Youngstown's Central Square

Youngstown's Central Square. . , Founder John Young included a public square in his 1798 town plan which included a one-room log schoolhouse that opened in 1803., In the decades that followed, the Market and Federal street intersection became the social center of Youngstown. It featured wood-framed houses, churches, and an opera house. Horse-drawn streetcars, running from Brier Hill through the square, became the first form of public transportation in 1875., The 'Diamond,' as the square was sometimes called, became the transportation hub of the city, especially after the Market Street Bridge opened in 1899. Federal Street was paved in 1882 and electric street lights were installed in 1886., Steel-frame skyscrapers and retail buildings replaced wood-frame residences as the downtown evolved into a thriving commercial district in the 20th Century. A small public library branch even occupied the north side of the square from 1923-1954., With automobile usage on the rise, streetcar tracks around the square were eventually removed for scrap during world war two as were the Civil War era cannons which adorned the Soldiers' Monument., With the rapid expansion of suburbia in the 1950s, downtown theaters and department stores gradually closed., In 1974, Federal Street was capped in order to create a pedestrian plaza which aimed to attract visitors by creating an alternative to the auto-centric shopping areas in the nearby suburbs. However, the impact was marginal and coupled with the demise of the local steel industry several years later, downtown's struggle to remain economically viable continued., Around the turn of the 21st century, the City of Youngstown undertook a new citywide comprehensive plan which, in part, called for greater investment in downtown., Part of that plan included the 2005 reopening of Federal Street to thru traffic, thereby increasing circulation and greatly impacting the revitalization of downtown which continues to this day., (captions) , John F. Kennedy delivered a speech in Central Square during his successful 1960 campaign. The speech is considered one of the most iconic moments in the political history of Youngstown., Central Square was originally known as 'The Diamond' and is featured here in this photo taken sometime between 1870-1875., Central Square in 1930, a time when the city reached a peak population of 170,000 residents., The Stambaugh Building was designed by renown Detroit architect Albert Kahn and constructed in 1907 (pictured above). Once considered "a lost cause,” its revitalization now serves as a towering symbol of downtown's renaissance., In 1974, Federal Street was capped to create a pedestrian shopping plaza. It was reopened in 2005, increasing circulation through downtown and greatly impacting downtown's revitalization efforts., A Youngstown CityScape project in partnership with: , City Of Youngstown , J. Ford Crandall Memorial Foundation , Kennedy Family Fund, Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley , Mahoning Valley Historical Society , Ward Beecher Foundation, Huntington Bank