Youngstown

The massive steel mills of Youngstown once fueled the economic boom of the Mahoning Valley. Movie patrons took in the latest flick at the ornate Paramount Theater, and mob bosses dressed to the nines for supper at the Colonial House. In 1977, the Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company announced the closure of its steelworks in a nearby city. The fallout of the ensuing mill shutdowns erased many of the city's beloved landmarks and neighborhoods. Students hurrying across a crowded campus tread on the foundations of the Elms Ballroom, where Duke Ellington once brought down the house. On the lower eastside, only broken buildings and the long-silent stacks of Republic Rubber remain. Urban explorer and historian Sean T. Posey navigates a disappearing cityscape to reveal a lost era of Youngstown.

Youngstown, Ohio was a rapidly growing industrial city in the early 20th century. In 1900, the city had a population of about 45,000; ten years later, it nearly doubled to 80,000, and by 1920 had reached 120,000. This phenomenal growth was reflected in a number of structures that dotted the city's skyline, including the Mahoning Bank Building, the Masonic Temple, and the plants of three major steel companies along the banks of the Mahoning River. Youngstown also had new places for its citizens to play during this period-Idora Park, Mill Creek Park, and Wick Park. And this was all preserved for the future through another early-20th century phenomenon-the postcard. Over 190 vintage postcards illustrate this book, which will bring the reader back to the era when Youngstown was rapidly becoming the third largest steel producer in the nation.

"Murdertown," "Bombtown," "Crimetown." Through decades, the City of Youngstown, Ohio, has been branded with such painful nicknames, due in large part to the rackets, violence and corruption of organized crime in the region. The streets of Youngstown and other communities in the Mahoning and Shenango valleys of northeastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania have been bloodied through numerous shootings and stabbings and, during an especially disturbing period, a series of gruesome car-bombings. In too many cases, public officials and officers of the law were complicit in the criminal activity, profiting through bribery and graft. Some authorities who resisted corruption and attempted to perform their public duties found themselves the targets of underworld violence. In this November 2022 issue of Informer: The History of American Crime and Law Enforcement, we tackle the history of organized crime in Youngstown region, from the earliest reports of the 1890s through the apparent dissolution of the Mob presence more than a century later. It is a complex subject, as elements of at least four regional Mafia organizations and a persistent non-Mafia Calabrian organization, in addition to other criminal elements, all collided, cooperated, combined and clashed with each other at different times. This resulted in a wealth of interesting but often uncoordinated stories and personalities. Our strategy for dealing with the subject is to present a number of individual standalone articles on the more interesting of these stories, bringing to light the significant personalities, groups, areas and eras. The effort might be compared to the photographic “stitching” of a collection of images into a panorama. Readers will discover the secret criminal organizations behind names like "Society of Honor," "Sacred Circle" and "Society of the Banana" and will encounter such characters as "Fats" Aiello, Ernie Biondillo, Frank Cammarata, "Cadillac Charlie" Cavallaro, Joe Cutrone, "Tony Dope" Delsanter, Vince DeNiro, "Wolf" DiCarlo, "Big Jim" Falcone, Mike Farah, "Red" Giordano, "Big Dom" Mallamo, Dominick Moio, "Two-Gun Jimmy" Prato, Rocco Racco, Rocco Strange, Lenny Strollo, "Zebo" Zottola, along with the Barber brothers, the Carabbia brothers, the Naples brothers, the Romeo brothers and many more. While it is our hope that a coherent image of the history of Youngstown-area organized crime (and its connections to criminal entities outside the region) will emerge, we are concerned by the fact that some of our individual historical “snapshots” do not overlap with or even touch each other while others may overlap quite a bit. We hope that the obvious voids and repetitions will not be a great distraction and that, with some patience, our readers will be able to “get the picture.” Contributors to this Informer issue: James Barber, Justin Cascio, Margaret Janco, Thom L. Jones, Michael A. Tona, Edmond Valin and Thomas Hunt

Join the author of Historic Theaters of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley and Lost Youngstown in an excavation of forgotten stories from bygone days. Beyond steel and rust, Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley share a rich, but often overlooked past. During the late 1910s, the ever-present smoke blanketing the area could not hide the fires from the burning business district of East Youngstown or the city streets deserted from Spanish influenza. Over twenty years later, the Mahoning Valley lived under another dark cloud, the Great Depression, but instead of violence and destruction, the men and women of the WPA busied themselves with building up the region and dreaming of better days. Journalist and historian Sean Posey excavates the history behind familiar landmarks, forgotten institutions, and historic sites that connect Mahoning Valley history to the story of the evolution of industrial America.

Historic Theaters of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley traces the evolution of modern cinema through the rich local history of the Mahoning Valley. From the days of the gaslit opera houses through the era of the drive-in, the Mahoning Valley's theatrical culture has thrived. The finest theaters in northeastern Ohio rose with the manufacturing might of the Steel Valley. The Warner brothers, who started their careers in Youngstown, opened their first theater in New Castle, Pennsylvania, and celebrities from Katharine Hepburn to Red Skelton graced local stages. The finest vaudevillians and the lovely ladies of burlesque were always a ticket away. Take a trip back to the Park Burlesque and the opulent Palace Theater and revisit the theater culture of Warren and Trumbull County. Author Sean T. Posey traces the evolution of modern cinema through the rich local history of the Mahoning Valley.

The blows of hammers and the humming of mills once echoed throughout the Mahoning Valley. Steel reigned supreme, and immigrants from every corner of Europe came to forge new lives and an enduring community. When the sounds of industry were silenced, Youngstown remained a strong and vibrant community. Editor Mark C. Peyko and the writers of the Metro Monthly create a portrait of their city through a beautifully rendered collection of vignettes. With stories of inventors, movie moguls, local cuisine and sports heroes, Peyko and company not only chronicle the history of Youngstown, but also capture the essence of their home.

Remember the favorites from Youngstown, Ohio in classic restaurants such as the MVR and the Boulevard, and other eateries that reflect a diverse and entrepreneurial history. In Youngstown, Ohio take a tour of restaurants like the MVR and the Boulevard, which continue to reflect Youngstown's ethnic diversity and tenacious entrepreneurial spirit, as well as establishments like Overture, which offer a promise of urban renewal from a refurbished downtown. And raise your glass to the best-laid tables of a bygone era, from the Mural Room to the 20th Century.