-colored beech tree in Ohio, and the the Warner Brothers historical marker on Federal Street.

Sheared it in two.

pictures of the aftermath here.


Then this week - *boom* - the sign is back up.

It took a while (I wonder, why three whole years?) but the plaque telling the story of the Warner Brothers of Youngstown going to Hollywood is now back on display.




from the marker:

The Warner Brothers - Harry, Albert, Sam, and Jack - were members of a Jewish immigrant family from Poland that settled in Youngstown in the mid-1890s.

The brothers attended local schools and worked in their father's shoe repair shop and meat market before entering the motion picture business.

They purchased a projector and opened the first of several theaters in the Mahoning Valley in 1903.

The brothers left Youngstown for New York and Hollywood as their company developed into an industry leader.

Warner Brothers Pictures, founded in 1923, released Don Juan in 1926, the first "talking picture" using Vitaphone technology.

On May 14, 1931, the family gathered in Youngstown to dedicate a luxurious new Warner Theater to the people of the city where it all started, and to memorialize Sam, who died in 1927.

Obama to Youngstown: "I’m going to keep fighting for a future that is brighter for this community."

Air Force One landed at the YNG airport today, bringing President Obama to the Brier Hill neighborhood in Youngstown.

He said the following:

"And as a result of that investment, V&M Star’s parent company has decided to invest $650 million of its own into building a new one million square-foot mill right here in Youngstown – the largest industrial plant built in the Mahoning Valley since GM built its plant over in Lordstown in the 1960s.

Right here, in the heart of the old steel corridor, where some never thought we’d see an investment like this again, they’re placing their bet on American manufacturing and on this community."

Rebirth.

It's the Youngstown story being repeated and retold.

But told in the right places.

Smarter investments. More strategic. More innovative.

From the President while in Youngstown this 18th of May:

"We step up. We face our challenges. We compete. And we win."

7th Ward Citizen Coalition of Youngstown shines - as well as their neighborhood signs

This morning, two signs identifying the distinct neighborhoods of Youngstown's 7th Ward were installed on the South Side.

With three more installations to add within the week, this quality signage will promote the following places as neighborhoods of choice:

Buckeye Plat
Brownlee Woods
Lansingville
Cochran Run
Boulevard Park



While it may look like simply a neighborhood project, the message behind the signs speaks to something greater...

From the 7th Ward Citizens Coalition:

"When the project started out it seemed "small" in terms of perspective in the grand scheme of things, but today, seeing the signs actually in place, one gets a very palpable sense of pride and neighborhood unity.

This is much more than the installation of a few signs; it's a demonstration that people care about the quality of our neighborhoods and the sense of history and identity that these neighborhoods bring to our city as a whole.

As Youngstown moves forward in this century, we can look back with pride on this project as a great achievement in revitalizing the strength of our neighborhoods."

The sign project was funded in part by Neighborhood Success Grants from the Wean Foundation, as well as private donations and some discretionary funds from Councilman John R. Swierz.

The 7th Ward Citizens Coalition webpage is available at www.7wcc.org

at youngstown's lemon grove at 10:30pm on a Monday

packed house on a Monday night.







Three years ago, finding people walking from establishment to establishment on a Monday night may have been rough.

Not today.

3rd C+Y+P rsvps due

Just a reminder that the RSVP deadline for the Cleveland-Youngstown-Pittsburgh Regional Network conference is TODAY Monday, May 10th.

Conference workshops will include:

* Advancing an Older Industrial Cities National Policy Agenda
* Land Acquisition Strategies (Land Bank)
* Regional Rail, Local Transit
* The University/City Connection
* Strategies for Creating Greener, Sustainable Cities
* Changing Times for CDCs
* Making the Case, Taking it Home: What you can do to bring rail to the region
* Community Organizing: Going Wide and Going Deep
* Restoring Prosperity: Transforming Ohio’s communities for the next economy

click here to find out more information...

3 ways Youngstown in the middle of the mental map

sir elton, meet youngstown

a few thousand people came together for a small quiet gathering the other night.





link to the Vindicator story, "How the Covelli Centre landed the Rocket Man"

let's "inc" a new want ad for Youngstown

WANTED:

City of Youngstown, 213 years old,
seeks brilliant, engaged, fun-loving individuals
to move into its city limits,
strengthen its neighborhoods,
and build economic and social opportunities for others.

inquire within immediately.


Read about Youngstown in the May edition of Inc. Magazine:







diaspora? rult belt chic?

kusos go to others who guide us along the way.

a day in the life of idora

Interested in the helping out or living in the Idora neighborhood?

all about Idora here.